"Loneliness sometimes gives me a quantity of creativeness - you're drinking another glass of wine and you're feeling even worse. Art doesn't work without pain; art also exists for compensating pain."
"When I was an adolescent, I was obsessed with having many commercial things, cars, clothes, stupid things. Now that I have all that, I include/understand that the superfluous things can turn to you into a very stupid idiot-type. In East Germany there were very few things, but there was also a feeling of solidarity that no longer exists. Now we are up to the neck in consumption, the ego, the individualism. Now before friendship, it is merchandise."
"The rolling R's didn't arise deliberately. It originated from itself because in that deep pitch you automatically sing that way. I'm no musician in the actual meaning. I don't know anything about instruments. But I'm supporting our music with my voice and lyrics well. It's a question of illustration, timbre and phonetics. We don't want to - for Heaven's sake - create a t-like style."
"Love is like a flower; even the most beautiful kind dies." "Love is Chris Isaak and milk."
"You've got a kind of inner store. When things aren't going well, you just go inside and get a glass of travel preserves for your soul, open it and fill up on it."
"Whatever I want, I get, and if I don't, I have a cigarette."
"No tengas miedo de lo q' alguien va a pensar de ti. La razon por la q' la gente dice q' nuestro sonido es tan real y diferente es por q' no tenemos miedo de hacer lo q' estamos haciendo." >Daron Malakian.
"Hubo ocasiones en q' nos mirabamos y decíamos:'no te soporto'. Pero luego refleccionamos y nos dimos cuenta q' no tiene sentido alguno estar disgustados. Ser una familia va como el decir q' somos una banda. Tenemos q' botar los egos para llegar a ser grandes. Con la banda hemos estado a punto de separarnos varias veces, y cada vez q' lo superamos se siente q' somos más fuertes. Como un dolor q' te rompe la cabeza." >Daron Malakian.
"como yo lo veo, hay q' darle a una canción como 9 meses de cuidado, para q' como un bebé se sienta terminada." >Daron Malakian.
"Yo tenía ataques de pánico, veía psiquiatras, tenía mucho q' ver con ese negosio. El arte y los negocios no se mezclan. La terapia no vale nada... uno va a un psiquiatra y lo único q' hacen es ponerte en medicamentos." >Daron Malakian.
“I have no interest in murder, and I have no interest in people dying, ... But I'm interested in people's minds, and sometimes Manson puts thoughts together that I find really interesting. Have you ever seen his unedited videos? He starts making a lot of sense. I'm sure people are scared of that, but to me, it's scarier to watch George Bush try to make sense.”
“[As for the group's political bite, there's no greater example than the recent single, B.Y.O.B ., inspired by a TV ad for the Army.] It glamorized going into the Army, ... It made it look like a party where everybody was going to have a good time.”
“When we were a club band, we always used to say, 'Man, if we ever see success, we'd like to open doors for other people, to push the boundaries and fully contribute something to art, to music, that is going to help it evolve instead of doing stuff for the sake of money or doing stuff for the sake of being popular.”
“System of a Down are one of the most misunderstood bands around. I mean, Armenian rock? What the fuck is that? Political? I could name so many more of our songs that aren't about politics than ones that are. And for a long time, everyone thought Serj wrote all of our tunes. Until this album came out, people thought he wrote all the lyrics. So there are so many different misunderstandings of System of a Down that I don't even let it bother me anymore. I'm just kind of used to it. Our first bio said something like 'four guys based out of LA who are Armenian and political,' and, well, it wasn't really right at all. I mean, we are all Armenian, but we didn't plan that.” “Back in the day, when the emperor or the king or whatever waged war, they went to war, too. But that's been lost in time.” “We don't belong to any one scene.”
“What we do is just all over. What [singer Serj Tankian] is playing on the keyboard sounds like the [Disneyland] Main Street Electrical Parade. I like it because we have never done anything like that before.”
“I played for about two seconds in the game. No one knew who I was. They were looking at me like, 'Who is this guy?' But I don't think that Frankie Avalon is the biggest System of a Down fan.”
“As a writer I kind of go crazy. I even had, like, at least 20 or 30 more songs to bring into the band. But we had to stop and get into the studio at some point.”
“It's important not to take yourself too seriously, ... and I think sometimes people take us a lot more seriously than we take ourselves, especially when it comes to politics. Politics, for me, is a reflection of the world I live in. But love is just as important as politics to me. They both exist in the world, you know? And if you don't reflect the entire world around you, then you're leaving something out.”
“I just wrote the song sitting in my car waiting for my girlfriend. That's about it, man. You will know what I mean when you hear the song.” “We wanted to make a record that was a success beyond where we were at. All of my favorite bands evolved, and I really wanted our band to evolve.”
