The most noticeable and important quality to Tensta’s music is the way he’s able to collaborate electronic house tracks with hip hop. Other artists in the U.S. have only recently been doing this with Timbaland’s unique production style. But even Timbaland’s beats aren’t really house. So it’s hard for me to say anybody has really done this mix of hip hop and house music well. But with Tensta, it’s not done just well. It’s obnoxiously good and I can for the first time feel like I can dance to house music without feeling like I have to know how to rave or have glow sticks.

Now you might think this is a little “poppy” for Nirav’s taste. That I’ve gotten soft and am exploring unconscious hip hop from the initial sound of the music. But if you take an opportunity to listen to the lyrical content, you’ll start to appreciate Adam Tensta like I do and feel very differently. His lyrics are not revolutionary conscious like Dead Prez, not politically conscious like Talib Kweli in Quality, and definitely not as metaphorical as my favorite Mos Def - but that doesn’t mean it’s not smart and conscious. It’s just different. Let me explain:

• “It’s my Cool and I can’t take it off”: That’s the chorus from of his lead single and it’s all about how he doesn’t know where his popularity originated. He just has been doing what he loves doing (making beats, writing) and all of a sudden people started noticing. So people started saying he was cool and nothing he does is reducing that cool factor. Lesson = do what you love and do it well, coolness and fame will follow.
• “Do I look like I sell drugs?”: That’s the chorus from Tensta’s other single. It’s catchy and witty based on the track title “Dopeboy” which is in reference to the appearance of any hip hop dressed black male. Whether going to the club or other high profile places, the appearance alone makes one think that automatically this kid/guy sells drugs. And is therefore denied entrance. Dahlak Brathwaite has a similar track entitled “The Club” which is about this same issue in his album Dual Consciousness. Even though the world has changed so much in terms of racial equality, there are many things which still occur that go unmentioned like this topic. Lesson = look at the qualities and not just the appearance.

So all in all, Tensta’s lyrical content fits into my definition of smart lyrics. Something I feel Ne-Yo has and I explained in my review of Year of The Gentlemen. And the production behind the lyrics really make this music great.

Right now Tensta has only his album “It’s a Tensta Thing” out for sale. I’m sure he’s in the studio working on more songs and another full length album. But until then, check out some free music on his MySpace page and the multiple mixtapes he’s been on. Solid music and an artist I think will absolutely cross-over to the U.S. in a few years or less. He’s got the making for a famous hip hop artist.

Yes. We all know who Tool is. Yes. We know Dan loves Tool. Yes. We know Dan is in fact a tool himself. No. Dan didn’t know that Salival (2000) is a limited edition. If you want to find a brand new copy of this box set, you’ll have to fork out at least a couple hundred bucks or settle for a used copy for about $60. Is it really worth it? You’re damn right it is.

Salival is a box set containing a live/B-side CD and all their music videos released up to that point. It may not be my favorite album (mostly because I’m incapable of making such a decision), but it certainly contains some of my favorite tracks. If you’ve never had the immense pleasure of seeing Tool live, then Salival is a must have. This album contains some of their best live performances and the only covers I’ve heard them play (though I’m sure they have done others live). The first cover is You Lied from Justin Chancellor’s previous band Peach. While I love the performance recorded for this album, the original studio recording by Peach isn’t nearly as good. Let’s just say Tool was a big move up for Justin. The second cover is No Quarter by none other than Led Zeppelin. This is the only Led Zeppelin cover done with a new flavor I’ve heard done right. There’s no question this song is No Quarter and there’s certainly no question it’s Tool performing it.

I’ve seen a lot of concerts, starting from a pretty young age, and Tool has without a doubt put on the three best shows I’ve ever seen. Some of you ‘old guys’ might tell me Pink Floyd puts on a better show, but I just barely missed that window. I’ve also seen their live show on tape, and even though that’s just not the same as being there in person, I still say Tool takes the cake. All of the live tracks on Salival are performed flawlessly, even Third Eye and Pushit which are about 14 minutes a piece. Pushit was played from a completely different angle than the studio version. Both are exquisite, but the live version is simply beautiful. I’m sure Nirav will agree with me when I say this track is pure bliss. This is Maynard’s voice in its finest element and has some flashes of brilliance from Danny Carey dwarfed only by 46 & 2 and Merkaba. Merkaba is very abstract and won’t be appreciated as much by the common listener as compared to a hardcore fan… it is rather abstract.

