Tool timed last four songs of Lateralus to 2001: A Space Odyssey

If you’ll watch the following video, you may agree that Tool intentionally timed the music for the last four tracks of Lateralus to the last segment of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Video: Tool & 2001: A Space Odyssey

Having watched it several times already, here’s what I noticed (click on the time to go directly to that point in the video):

• When playing the last segment of 2001 (starting from the spot where it says “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite”), in combination with the last four tracks on the album Lateralus (Disposition, Reflection,Triad and Faap de Oiad), they begin and end at PRECISELY the same time.
• 01:14 – The introduction of the tabla drum, in Disposition, coincides very closely with the rotating monolith. The objects on the screen also start moving down instead of up at this point.
• 02:55 – The guitar transitions into a new melody as the sun is fades in , as the sun fades out this melody transitions to a different one. The melody fades out precisely as the star leaves the right-hand side of the screen with the flash of the corona.
• 04:11 – As the camera zooms into the ship the music transitions to Reflection.
• 04:50 – When Reflection transitions into the drum-intensive part, the man Dave begins to travel through the trippy lights. This is where the music really gets intensely coordinated with the film.
• 09:00 – the guitar’s transition to a new melody begins exactly as the camera changes shots.
• 11:18 – When Maynard begins singing about the source of the reflection, the scene shifts to Mars and begins to zoom into the planet.
• 13:45 – When Maynard begins singing about ego-loss (crucify the ego before its far too late…), the camera begins to ascend up a mountain.
• 15:00 – Reflection ends in the bedroom where the astronaut (Dave) sees himself at several stages in his life.
• 16:00 – As reflection fades out (and Triad begins), the movie scene transitions to the scene where Dave is walking around in a red suit. As Dave walks closer to the point where he sees himself in the mirror the music crescendos.
• 20:10 – A musical transition occurs as Dave sets his wine chalace down onto the table.
• 20:22 – A musical transition occurs as Dave knocks the wine chalace onto the floor.
• 20:40 – When Dave looks up and begins to notice himself as an old man laying in bed the music begins to intensify.
• 21:17 – The music climaxes as the bed-ridden Dave starts reaching up to point at the monolith.
• 22:20 – As the music de-crescendos the film zooms into the monolith.

There are many things that I noticed which I cannot describe very well; my intuition tells me that there is something to this. The first couple of times that I watched it, I began to realize the connections and I noticed chills running along my spine.

I’m going to think about this some more and revise this with more thoughts later… Please feel free to add your own observations.