“They'd say, 'It kind of sounds like this,' or 'It kind of sounds like that,'”
“I feel like people have only heard half a record so far,” "Mi punto con lo de Manson es q' al leer lo q' él a escrito te das cuenta q' hay un lado bueno en él, y no solamente el retrato de la maldad q' me han querido imponer. Yo también tengo un lado terrible. aunque lo mío no son los asesinatos." >Daron Malakian.
"Me preocupo mucho de los muchachos, de saber q' darles en el momento correcto. No es faci estar en una banda, hay q' mirar siempre a tu hermano." >Daron Malakian.
"Un montón de nuestro sentimiento es lo q' tratamos de traer a travéz de muestras emociones. Tu eres humano, y experimentas más de una emoción. Amas, odias, estás enojado, triste, hambriento, desensibilizado... No queremos ser solo una banda de agresión. tendemos a ser persibidos de esa forma..." >Daron Malakian.
"¿por qué la gente tiene q' categorizarlo? NO somos solamente una banda política... somos System Of A Down: 4 tipos armenios. no conozco ninguna banda como System Of A Down," >Daron Malakian.
"La categorización es muy frustrante. Se q' somos una banda Heavy en influencia, pero, ...no sé... ...Hay algo en nuestro sonido q' nos hace diferentes a las otras bandas de metal... si es q' somos una banda de metal..." >Daron Malakian.
"El Humor es gran parte de nuestra emoción. Si no hubiera odio, no habría amor... Si no Hubieran risas, no habrían llantos... Todo es parte de todo." >Daron Malakian.
"Estar en el escenario me lleva a un lugar totalmente diferente. Amo convertirme en esa persona diferente en el escenario. Otro lado entero de Daron sale. En el escenario me expreso de formas q' nunca lo haría en un día común..." >Daron malakian.
"La gente no debería usar la televisión como su único origen de información. Si tu usas la televisión para obtener tus noticias, estás en problemas (dirigiéndose al periodista). Apaga la TV y ve adonde te llevan tus ideas. No es la pistola lo q' es malo. es el hombre q' la usa quien hace el daño. creo q' lo mismo podría decirse de la TV..." >Daron Malakian.
"Basicamente a SOAD le gusta Joder las cosas y tener a la gente pensando. Si tu puedes hacer q' la gente se ría, piense y llore... todo al mismo tiempo... Qué arte más genial!!!... y no digo q' mi arte sea genial. Necesita hacerme sentir un montón de emociones..." >Daron Malakian.
"Hay un montón de mierda mala en el mundo... pero esa no es una razón para dejar de vivir la vida..." >Daron Malakian.
"Despierta!!!! ...y no necesariamente en un sentido político, pero sólo piensa libremente y piensa más." >Daron Malakian.
"uso mi música como mi lienzo para pintar... Uso diferentes colores... excepto q' los colores son sonidos, son notas..." >Daron Malakian.
"I feel like you're a cartoon! I cant help it,you're just so unreal!"
"I breakdance.."
"we're four Armenians,ARMENIANS ! what the fuck!"
"if someone said "you're music will live forever I'd be like, 'okay ' that's very fair to me"
"My guitars not working...I have nothing to do with this!"
"this sucks and so do we."
"I fucking hate equiptment ! I hate things that are not human."
"I like to play candyland."
"I like to see the stoned chinese guy."
"this song goes out to the girl with the bouncing tits!"
"because I take drugs!!"
"everyone in Holland is a junkie."
"that's what you get for smoking too much dope!"
"clap you hands for fun because this song is about a little bunny rabbit, and with this bunny rabbit we get to smoke pot, so give it up for pot, and with this bunny rabbit we get to drink beer, so clap your hands for beer!"
"I'm the guy that says sugar"
"do more drugs!drink a beer.Eat more pussy!"
"I like to watch retarded people have sex,am I alone?"
"fuck off I hate you,I hate everybody,eveybody should die"
"I'm Daron, I play guitar and sing sometimes"
"It's hot as hell here .Holland shouldnt be hot,It should be cold. it should always be cold in Holland."
"Fuck politics!Fuck religion!Fuck you're television!Someone say shut the fuck up Daron!"
"the only reticulated breathing I do is through a bong."
"you people are fuckin crazy!.....CRAZY! go crazy mother-fuckreeeeeeeee!"
"I don't know that guy onstage or were he comes from"
"thank you very much you motherfuckers"
"I love you fucking people even though I cuss at you a lot.I love you fucking people!"