What would a Tool album be without filler tracks? Message to Harry Manback II and L.A.M.C. are certainly those, but have their place just the same. L.A.M.C. is actually pretty funny to me, but of course I’ve skipped it nearly every time after the first listen. However, there is a little treat hidden at the end of it… a track by the name Maynard’s Dick. This is the epitome of Tool’s humor. Maynard only agreed to start playing with Adam Jones and Danny Carey when Tool formed if the band was meant to be fun and it shouldn’t be taken seriously. You’d never guess that from an outsider’s view without reading some interviews or seeing them live maybe. But his humor definitely comes out in this track… similarly in the hidden track on Opiate (1992).

It’s kind of a shame Salival was a limited edition only. I think they should re-release at least an audio CD version. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great have the music videos that came on the DVD, and the artwork in the book is amazing. But the music on here is some of their best work.  The only thing I wish this album had was a live version of 46 & 2… seeing the drum solo in that song live was mind blowing. I’m sure any seriously devoted fan has this or has attained it one way or another. But any of you out there that doesn’t have it… you need it. I just felt this one could have been easily over-looked since it’s out-of-print and a bit on the expensive side these days.

Aenema - Tool from Dan Cutright on Vimeo.

Stinkfist - Tool from Dan Cutright on Vimeo.

That’s what J Medeiros has been able to do with his song entitled ‘Constance’. It’s about a girl from the Philippines who gets caught into human trafficking. According to the Largest Minory:

The Philippines has a high rate of child prostitution. Many sex establishments in the Philippines are backed by Japanese capital, and are the favored destinations of pedophiles from America, Australia, and Europe. Children may work up to 20 hours a day, and be forced to service up to 100 customers a week. A 2005 estimate reveals that 150,000 young girls, some as young as six years old, work as prostitutes in the Philippines due to poverty.

Medeiros’s song entitled Constance talks about this trafficking and how people are ignorant to it. Since it doesn’t happen to too many American’s, its kinda kept in the dark. And its easy not to recognize something that doesn’t directly affect you life. But when a well known and conscious artist brings up a topic like this and does it with simplicity, it really hits the heart and the mind.

This song is only one track on a full album by Mr. J Medeiros named Of Gods and Girls (2006). Def a worthwhile album to check out. Has a full set of conscious lyrics, simple and easy flow, and purposeful themes. My favorites are Silent Earth which talks about how people stay unresponsive to world needs even though they see what’s happening, and Call You which is an ode to his mother and father love for him.

A little bit of background info: Mr. J Medeiros co-founded hip hop’s underground group, The Procussions. They were around for over 10 years becoming a pretty big indie success. They toured the globe with the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Talib Kweli, and many more. They ended up releasing two LP’s: As Iron Sharpens Iron (2003) and 5 Sparrows For 2 Cents (2006) on Rawkus Records.

Here’s a music video of his hit single entitled Constance:

I feel like anyone that truly loves quality rock/metal should either know these guys already or at least have heard them enough to appreciate what is they do. They have influenced my music compositions at least as much as Tool and Led Zeppelin. I really wanted to include their lead guitarist, Mikael Åkerfeldt, in the Real Guitar Heroes post, but it was hard to really capture his essense in a single audio clip. There’s much more to him than flashy solos. He’s a great writer and somehow he’s able to blend classical acoustic with death metal. Although there is at least one solo in nearly every song, his solos aren’t immediately as impressive to the casual listener as some of the guys I listed. While Mikael Åkerfeldt is the lead singer, lead guitarist, and writer for the band (and his stage persona definitely brings out his ego), Opeth is an all around outstanding and talented band. Make no mistake, Opeth is metal at its best, but they aren’t the kind of metal band that just tries to play as fast and as loud as possible.

