As you might have already guessed, toolgasm is a contraction of the words Tool (as in the band) and orgasm. The term was coined by a guy who went by the screen name Stubbs, and brought to the public by him in a post in the alt.music.tool newsgroup. Needless to say, all the regular posters in the group wet their pants in ecstacy over this new word.

So what is it? A toolgasm is a place in a tool song or album in which the listener reaches a level of maximum listening pleasure. A good example would be the end of eulogy, where Maynard screams goodbye for 15 seconds or so.

Back when Maynard's other band's cd was released, someone proposed a similar concept, called "a perfect climax", but it never really caught on in the land of alt.music.tool.

Some of my favourite toolgasms:

  • Intolerance at 03:38 ("how can I toleraaaaaaaaaate you?")
  • Swamp Song at 03:44 ("why don't you geeeeeeeeet out?"), and again at 04:10 ("no one told you to come")
  • Stinkfist at 3:50 ("something kind of sad about the way that things have come to be")
  • Pushit at 06:17 ("never wanna see that place agaaaaaain")
  • The Patient at 05:52 and onward, for the rest of the song (Good one!)
  • The transition between Parabol and Parabola. That one literally made me shout out in joy and happiness the first time I heard it.
If you're a Tool fan, you should get the point by now. And if you're not, well, you should be able to grasp the idea too.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.