"I'm so pissed off today,you don't even know it"
"this one is coming straight out of your fucking ass"
"we're not a polotical band....sometimes, we're not even a band"
"Everybody you lazy fucks!Everybody!Americans are so lazy!Clap your hands !"
"I'm an old sould when it comes to music"
"we've had shows where John played naked through the whole show"
"I'm gonna hurt the camera man tonite...."
"this song goes out to our grandparents"- souls 2004
“One of the great things about young people is that they do question, that they do care deeply about justice, and they they have open minds.”
“If today I had a young mind to direct, to start on the journey of life, and I was faced with the duty of choosing between the natural way of my forefathers and that of the... present way of civilization, I would, for its welfare, unhesitatingly set that child's feet in the path of my forefathers. I would raise him to be an Indian!” “I'm in this band to give volume to various struggles throughout the world. To me, the tension in this band is a minimal sacrifice.”
“Brothers and sisters, our democracy has been hi-jacked. Brothers and sisters, all of our total freedom in this country is over, so long as it is controlled by corporations. Brothers and sisters, we are not going to allow these streets to be taken over by the Democrats or the Republicans!”
“Let me say straight up that tonight's benefit is not to support cop killers or any other kind of killers.”
“It is important for me, as a popular artist, to make clear to the governments of the United States and Mexico that despite the strategy of fear and intimidation to foreigners, despite their weapons, despite their immigration laws and military reserves, they will never be able to isolate the Zapatista communities from the people in the United States.”
"God has seen your tears and heard your prayers. Fear not, the child will not die." "When the bell tolls three times, it will announce that I have been killed. If I am killed by common men, you and your children will rule Russia for centuries to come; if I am killed by one of your stock, you and your family will be killed by the Russian people! Pray Tsar of Russia. Pray. "
“Part of me is afraid to get close to people because I'm afraid that they're going to leave.”
“When you're taught to love everyone, to love your enemies, then what value does that place on love?”
“When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed.”
“We live in a society of victimization, where people are much more comfortable being victimized than actually standing up for themselves.”
“You should have to pass an IQ test before you breed. You have to take a driving test to operate vehicles and an SAT test to get into college. So why dont you have to take some sort of test before you give birth to children? When I am President, thats the first rule I will institute.”
“I never said to be like me, I say to be like you and make a difference.”
“Is adult entertainment killing our children? or is killing our children entertaining our adults?” “The burden of originality is one that most people don't want to accept. They'd rather sit in front of the TV and let that tell them what they're supposed to like, what they're supposed to buy, and what they're supposed to laugh at.”
“Marilyn Monroe wasn't even her real name, Charles Manson isn't his real name, and now, I'm taking that to be my real name. But what's real? You can't find the truth, you just pick the lie you like the best.”
“I feel like someone who I wouldn't let my own daughter fuck, and I also feel like someone who, if I was that daugther, would want to fuck more that anyone else.”
“Look down at me and you see a fool; look up at me and you see a god; look straight at me and you see yourself”
“You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy.”
“You eat meat and you kill things that are better than you are, and then you say how bad, and even killers, your children are. You made your children what they are....”
“These children that come at you with knives, they are your children. You taught them. I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up.”
“I'm not your executioner. I'm not your devil and I'm not your God. I'm Charles Manson.”
“You expect to break me? Impossible! You broke me years ago. You killed me years ago....”
“I can't judge any of you. I have no malice against you and no ribbons for you. But I think that it is high time that you all start looking at yourselves, and judging the lie that you live in.”
“Believe me, if I started murdering people… there'd be none of you left!”
“I can't dislike you, but I will say this to you: you haven't got long before you are all going to kill yourselves, because you are all crazy. And you can project it back at me ... but I am only what lives inside each and every one of you.”
“We're not in Wonderland anymore Alice.”
“The real strong have no need to prove it to the phonies.”
“I will have you removed if you don't stop. I have a little system of my own.”
“No sense makes sense”
“If I could get angry at you, I would try to kill every one of you. If that's guilt, I accept it....”
“My father is the jailhouse. My father is your system.... I am only what you made me. I am only a reflection of you.”
“If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy.”
“From the world of darkness I did loose demons and devils in the power of scorpions to torment.”
“In fact, it makes me mad when someone kills snakes or dogs or cats or horses. I don't even like to eat meat - that is how much I am against killing....”
“Remorse for what? You people have done everything in the world to me. Doesn't that give me equal right?”
“You are going to use this courtroom to kill me? I am going to fight for my life one way or another. You should let me do it with words.”
“So for you people who are filled with fear that I might someday be released: breathe easy, I don't see it happening.”
