Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Feels They “Missed the Boat” with Streaming

Some good things come with time. Like, a lot of time. For example, years and years after everyone and their mom were putting their music on streaming services (besides Prince and Aaliyah but that’s a different story for a different site, I suppose), Tool basically refused to do so. They caved in August of 2019, leading to every single Tool album charting on the Billboard 200 and Top Rock Albums charts now that people were able to digitally access them. Who would’ve thought? Not me (but no, I actually would’ve thought so because why on Earth wouldn’t that have been the outcome?)

Like every other dude in the wrong who takes a monumental amount of time to realize they’re wrong, Keenan has done the same. He finally admitted to feeling the band waited too long to get their music on streaming services, and I’m pretty sure almost everyone in the goddamn world agrees with him.

“I feel like we missed the boat. Like it started with downloads, you know, 24 years ago. And then by the time we actually came out, downloads are done. We missed 20 years of reaching two generations of people to understand what it is that we do, in a format that, you know… I don’t like listening to the mp3 version. I listen to CDs and vinyl.

“But that’s the gateway to get them into the vinyl and the CDs. And I feel like we made a mistake not being on those on those mediums for 20 years. Me every year, saying ‘we should do this.’”

Keenan couldn’t help but also mention a victory inadvertently attained for him and the band against the many Swifties of the world:

“Well fans that knew about it. There’s an entire two generations that didn’t. That’s why [there was] the big surprise when we ended up bumping Taylor Swift off the chart for her second week.”

Good for you, Maynard. Good for you.