Ok, so we see that the fourth song played was Paranoid Android by Radiohead, but why do I have that on my iPod? Is it one of only a few Radiohead songs? Do I have the entire album? All of Radiohead's albums? Do I like the song? Etc. (Don't lie to yourselves, you all know this is information you must have about me to feel complete)
So what I'm about to do here, essentially, is to kill two birds with one stone.
- I can continue to share with you information about music that I listen too, but also delve deeper into what I think of it. And....
- Whenever I have absolutely nothing to write about I can type up another quick Discography, and voila! Blog entry.
So here is how I'm going to do it. I will take one band at a time, and then write a little review about each of their albums in chronological order. Now I'm not a music critic so my reviews aren't going to be the typical bullshit you usually get from these things. I won't discuss the deeper musical tones and chord progressions cuz frankly I don't know enough about any of that shit to sound even remotely competent. On top of all that, generally who gives a fuck about that shit? Only other music critics who probably masturbate to it.
Instead I'll just give my own personal thoughts, and maybe some insights into what specific songs meant to me at the time of their release. Like the album that I used to get over a girlfriend and a nasty breakup. That kind of stuff. Music on a more personal level.
So deciding the first band I would do this for was pretty simple. System of a Down has climbed the ranks of my music collection to the top where they keep a firm grip on "My Favorite Band" status. One need not look past my iTunes to realize this, as 13 of the Top 25 Played Songs in my library are System of a Down songs.
So let's begin.
System of a Down-System of a Down Released June 30th, 1998
I first heard about System of a Down in a chatroom way back in the day on AOL. I didn't have a computer in my house at the time, so I was at the Eighth Grader's house. (The Eighth Grader being Mike Partipilo. Member of the Keepin It Real Shit List.) These were back in my metal days, when I didn't listen to much else. I was pissed off at the world, for what I don't know, I think cuz I was s'posed to be. Anyway I was in a chatroom and some kid brought up a band I had never heard of called System of a Down. He said he had just seen them play in Philadelphia and that they were just awesome. He went on and on for like 2 hours talking about them. So one day about a year later I was in a Best Buy, and I happened upon System of a Down. Remembering them immediately from the previous chatroom conversation, and noticing a little yellow sticker that sported a price of $6.99 there was absolutely no way in hell I could pass this up. So I bought it and quickly headed home to listen to it. From the very first track, Suite-Pee, in which vocalist Serj Tankian went from a high pitched falsetto to a bass heavy bark repeatedly, I knew I was in for a wild ride. System of a Down had done something that not many bands had done before them, nor have since. They had a sound that was unlike anything I had ever heard before. I couldn't call it metal, I couldn't call it punk, I couldn't call it anything. I remember describing it to Silvio, and leaving him absolutely clueless cuz I didn't know what to say. All I could do was play it for him. The entire album is completely schizophrenic, but in a way that makes absolute sense. Plus, unlike the majority of bands I was listening to at the time, the songs were of a political tone, not just pointless anger. System of a Down actually changed me in a way that helped me get from the stupid angry teenager, to the somewhat smarter, more sophisticated idiot that sits here before you today. It made me think about things, and I think that's what good music does, it changes you forever.
Three Favorite Tracks
- Sugar
- Spiders
- Peephole
System of a Down-Toxicity Released September 4th, 2001
It's a good thing I liked SOAD's first album, cuz they took over three god damn years to come out with a second one. This was mostly due to the fact it took a while for System of a Down to take off cuz it was so weird. Finally the single, Sugar, took off and then SOAD went touring for a long time to support the album. Finally the band released the first single from their second album, Chop Suey!, and I knew the wait was worth it. I still can't make sense of what the hell the verse is supposed to mean, but I think that's the point.
Wake up!/Grab a brush and put on a lil makeup/Hide the scars that fade away the shake up/Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?/Here you go create another fable-You wanted to!