“I'm probably one of the most dangerous men in the world if I want to be. But I never wanted to be anything but me.”
“Ego is the man, the male image. Ego is the phallic symbol, the helmet, the gun. The man behind the gun, the mind behind the man behind the gun. My philosophy is that ego is the thinking mind. The mind you scheme with, make war with. They shoved all the love in the back, hid it away. Ego is like, "I'm going to war with my ego stick."”
“I have X'd myself from your world.”
“I know and understand you are much more than what I think you are but first I must deal with you the way I think you even if that's only my own thinking and not you.”
“Well, we’re our own prisons. We each our own wardens & we do our own times. We get stuck in our own little trips & we kind a judge ourselves the way we do. You know, I can’t judge uh, nobody else, best thing I can do is try to judge myself & live with that. See, what other people do is not really my affair, unless they approach me with it, & want me to do something about it, uh, then I’ll uh take into consideration what has to be done. But other than that I just uh, try to do my number, & do my time.”
“A baby is born into this world in a state of fear. Total paranoia and awareness. He sees the world with eyes not used yet. As he grows up, his parents lay all this stuff on him. They tell him, when they should be letting him tell them. Let the children lead you.”
“I told them that anything they do for their brothers and sisters is good if they do it with a good thought....”
“My relationship to music is completely subliminal, it just flows through me.”
“They're looking for something dirty in everything, and if you're looking for something, you'll find it. You have to put up some kind of face for them, and that's the only face they understand.”
“I have killed no one and I have ordered no one to be killed.”
“If you're going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy.”
“Forgivness is The ultimate sacrifice. Eloquence belongs, To the conqueror.”
““As a kid, you see something that you know in your heart is true. It’s such a huge hypocrisy that it makes you think, ‘Well, if this is a truth that I know about that’s not officially accepted, at least in this country, then how many other truths are there that are under the surface that need to come out?’””
“We fought your wars with all our hearts You've sent us back in body parts You took our wills with the truth you stole We offer prayers for your long lost soul”
“I like the dynamics of life, ... I like it when it rains, and suddenly the sun comes out, and I like it when it's really silent and then a loud booming noise comes through. Or vice-versa.”
“I've had people come up to me with the strangest interpretations of what lyrics might mean, and I'm like, 'You go! I never thought of that, but that works,' ... I think true art is a universal reflection, and true artists are just messengers of that reflection - or, at best, skilled presenters.”
“People think our music's very aggressive or angry or whatever, and it's just the opposite, really, ... I like laughing. And I like being really calm before a show, and smiley.”
“Civilization is a failure. We need to think what we can do together in love and peace.”
“It's all in his hands, he's the man,”
“I’d rather let the music speak for itself,”
“Society's a fucking failure.”
“I'm not comfortable with just entertaining. Although I like entertaining, I also like bringing forward the truth of our times as minstrels used to in the old days.”
“Why don't presidents fight the war?/ Why do they always send the poor? ... B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs).”
“That's been a strength in some ways, but it's also an understanding of the dynamics of music and the different beats and melodies that wouldn't be common to a non-Armenian.” “I could definitely use a little time at home. It's been about two months on the road. The tour has gone really well, but I wouldn't mind coming home to relax for a little while.”
“The packaging is designed so that when people buy the second record, they can attach it to the first, making it a double record,”
“By allowing this vote, and allowing the will of Congress to be freely expressed, you will be doing the right thing morally and, at the same time, encouraging Turkey to deal honestly with its past and more openly with its future,”
“Nations are like people. Once you understand the interactions between nations, it's easy to understand why things are done, in terms of foreign policy, in a certain way. But nations are not like people in the sense that we are cumulatively represented by others - and their interpretations of what our interests are may not be the same as what they really are. And that's what's dangerous, even in a democracy.”
“those that have prescribed the solution through the good feeling of the music itself, like the Beatles and Bob Marley and Bob Dylan.”
“There's a commonality there, a common denominator culturally,”
“Everybody's going to the party have a real good time.”
“The percentage of Americans in the prison system, Prison system, has doubled since 1985”
“This will be our first live video per se, ... We've had videos where we've had fans and we played live, but it's never been at a venue that we would actually play.”
“This track's pretty mellow in comparison to let's say a 'B.Y.O.B.' or something like that, ... But I'm glad we're going out with this track. It's a beautiful song.”
“It's got the whole melodic thing still, but it's little more progressive, a little more emotion here and there, ... But they both come from the same sessions.”
“It's probably a combination of personal and non-personal matters that have led us to where we are musically,”
“I don't find most people to be as politically engaged as I am. I do find people that appreciate eye-opening events and words, and who want to learn more about what's going on. I do find people with a lot of opinions. And I get a lot of people who come up to me and give us props for what we do.”
