Yeah, I admit I are a fanboy, both of Beato and of Keenan, but this is just a gold-plated interview that warrants an immediate bookmark. Just shy of an hour in time, with absolutely no fluff–not even the usual intro or outro segments, but all content.
A fabulous resource for both conscious and unconscious artists, and really anyone with an appreciation for unapologetic human authenticity.
Keenan remains, for me, one of the most fascinating figures in music. There was a lot of detail in here that I didn’t yet know, which is great, but even all of that still serves exactly the same character and personality I’ve come to expect from other interviews I’ve seen, going back many years now. This is truly gratifying, in a world increasingly gone crazy with (it still sounds ridiculous to say it) actual retreat from precisely, exactly the things that make us human in the first place. Keenan is a wonderful reminder of what real, authentic humans can be like–even rock stars.
And for me, of all the things I feel like I can identify with him on, I think the most important to me personally is his unsubtle, unapologetic obsession with excellence in everything he puts his mind to. My hindbrain understands this, even as I struggle nearly constantly with needing reminders of what is possible and of how important it is to embrace it every day. From all I’ve seen thus far, even just a few moments of listening to Keenan brings this out in a way that is valuable to me, and if for no other reason than that, this wonderful interview (much appreciation here to Rick Beato, himself a fair giant in the pursuit of excellence space) gets a bookmark here. 🙂
I finally came into my first A Perfect Circle record, 2003’s Thirteenth Step, over the weekend, and so of course it went onto the playlist for the next commute in the family car. It’s only a first listen, but thus far, the impression is very much like the sporadic exposure I’ve heard in my Tool-seeded Pandora station: really outstanding music that surprises you with the density of its layers and the authenticity of its moods.
Just to be clear: I was already expecting outstanding, at least in bits, but it’s still surprising me. Because I only learned about APC through last year’s explosive interest in Tool, I am aware that I run the risk of comparing the two groups, or of thinking of APC as some sort of Keenan side project. That’s certainly not fair, and as I hear more I don’t think it’s right, either–those two things not quite being the same thing. No, I’m getting the impression that this is a glorious beast of its own, even with Keenan’s personal imprimatur as clear on APC as it is on Tool.
Splendid!
Anyway, the piece that has jumped out immediately is “Weak and Powerless”, and it needs a bookmark here.
Boy, that’s a whole lot of awesome in a pretty compact space. I just love that mood-setting dissonance in the guitar harmonics line during the verses, and the richness and quality of Keenan’s multipart vocal sound-painting, always compelling and authentic as a rule, here is simply breathtaking.
And the closer I listen, the more I can hear going on, especially in the music. I may have learned a little bit, thus far, about how to listen to a Keenan vocal, but APC music is still new to me, and I’m impressed by what I’m hearing: the calculated dissonances, the inventiveness of the arrangements and especially the little “demon snippet” decorations, and the sincerity of the mood.
Finally there is the lyrical subject matter, which on one hand is perfectly straightforward, but–typical for Keenan from what I’ve heard–it once again strikes me with its Jung-ian introspection and vivid imagery. (I can’t believe I’ve actually started to talk about song lyrics, but the phrase that comes to mind here is, “This is what authentic human empathy actually looks like.”)
Looking forward to digesting more on Thirteenth Step, and of course there are more APC albums I need to acquire. This…promises to be a happy and enriching exercise. 🙂
What’s funny is that as I went to find the above YouTube clip to link and embed here, I found something I can’t believe I missed before: Rick Beato’s treatment of exactly this song in his What Makes This Song Great? Episode 97:
Yeah, Rick does a great job–as usual–giving you some idea what’s behind all that richness. His channel is truly an amazing resource.
A bookmark here. As I’ve lately listened to Tool more and more, on the strength of my recent awakening, it’s almost impossible not to wonder about Maynard James Keenan’s creative process. I mean hell, just from listening to the music, it’s obvious that this is not a typical front man; aside from the content itself of what he sings and how–which I’d argue is self-evidently interesting on its own–the sheer, raw range of his delivery, mood, emotion, texture, and the creativity in orchestrating it all…well, this seems like someone who may have a creative process that is interesting in and of itself. (You know, for someone who appreciates the art in…well, everything.)
And I have already picked up a little bit about his process–such as that with Tool and A Perfect Circle, he only starts adding lyric and vocal content after the music, written by others, is complete; things like that. So, I figured the next step would be to see if I could see or hear him present himself, in an interview, etc. And I’ve now seen a couple such clips.
Oh boy. Yeah, sometimes the gut feeling is the correct one. This is an interesting person, and it doesn’t take long to see that what you get, in Tool, APC, Puscifer, etc., springs very directly and honestly from the man behind it. As just one illustrative example, it seems that the reason he doesn’t begin work on lyric or vocal content until he can hear the music that will present it…is because to do otherwise just won’t work. Shoehorning an existing lyric onto existing music, is not the same as discovering a lyric already present but hidden in the music. (And personally, I totally identify with that. I’ve long wondered, as goes the traditional process of naming human babies: how is it possible to give a name to a living being you haven’t even met yet? I see the same impulse here, the same need for authenticity.) And this also explains much about how Keenan drapes his voice over the music in such an unconventional way…
And the overall way he answers questions and presents himself, strikes me as densely full of little nuggets and observations like this, going way beyond music and even all the other myriad things the man does and has done. You quickly get a remarkably clear picture of an artist-perfectionist who is at once uninterested in the mediocre, yet fascinated with the authentic no matter how ordinary. Some may see a contradiction in that, but I sure don’t.
This clip is an interesting overview, and worth the bookmark:
There is also “The Art of Work” four-part series, which begins here; it’s quite illustrative. This one is an audio interview (ironically the audio is terrible) which also reveals much, and I just lovedthis interview, if for no other reason than his take on his much-publicized use of the Fibonacci sequence in allocating the syllabic structure of the verses in Tool’s “Lateralus”.
“…in general, music IS the phi ratio…it’s already here…by pointing it out; [by] staring at it, and pointing at it with those numbers…it’s good to let people know about it…but I almost feel like it was kind of a…it was kind of a dick joke, in a way…I could do better.”
Somehow, given the way his personality comes through with such apparent consistency across everything I’ve seen thus far, I don’t doubt he’s being quite honest about that.
And that’s awesome.
UPDATE 4/26: By chance, I ran across this clip of Keenan delivering what must be a speech to potential investors for his winery, Caduceus Cellars.
The mixing of the background music is frequently irritating (to me anyway–it’s mixed way too loud against the ambient reverb of Keenan’s voice, and obscures his words pretty regularly throughout) but the content seems very illustrative of Keenan’s attitude. It is–thus, I’d add–an outstanding compact manifesto for any artist who might be hesitant to embrace the unapologetic approach to his, or her, own art.
It seemed important to capture it here, for sharing with anyone* who needs reassurance that it can be done, and how to explain why.
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* Just to be real clear about this, although you’d probably be able to figure it out on your own without having to read all that much of my vomitus to see it: “Anyone”, here, absolutely includes myself.
Craftygrass 