Editing System of a Down (section)

=== Lyrical themes ===
System of a Down's lyrics are often oblique<ref name="AllmusicToxicity">{{cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |url=https://allmusic.com/album/toxicity-r547443/review |title=Toxicity – System of a Down |website=AllMusic |date=September 4, 2001 |access-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429055747/http://allmusic.com/album/toxicity-r547443/review |url-status=live }}</ref> or [[dadaist]]<ref name="AllmusicToxicity" /><ref name=popmattersmezmerize/> and have discussed topics such as drug abuse,<ref name="AllmusicToxicity" /> politics<ref name="AllmusicToxicity" /><ref name="AllmusicMezmerize">{{cite web |last=Loftus |first=Johnny |url=https://allmusic.com/album/mezmerize-r737666/review |title=Mezmerize – System of a Down |website=AllMusic |date=May 17, 2005 |access-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426234223/http://allmusic.com/album/mezmerize-r737666/review |url-status=live }}</ref> and suicide.<ref name="AllmusicToxicity" /> "Prison Song" criticizes the [[War on Drugs]]<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/2001/09/03/system-down/ |title=System of a Down |magazine=EW.com |date=January 17, 2015 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019101653/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,173181,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> whereas ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' describes "Roulette" as a "scared, wounded love letter".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/272714/review/6067555/steal_this_album |title=Rolling Stone : System of a Down: Steal This Album : Music Reviews |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=November 19, 2002 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410071853/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/272714/review/6067555/steal_this_album |archive-date=April 10, 2009 }}</ref> "Boom!", among the band's most straightforward and unambiguous songs, lambasts [[globalization]] and spending on bombs and armament.<ref name="nmestealthisalbum">{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/6887 |title=NME Reviews – System Of A Down : Steal this Album |publisher=Nme.com |date=September 12, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=January 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126042800/http://www.nme.com/reviews/6887 |url-status=live }}</ref> Commenting on the track "I-E-A-I-A-I-O", drummer John Dolmayan said it was inspired by an encounter he had with ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s actor [[David Hasselhoff]] in a liquor store in Los Angeles when he was around 12.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Hartmann|first1=Graham|title=System of a Down's John Dolmayan Reveals Lyrical Inspiration for 'I-E-A-I-A-I-O'|url=http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-john-dolmayan-lyrical-inspiration-i-e-a-i-a-i-o/|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|publisher=[[Townsquare Media]]|access-date=August 2, 2014|date=July 14, 2014|archive-date=July 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721043444/http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-john-dolmayan-lyrical-inspiration-i-e-a-i-a-i-o/|url-status=live}}</ref> On ''[[Mezmerize]]'', "Cigaro" makes explicit references to [[phalus|phallic imagery]]<ref name="ewmezmerize" /> and [[bureaucracy]]<ref name=popmattersmezmerize/> while "Violent Pornography" harshly views television<ref name=ewmezmerize>{{cite magazine |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/2005/05/16/mezmerize/ |title=Mezmerize |magazine=EW.com |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019102759/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1060789,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and degradation of women.<ref name=pitchforkmezmerize>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11839-mezmerize-hypnotize/ |title=System of a Down: Mezmerize / Hypnotize &#124; Album Reviews |publisher=Pitchfork.com |date=November 21, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=March 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319043055/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11839-mezmerize-hypnotize/ |url-status=live }}</ref> System of a Down's discontent toward the controversial [[Iraq War]] arises in "B.Y.O.B.",<ref name=popmattersmezmerize>{{cite web |last=Begrand |first=Adrien |url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/systemofadown-mesmerize/ |title=System of a Down: Mezmerize |date=May 24, 2005 |publisher=PopMatters.com |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=June 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630164102/http://www.popmatters.com/review/systemofadown-mesmerize/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/7309436/review/7313411/mezmerize |title=Rolling Stone : System of a Down: Mezmerize : Music Reviews |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=June 2, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423133511/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/7309436/review/7313411/mezmerize |archive-date=April 23, 2009 }}</ref> which is a [[double entendre]] reference to beer and bombs,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20147981,00.html |title=Picks and Pans Review: System of a Down |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=June 27, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019112112/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20147981,00.html |archive-date=October 19, 2014  }}</ref> containing the forthright lyric "Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?",<ref name=popmattersmezmerize/><ref name=ewmezmerize/><ref name=pitchforkmezmerize/> "Old School Hollywood" describes a celebrity baseball game.<ref name=pitchforkmezmerize/><ref name=popmattershypnotize>{{cite web |last=Begrand |first=Adrien |url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/systemofadown-hypnotize/ |title=System of a Down: Hypnotize |date=November 21, 2005 |publisher=PopMatters.com |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=June 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630164108/http://www.popmatters.com/review/systemofadown-hypnotize/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On their album "Hypnotize", "Tentative" describes [[war]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-11-21-listen-up_x.htm |title=USATODAY.com – System of a Down zooms way up with 'Hypnotize' |publisher=Usatoday30.usatoday.com |date=November 21, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017190609/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-11-21-listen-up_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=rshypnotize>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/7690031/review/8796404/hypnotize |title=System of a Down: Hypnotize : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=November 17, 2005 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205091302/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/systemofadown/albums/album/7690031/review/8796404/hypnotize |archive-date=February 5, 2010  }}</ref> "Hypnotize" refers to the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|Tiananmen Square events]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/system-of-a-down/hypnotize.htm |title=System Of A Down – Hypnotize – Review |work=Stylusmagazine.com |access-date=March 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106202445/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/system-of-a-down/hypnotize.htm |archive-date=November 6, 2015  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.popmatters.com/systemofadown-hypnotize-2496074979.html|title=System of a Down: Hypnotize|date=November 21, 2005|work=PopMatters|access-date=March 5, 2018|language=en|archive-date=June 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620233911/https://www.popmatters.com/systemofadown-hypnotize-2496074979.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and "Lonely Day" describes [[angst]].<ref name=popmattershypnotize/> The album title ''[[Steal This Album!]]'' is a play on the book ''[[Steal This Book]]'' by [[left-wing politics|left-wing political activist]] [[Abbie Hoffman]].<ref name=nmestealthisalbum/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1458163/systems-stolen-tracks-compiled-on-steal-this-album/ |title=System's Stolen Tracks Compiled On Steal This Album |publisher=MTV.com |date=October 16, 2002 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=July 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717092106/http://www.mtv.com/news/1458163/systems-stolen-tracks-compiled-on-steal-this-album/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Milner |first=Greg |url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/system-down-steal-album-american-recordingscolumbia/ |title=System of a Down, 'Steal This Album!' Review |publisher=Spin.com |date=June 20, 2003 |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620140356/http://www.spin.com/reviews/system-down-steal-album-american-recordingscolumbia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> System of a Down's firm commitment for the [[Armenian genocide]] to be recognized appears in two songs: "P.L.U.C.K." and "Holy Mountains", which rank among the band's most political songs.<ref name=rshypnotize/>