Tool has unexpectedly been in the news after climber Alex Honnold said he listened to a playlist featuring Maynard James Keenan and company while completing his free solo scaling of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan that streamed live during a Netflix special Saturday. If you were wondering, the story of Honnold’s climbing feat and music choice did indeed make its way to Keenan.
“Not everybody and their mother texted me every three seconds telling me about it or anything,” Keenan jokes while speaking with ABC Audio.
When he first heard of Honnold’s ascent up one of the world’s tallest buildings without any ropes, Keenan’s reaction was, “Jesus, what b****.”
“What the heck were you thinking, dude?” Keenan says. “It’s impressive! It’s extremely impressive, but, I mean, I wouldn’t make it past the first floor. I would fall to my death.”
Needless to say, Keenan was happy that Honnold was the one doing the climbing while he provided the soundtrack. Barring that, he has an idea of what role he can play if Honnold embarks on another climb.
“I’ll be the guy down below eating french fries making fun of him,” Keenan says.
Keenan will release a new album with Puscifer, Normal Isn’t, on Feb. 6.
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