My initial reaction to Opeth was shock actually. I first heard Blackwater Park (2001) blasting in my dad’s truck. When you’re not used to screaming, that’s the only thing you focus on. Either that or the fact that my dad likes heavier music than me… what’s that about? But I was told that Opeth had some the best rhythm and lead guitar work and drumming if I could just embrace the vocals. To my surprise, Opeth had some incredible compositions and nearly half of their tracks are 10 minutes long or very close to it. Now I don’t want to focus on the screaming too much because Opeth is very diverse. One minute they’re playing a classical duo piece with acoustic guitar and piano, the next they’ve got the mosh pit going crazy.

There is an attitude out there that you shouldn’t have to acquire a taste for music. This is a bold faced lie. Don’t give in to the propaganda. If I kept the attitude of immediately dismissing any music with screaming, I never would have gotten into bands like Opeth, Isis, and Baroness (to just name a few). Each of these bands has incredible talent. And from these bands I found others such as Russian Circles, Irepress, and God is an Astronaut (and all three are instumental). By the way, it turns out those death metal screams in Opeth’s music are all through a synthesizer. So don’t try it at home kids. Anyways, if you haven’t climbed that wall just yet, there is still plenty of Opeth with no screaming. If you need an entire album with no screaming whatsoever, I might suggest starting with their album Damnation (2003). This whole album is mello with acoustic guitars and actual singing, and makes a good segway into some typical Opeth. Hopefully, it will establish the kind of intricate compositions they tend to write.

Once you get into Damnation and get over yourself, you’ll find the typical Opeth is everything Metallica could have ever hoped to be. In my opinion, it’s some the best composed metal out there with particularly well written guitar work. And somehow they’ve managed to always have an outstanding drummer, despite the fact they’ve gone through more drummers than Spinal Tap. Opeth’s first album came out in 1995 and they’ve kept pretty busy since. I’ve got nine albums of their’s and I’m probably missing some obscure ones somehow.

For an audio clip, I’ve selected a couple pieces that illustrate their diversity. The first clip is from Bleak off Blackwater Park and the second is from Deliverance off the album Deliverance (2002). If you purchase these albums, you’ll find that Bleak is 9:16 and Deliverance is 13:36. I’ve cut down the length of these clips by a long shot, but I hope it’s still enough to give you a solid impression. All I ask is that you play the clip at least past the first 30 seconds, the distinction in vocal styles is staggering. I tried to minimize the screaming content, but I didn’t want to erradicate it completely and portray them to be something they’re not. I also happen to think the solo at the end of the clip is one of the best transitions from metal to acoustic I’ve ever heard. Trust me, at the very least you’ll decide that Opeth isn’t your style, but you’ll still appreciate what they’re doing. You know… assuming you actually like good music.

Update (Nirav): Opeth released a new album on June 3rd entitled Watershed (2008). And let me tell you, it is one of the strongest rock/metal albums I’ve heard in a very long time. I will even go as far as to say since the release of 10,000 Days by Tool.

I wasn’t really a big fan of Opeth before. Mostly due to the screaming and some due to the level of straight metal sound. But I had enjoyed Damnation (album that was released in 2003) because it was “softer” and didn’t have the screaming. Watershed takes the best of their earlier albums and the greatness of Damnation to comprise a full album that can be listened to the whole way through.

One song, their latest single too, seems to sum up the way this album sounds. It’s entitled, “Porcelain Heart”, and here’s a music video that was recently released for it.

Porcelain Heart

• Rarely seen or found on the web
• Serve a higher purpose to an artists’ song
• Something we Obnoxious Guys simply find cool or interesting

We recently got to see them perform at the Ottobar in Baltimore, MD. Sadly, Baltimore is one of the most empty cities and their bars are even emptier than the city itself. When we walked in, there were a total of 15 other people inside, and 8 out of the 15 people were members of the opening band. So you can imagine the vacant feeling we got as we walked in and grabbed a beer from the 1 bartender and 2 beer taps inside.

