I wasn't the original but at no point in my life have I ever gotten why people even tolerate them. They don't have immediacy but they're also not interesting, they're just... there.

Currently listening to Undertow and I guess I can see where plebes who literally can not and will never be able to listen to anything truly off the wall would find this mindblowing but just imagining that is like trying to put myself in the mind of a typical Trump voter.

Bro I never even knew they had a dedicated fanbase until a year or two ago. I've never met a single Tool fan who wasn't just a basic FM radio rock fan. My distaste for Tool is entirely down to Tool.

You recognize their overwhelming mediocrity but don't think they're among the worst artists ever, I'd say that puts you outside of the hater group.

But, like, this explanation is ironic because it fails to acknowledge that opinions exist for a variety of reasons that aren't the ones you boxed them in with. Boxing people in with stereotypes over their opinions is fairly plebeian, yo.

I've honestly never really listened to Tool. I don't really have an opinion because nothing has really grabbed my attention outside of the fact that they are one of the most well loved bands out there. But I'd guess the reason that people see them that way is because they found a well balance between being poppy and inventive.

I like their guitar

^ Yes, this has happened to me too, so much so that my friends don't really care for my recs anymore. That's why I really value the discussions on MB. Thanks to everyone for keeping music alive. :)
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If I mention to students that I'm interested in music, they will often mention Queen as one of their favourite bands. TBH, there are times when I tire of feigning enthusiasm for their choice of band or for their deep knowledge of the international rock music scene.

In 27 years, I met just one student who had heard of Beefheart. In fact, he had a third-world low-fi pirate cassette of Bluejeans and Moonbeams, which was actually kind of depressing. He'd heard something of Beefheart's reputation, and but only had this meagre sample to go on. Such is the sadness that can occur if you come from before or beyond the internet. :(

Nah, I'm pretty on point with the Tool fetishism/hate boner cycle. The haters wouldn't give a **** if they came across Tool on bandcamp, they'd just go "meh" and move on. It's the annoying fanbase that drives the haters, and it's ignorance that drives the annoying fanbase.

I consider myself a hater, but being a hater for me is more just a fun thing to do cause being an out and proud Tool or a Pink Floyd hater will result in more fun conversations than bothering to be a hater of some band nobody talks about. I'm not a salaried hater though yeah. It's just a hobby.

Maybe for the most part. But I'm sure there are other people who have different reasons to hate the band.

I just wish they didn't put so much actual filler in their albums