Serj Tankian Confused as to How Fans Missed System of a Down’s Political Message
System of a Down singer Serj Tankian has expressed befuddlement over how some of the band’s fans have missed the political messages inherent in the group’s songs.
Tankian told Side Jams with Bryan Reesman:
“I’ve always explained music like pizza — some people like the crust, some people like the cheese, some people like the topping. So when I get people on my socials that are, ‘I love your music, but I don’t wanna hear your political ideas,’ that’s fair enough — if they’re nice enough, it’s fair enough, but sometimes they’re really mean.
“But what I don’t understand, and a lot of other people that follow the music say the same thing. They’re, like, ‘Have you not listened to the fucking words in 20 years? He’s been saying all this stuff through his music all this time. What are you, just dancing to it because it’s groovy? You’re not really getting the message?’”
Tankian went on to say that at least some of the band’s admirers “never even thought that ‘B.Y.O.B.’ is anti-fucking-imperialist maybe,” adding, “I don’t know how you can [miss that message], but I guess maybe.”
System of a Down made headlines earlier this week when Tankian called for Donald Trump to resign from office following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that murder inspired, while drummer John Dolmayan praised Trump as “the greatest friend to minorities.”
[via Metal Injection]