Though Toxicity isn't as eccentric as the band's first effort, it was more poignant and polished. The lyrics were more to the point and the politics of the band were apparent from the first track, Prison Song; in which the band argues for changes in America's drug policy all while reciting facts about the numbers of Americans in prison and includes the repeated line-They're trying to build a prison!- For you and me. The album's main subject though is the band's home city of LA. It is the Toxic City in which the album is named for. Songs on this album range from every topic from tapeworm removal (Needles), and the Armenian genocide (X), to science's effect on the Earth (Science), and insane coke addled groupies (Psycho). This album would stand up as my favorite SOAD album for 4 years.
Three Favorite Tracks
- Chop Suey!
- Forest
- Deer Dance
System of a Down-Steal This Album! Released November 26th, 2002
This album was really nothing more than a collection of songs the band recorded during the Toxicity sessions, and just didn't make the album. In fact I had heard about half this album cuz the tracks were included on the bootleg version of Toxicity Kevin had burned me before it's actual release. Considering the fact that all these songs are essentially B-sides, it's a very strong effort. There really isn't a terrible song in the bunch, but at the same time there is no huge standout. The album was released a year after 9/11 (Notice Toxicity came out exactly a week BEFORE 9/11) and included new songs (Boom!) that centered around the US being in Afghanistan, and the impending war with Iraq. It proved once again, that SOAD is not afraid to voice their opinion, no matter how far left or right it may be.
Three Favorite Tracks
- I-E-A-I-A-I-O
- Mr. Jack
- Highway Song
System of a Down-Mezmerize Released May 17th, 2005
Again SOAD tortured me with a 2.5 year wait until the release of a new album. This one was to be a double album, with each disc released 6 months apart. The first one, Mezmerize, absolutely blew me away. I had started to get to that point that I think every music fan get's to at some point when they love a band. Wondering, "Is this the album that they start to suck?" It generally happens to every band at some point, and only a few come back from Suckdom. Of course once I heard the first single, B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs), I knew this album wouldnt be it. Featuring a chorus of
Everybody's going to the party/Have a real good time/Dancing in the desert/Blowing up the sunshine
And then everybody's favorite questions,
Why do they always send the poor?/Why don't Presidents fight the wars?
It was quite apparent that the band hadn't lost it's zeal for politics and peace advocate nature. Listening to the entire album though, there isn't even a song on it in my opinion that ranks below Awesome. You know, like when a band puts out a great album, but there's always that one song on it that you just don't like and skip over? Well this album doesn't have that song. In fact doing the Top 3 for this album will be incredibly hard for me, as I love every single fucking song on it. Revenga, Cigaro, Radio/Video, This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On This Song(BTW, that's up for greatest song title of all time),Violent Pornography, Question!, Sad Statue, Old School Hollywood, Lost in Hollywood, they're all fucking great. If I were to be stranded on a desert island, and could only choose 5 albums to bring with me for all eternity, Mezmerize would be on that island with me.
Three Favorite Tracks (Only cuz I have to)
- B.Y.O.B.
- Question!
- Violent Pornography (How can a song that includes the chorus, It's a violent pornography/Choking chicks and sodomy/The kinda shit/You get on your TV not be good?)
System of a Down-Hypnotize Released November 22nd, 2005
Remember the question from the last album? Is this the one where the band starts to suck? Well with Hypnotize, System of a Down get dangerously close. Where as there are enough good songs on here to salvage it, it just feels like Steal This Album! should have felt. Instead of a B-Side album coming across as a full blown studio effort, the studio effort came across as the B-side album. When you listen to it there really isn't a song strong enough to be a single. I don't hate this album by any means, but of all five System albums, this is by far my least favorite.
Three Favorite Tracks
- Lonely Day
- Attack
- U-Fig
System of a Down is:
- Serj Tankian-vocals
- Daron Malakian-vocals, guitar
- Shavo Odadjian-bass
- John Dolmayan-drums
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