TOOL, LLOYD WEBBER, AND TBOGG
I'm a nerd, and a huge fan of both Tool and musical theatre, so I have to do this.
Tbogg posted a hilarious hypothetical tracklisting for the soundtrack to Mel Gibson's Battlefield Jesus, which is currently #2 on the charts (go Norah!). Among the amusing set of choices ("Whipping Post", "Beat It", and "So Long, Farewell") he includes the 1996 Tool masterpiece "Forty Six and 2". He does so presumably because of the lyrical content, which deals largely with the destruction of skin and muscle tissue. It's also relevant because the song is about a transformation, or better yet, an evolution (a human cell has 46 chromosomes, and Maynard is adding 2). And in a Biblical sense, the song could vaguely approximate the thoughts running through Jesus' head as he prostrated shortly before he got into the white Ford Bronco and dozens of JPD officers on horseback followed him on a slow-speed chase to Galilee, where he finally surrendered peacefully to the authorities.
But there's more to this, whether Tbogg intended it or not, and the key to understanding is in the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Huh?
For this portion of the exercise you will need to be familiar with both the Tool song and the "Trial by Pilate" song from Jesus Christ Superstar. "Heaven on their Minds" would also help.
In "Trial by Pilate", there is a segment in which the famous 39 lashes are administered (This was something I was fortunate enough to do on stage 3 and a half years ago). The music during that segment features the guitar riff from "Heaven on their Minds", the song Judas sings at the beginning of the rock opera. Tool/Webber fans, though, know that this riff is strikingly similar to both main guitar parts from "Forty Six and 2". And it gets better: The long instrumental section of the Tool song that follows Maynard's "do... what it takes to step through" features the riff being played about 39-40 times.
To nerds like me, this is an obvious connection. To sane people, on the other hand...
(note: For those of you who have yet to see Gibson's flick, you should know that there are a wee bit more than 39...)
I'm a nerd, and a huge fan of both Tool and musical theatre, so I have to do this.
Tbogg posted a hilarious hypothetical tracklisting for the soundtrack to Mel Gibson's Battlefield Jesus, which is currently #2 on the charts (go Norah!). Among the amusing set of choices ("Whipping Post", "Beat It", and "So Long, Farewell") he includes the 1996 Tool masterpiece "Forty Six and 2". He does so presumably because of the lyrical content, which deals largely with the destruction of skin and muscle tissue. It's also relevant because the song is about a transformation, or better yet, an evolution (a human cell has 46 chromosomes, and Maynard is adding 2). And in a Biblical sense, the song could vaguely approximate the thoughts running through Jesus' head as he prostrated shortly before he got into the white Ford Bronco and dozens of JPD officers on horseback followed him on a slow-speed chase to Galilee, where he finally surrendered peacefully to the authorities.
But there's more to this, whether Tbogg intended it or not, and the key to understanding is in the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Huh?
For this portion of the exercise you will need to be familiar with both the Tool song and the "Trial by Pilate" song from Jesus Christ Superstar. "Heaven on their Minds" would also help.
In "Trial by Pilate", there is a segment in which the famous 39 lashes are administered (This was something I was fortunate enough to do on stage 3 and a half years ago). The music during that segment features the guitar riff from "Heaven on their Minds", the song Judas sings at the beginning of the rock opera. Tool/Webber fans, though, know that this riff is strikingly similar to both main guitar parts from "Forty Six and 2". And it gets better: The long instrumental section of the Tool song that follows Maynard's "do... what it takes to step through" features the riff being played about 39-40 times.
To nerds like me, this is an obvious connection. To sane people, on the other hand...
(note: For those of you who have yet to see Gibson's flick, you should know that there are a wee bit more than 39...)
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