This was the first tour God is an Astronaut was on in the U.S. and when they came on, the place started to fill up to about 75 people or so. Not very large crowd base at all and that would have been discouraging to most headlining bands (especially for those that had travelled from so far), but they played through their set like champs. Without even the slightest hesitation, they elongated their set and played 3-4 new songs and redid a few oldies. Then afterwards, they came down and talked with all the fans for 15-20 min. I rarely find that type of temperament in a band and respect for their fans. That humility and appreciation alone has made me a fan of these guys for life.

Becoming a bigger fan of God is an Astronaut, I decided to buy all the singles and extra CDs they were selling at the venue. Surprisingly, I found these two music videos on one of the EPs entitled A Moment of Stillness. I had not seen them online previously and wasn’t even aware the band had produced any videos. Both videos are great compliments to the songs they are made for. Without trying to explain their meaning (which I’m sure I’ll butcher), I think you’ll find it for yourself. If you pay attention to the shifts in the music, you’ll see a resemblance in the video as well.

Comment by Dan: Fun fact, this concert Nirav mentioned (which was on March 18th, 2008) is where and when he and I first came up with the idea for Obnoxious Listeners.

Over the last several years, Tool has grown to become that band that other bands tend to look up to. That band that other bands strive to be. And also, the band that sits on the top of my list as best rock band ever.

Tool hasn’t been able to capture the popular vote yet though. Perhaps its because of their kinda creepy and/or haunting music videos or its their political/honest lyrics? Or it could be simply that the music sounds dark? But if you surpass the typical bias and just give an honest listen, its impossible to not get hooked. Once you hear the intricacies and the meaning behind the lyrics, you can’t help but to appreciate the quality. I would have to say they have the composition of an orchestra, the talent of jazz musicians, and the lyrics of pure consciousness.

The band is comprised of some highly educated and uniquely trained musicians:

• Guitarist: Adam Jones, who was formally a sculptor and special effects designer, founded the band in 1990. In 2007 he received the Grammy award for ‘Best Recording Package’ for his work on their latest album 10,000 Days.
• Drummer: Danny Carey, who was formally trained as a jazz drummer in his former years, plays a large 26-piece drum set. Seen live, you’ll find using a set of diesel arms that move faster than the ears can distinguish a change in beat.
• Vocalist: Maynard James Keenan, also lead vocalist for A Perfect Circle, is well known for his vocal range and depth. Maynard was trained at West Point Prep School before enlisting in art school in Michigan. During live performances, you’ll find him out of the spotlight to allow focus to be on the music than any one person.
• Bassist: Justin Chancellor, formally of the band Peach, plays a Wal 4-String guitar that helps him create his famous mid range cut and punch. Fun fact is Justin performs a highly specialized form of tensor yoga.

One of the things that makes Tool really special is that their albums seem to get better and better as the band ages and puts out new albums. You find many times that an artists’ first album was the best or that some albums just didn’t hit the mark. But with Tool albums, its always pristine and every song has some meaning to the whole of the album. They seem to put in extreme focus and expertise into every song they compose. They also put in the time needed as generally its a 5 year wait in between albums.

Two months ago, Dan and I went to see the premiere of Vicarious music video in New York City. It was presented by Alex Grey, world-renowned artist and painter who created much of the latest cover art for Tool. The making process, money, and personal investment that went into the video was astounding. They took over 1 full year to make the video with Alex Grey and Adam Jones being co-directors and creative directors. Not only did it take a whole year, but they worked on each 5 second clip as if it was a 30 minute t.v. show. They dissected every piece to ensure it matched the purpose and theme of what they were trying to present to the viewer. After seeing how pop music videos are made on MTV in 1 month and 2-3 million dollars, you are blown away to see how quality music videos are made with more personal investment, less money, and hiring the best artists for the job.

No matter what Tool seems to do, whether it be their music or their music videos, they do it with personal investment and passion. Two components that are ideal for producing anything quality. They truly set the bar for other bands and truly, other musicians and artists.

Related Post: Salival | Tool

Vicarious - Tool from Dan Cutright on Vimeo.

Sober - Tool from Dan Cutright on Vimeo.