Tool is, without a doubt, one of the more important bands in recent decades. But if much of the band’s material and clues left in it were done mischievously and with humour, this has not stopped a truly rabid cult following from developing. Tool’s “Sober” is one of the greatest alternative rock songs of the 1990s, sure.
But is it not the notoriously prickly James Maynard Keenan, a man known for his love of association with stand-up comedians, trying to pull a joke on us? This is what I’ll try to answer for readers as I look at the lyrical meaning and the story of this alt-metal classic.
TOOL’s Journey to Making “Sober”
Lachrymology. This is the philosophy that the band members of TOOL claimed they were representing while promoting their first couple of albums.
Of course, no such thing existed. And, naturally, while playing it all with a straight face, singer James Maynard Keenan must’ve been laughing heavily, I imagine, once the cameras were off.
But that’s the thing about TOOL. Cameras have rarely missed the band, and the group has worked to create a mythology around it. Keenan and his musically proficient bandmates have always been interested in fame, and hesitant to take it.
While the debut EP “Opiate” echoed contemporary metal eccentricities of Rage Against the Machine or Alice in Chains, the group took a gigantic leap forward with its debut full-length album, “Undertow.”
I think that it’s a well-written album. I do believe that Keenan did possess, at this stage, one of the finest voices in rock. And, I know, that it’s the mysterious way in which the album was presented that greatly influenced its success then as it does now.
Although slick and capable, TOOL has always presented itself as a band that shouldn’t be allowed to be on a major label, Captain Beefheart of tripped-out ayahuasca-rock. For the most part, to the group’s credit, the sounds helped the band.
Meaning of the Lyrics to “Sober”
Like many of TOOL’s songs, the lyrics for “Sober” are seemingly designed to create fan theories. Why? I think that it’s because the sound of the words fits the music well. And, I believe that it’s also because Keenan’s been clever about adding a great degree of pathos and theatricality to his performances.
What do the lyrics for “Sober” mean? There are two major themes across the “Undertow” record – overstimulation and addiction. Keenan often focuses on religion and sex as two things that dull people’s senses.
Guitarist Adam Jones explained that the song was inspired by a friend of the band, an artist who liked to get hammered and speak endlessly about spirituality. The line: “Jesus won’t you F–king whistle, something but the past and gone” is supposedly inspired by his speech.
“The song and video are based on a guy we know who is at his artistic best when he’s loaded. A lot of people give him shitt for that. I don’t tell people to do or not do drugs. You can do what you want, but you have to take responsibility for what happens. If you become addicted and a junkie, well, that’s your fault,” Jones says.
The music, however, it is rumoured, was, in part, written by Keenan around the late 1980s while trying to put together a different band.
But is that all? Is that a satisfactory answer to the legion of TOOL fans? Likely not! To the band’s credit, and, judging by interviews, eternal annoyance, the group has fostered a large, highly opinionated fan base.
Music Video for “Sober”
TOOL’s music videos are, in no small part, responsible for the band’s success. Many people watched the stop animation clay figures shown in the video for “Sober” and were inspired.
Nirvana‘s Kurt Cobain, however, was not a fan. The singer remarked on the similarity between “Sober” and short films by the Brothers Quay.
Guitarist Adam Jones, who’d been employed to design Hollywood special effects in years prior, helped design the clay figurines, while Fred Stuhr directed the music video. Jones admits to the Brothers Quay connection. However, he says that this was merely a loving tribute.
The video shows the clay figure peeking into a metal box. The contents of the box are not shown. However, each new look inside causes the main character to act bizarrely, as if hypnotised or drugged.
The Legacy of TOOL and of “Sober”
“Sober” is one of TOOL’s most famous songs and was an unexpected hit. The single, whose guitar part bears a striking resemblance to Led Zeppelin‘s “Kashmir,” helped the group’s debut full-length album sell more than 3 million copies in the United States alone.
This was quite a colossal success. In my opinion, this ushered in a host of alternative-metal copycat groups.
Thankfully, TOOL has had staying power. And to the band’s credit, its sound kept evolving for much of its career (although, perhaps, not recently). Follow-up albums, “Aenima” and “Lateralus”, earned even more success while the group constantly flirted more with progressive-rock strategies.