“It's important for all people, and not just people in bands, to speak out on social justice issues. That means journalists or plumbers have just as much of a responsibility to do that as artists.”
“Cause we are the ones that want to play, always want to go, but you never want to stay.
And we are the ones that want to choose, always want to play, but you never want to lose.”
“Making two possibilities a reality. Predicting the future of things we all know. Fighting off the diseased programming Of centuries, centuries, centuries, centuries. Science fails to recognise the single most Potent element of human existence. Letting the reigns go to the unfoldings faith, Science has failed our world. Science has failed our mother earth.”
“We want to encourage him to do the right thing and bring it to the floor for a vote, ... (Hastert) has had the opportunity to do it twice before and has not for different reasons. It's been five years and everyone is tired of waiting.”
“They're great songwriters in the tradition of the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Their songs are beautiful and filled with all sorts of wonderful textures. It's all very emotional and moving. It's the first outside project I've ever produced.” “We thought it would make a stronger impact to come here with the resolutions going through the House [of Representatives], you know and try to, try to let Dennis know that we're still here and we want him to do the right thing and bring up the vote in Congress on the Armenian genocide resolution.”
“Praise the Lord! Pass the ammunition! God wants you to go to war! (From live performance of 'War?')”
“It was kind of luck or destiny that it ended up this way,”
“We first fought the heathens in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change.”
"Mis palabras se me escapan como yo escapo de ellas..." >Serj Tankian.
"Quiero ser recordado, no más y no menos q' como a un arbol al lado del camino." >Serj Tankian.
"La mano tiene 5 dedos, poderosos y capaces ...de crear o de destruir..." >Serj Tankian.
"Todo lo q' hago es parte de mi, pero nada de lo q' hago es todo mío..." >Serj Tankian.
"Yo no leo entrevistas, no escucho radio y no veo televisión... No tengo tiempo." >Serj Tankian.
"La defensa propia es perfectamente justa. Todos creemos q' empezar una pelea está mal, pero si es en defensa propia, entonces no tienes otra opción. La defensa propia es la única razón q' puedo ver para violencia justificada. pero es más importante q' la gente aprenda q' la violencia no es la respuesta. Atacar a alguien no lleva nada a cabo. sólo significa q' eres demasiado estúpido, ignorante o primitivo como para enfrentarlo de cualquier otra forma." >Serj Tankian.
"Ponemos tanta atención con nuestra mente q' estamos perdiendo el tacto con nuestra visión verdadera. Desde el momento en q' nos separamos de la tierra, como religión, nos convertimos muy lógicos y esclavos de nuestra mente." >Serj Tankian.
"Me gustaria saber q' tenemos un grupo particular de personas q' aprecien verdaderamente lo q' hacemos, más q' sea un gigantesco grupo de gente q' nos conoce porq' nuestros videos salen en TV. No quiero q' nuestra verdadera base de fans se mezcle con el ganado q' sigue lo q' está de moda." >Serj Tankian.
“I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.” “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are” “I really haven't had that exciting of a life. There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life. So I pretty much like to make it up. I'd rather tell a story about somebody else.” “It's better to burn out than fade away.” “Never met a wiseman if so it's a woman!” “Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with with your self esteem.” “Rather be dead than cool” “If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got.” “The worst crime is faking it” “Vadalism: beautiful as a rock in a cop's face.” “If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask someone else first.” I'm so happy because today I found my friends- they're in my head” “I hate myself and I want to die” “We're so trendy we cant even escape ourselves.” “It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings.” “If it's illegal to rock and roll, throw my ass in jail!” “We have no right to express an opinion until we know all of the answers.” “That's what music is entertainment. The more you put yourself into it, the more of you comes out in it.” “Before i die many will die with me and they will deserve it. See you in hell.” “Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock.” “Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you” “I like to feel prejudice towards people who are prejudice” “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” “I've always had a problem with the average macho man- they've always been a threat to me.” “And I swear that I don't have a gun” “I used to try to make my head explode by holding my breath, thinking that if I blew up my head, they'd [mom and dad] be sorry.” “I'm gonna be a superstar musician, kill myself and go out in a flame of glory, just like Jimi Hendrix” “Thought the sun is gone, I have a light.” “I bought a gun and chose drugs instead.” “I am not read well, but when I do read, I read well” “"The duty of youth is to challenge corruption"” “I'm too busy acting like I'm not Naive. I've seen it all, I was here first.” “I wont eat anything green” “I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn't.” “"All in all is all we are."”“"
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