Stinkfist

For the 1987 EP by Lydia Lunch and Clint Ruin, see Stinkfist (EP).

"Stinkfist"
Song

"Stinkfist" is a 1996 song by American rock band Tool. It was the first single and music video from their second full-length album, Ænima. Due to its name and perceived subject, the song had its lyrics altered and its title changed by TV and radio programmers, who also shortened the track.

Writing

The song was most likely written during Tool's four-month tour break between July and November 1994, along with "Pushit" - both were performed at many concerts in winter 1994 and throughout 1995. Although the song's bass line was written by the bands then-bassist Paul D'Amour, D'Amour left the band shortly before the Ænima sessions and was replaced by Justin Chancellor, who performed all bass on the album and became the band's new bassist.

Interpretation

During an interview, Keenan stated that the song is titled after a friend of drummer Danny Carey who "isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty." He also stated that it can be interpreted as being about "fist-fucking" but "if [you] really look at it and really look at us and who we are, [you'll] understand that we go a little deeper than some write-off song about fist-fucking."

Music video

The music video for "Stinkfist" was created with stop-motion animation techniques, and was directed by the band's guitarist Adam Jones (who had previous experience in art direction and animation). It focuses on a race of sand people who suck on tubes and swallow nails and wires that apparently hurt them and are ejected from their bodies, after which they are put in jars and treasured. Another race of mutants has entrails that are plugged into a wall. At least one reviewer compared the visuals to the works of H. R. Giger.

The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV, although it was shown only with the title "Track #1" instead of "Stinkfist". MTV reasoned that "Stinkfist" is too offensive for public consumption. Matt Pinfield, the host of 120 Minutes, responded on air to the lot of email complaints from fans by saying there was nothing he could do about it. While he said "if you don't know the name of the song, go out and buy the album," he was waving his fist in front of his face. When introducing the video, VJ Kennedy would also sniff her clenched fist dramatically before saying "Track #1".

External links

• The unofficial Tool FAQ