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“Toxicity” is one of System of a Down’s biggest hits, the song reached No. 70 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on Mainstream Rock chart. During a performance at the 2005 Download Festival, Daron Malakian said that the song was about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a psychological condition that interferes with an individual’s executive functions. The video for the song was directed by the band’s bassist Shavo Odadjian, just like “Aerials” video.^[[1] https://genius.com/System-of-a-down-toxicity-lyrics | Genius Annotation]
This song is not about ADD as the mental disorder the World Health Organization describes, it is a metaphor in its own right. Here, ADD is used as a means to describe how modern governments and corporations (directly or indirectly) distract/influence people through various means, such as media, medication and propaganda (racism/classism/xenophobia/religious intolerance/war/etc).
In the first line, it is established that a constant need for “bigger and better” products offered via consumerism are constantly forced upon us. As technology become more and more seemingly complex, it becomes simpler to convert people to a certain method of thought, or lack thereof. Software is programming, people are programmed to be the way they are now. 7.0, Seven in the number of perfection. Ambiguous sentence fragment.
The tire hub can have multiple meanings:
[1] This conveys a whirlwind of information via technology and the Internet – AKA the Information Superhighway. Consider the amount of misinformation stemming from political agendas. These “issues” and “causes” distract from what the daily operations of governments / corporations. They can figuratively “spin” people’s focus away from certain things.
[2] The motor is life; it constantly progresses. Looking through the eyes of a tire hub is akin to being constantly pressured to move. One cannot stop until death, and in this process, a constant need for an attachment (the tire itself) to a fast paced world reflects our desire for meaning. Much like a tire can wear out or deflate, so must our attachments to life be replaced when necessary.
“Eating seeds as a pastime activity.” With pills ranging from barbiturates, amphetamines, opiates, and the grab-bag making up SSRIs on the rise, Big Pharm’s control over the medical industry is evident in capitalistic societies. Don’t miss out on the homonym either: a “pass time” activity. People are becoming so complacent that popping these pills is essential to live. They pass the the time from birth to death, ultimately achieving nothing substantial due to all of their distractions.
[Technology: Eating seeds? Downloading porn? Stealing music? Sentence fragments?]
“The Toxicity of our city, of our city.” Although a deeper metaphor may exist, this could simply be a tie in to how pharmaceuticals are flushed down the toilet and recycled into our drinking water. Moreover, it can then be seen as a statement against pollution in general, including landfills and oil spills. Simply put, society is not in harmony with nature. An inert society operating under a complacent hierarchy is generally toxic.
[It should be noted for the last two lines, that the video apparently projects a drug deal onto SoaD, implicating that society also pushes more illicit drugs onto impoverished neighborhoods. The debate about whether a certain government’s agenda is to create said areas and even go so far as supply said illicit drugs is moot and worth mentioning.]
“More wood for THEIR fires, loud neighbors.” To add wood to a fire, is to fuel a fire. Fire, when controlled, is symbolic with knowledge; fire when uncontrolled is a natural phenomenon, chaotic and destructive. By fueling the fire, knowledge becomes lost in a sea of distractions. Loud neighbors, people sated with misinformation and their own personal distraction, buy into the system and argue over their beliefs constantly, all the while drowning everything else. Media attention reflects the fad of society’s “fair weather” causes.
“Flashlight reveries caught in the headlight of a truck.”
Flashlights are search tools. A reverie is a joyful state brought about by daydreaming, but it’s archaic definition is an impractical idea or theory. This may indicate a dreamer’s search for utopia. George Orwell said it best: “Nearly all creators of utopia have resembled the man who has toothache, and therefore thinks happiness consists in not having toothache… whoever tries to imagine perfection simply reveals his own emptiness.“ Often times, the dreams of one is nothing compared to the reality of the entire world, and being brought back to such a reality check would surely give one the look of a deer caught in the headlights. Wishful thinking cannot accomplish anything without action, and it’s hard to act when one is daydreaming. Basically, pipe dreams often face a harsh reality upon wakening.
-CHORUS- This was already covered pretty well; but, to elaborate, no matter the perceived ability of any one government/religion/society to claim ownership of the world, all great empires fall. Whether through external or internal turmoil, they fall. Man’s natural state was chaos. The Golden Age of Man before Prometheus gave his gift of fire; The Garden of Eden before the eating of the Fruit of Knowledge, early humans before they evolved into a higher consciousness: however you identify it, humanity was born into chaos. Between the creation of human life, and the end of it, there is only disorder. Whether it be philosophical, cultural, religious, sexist, racial, or political, disorder is the lifeblood of human life. Don’t fall prey to the delusional thinking of those who seek to control you.
OUTRO – “When I became the sun, I shone life into the man’s hearts.”
If you haven’t already, you need to read Serj’s quote about religion:
“My religion is the same as the trees out there. It’s the same inspiration. Whatever moves them, moves me. I believe that we’re animals. I know we are because we die and we eat and we ****. And all modern religions to me are false. All modern religions come from a time of what we call civilization. Civilization has only existed ten thousand years among millions of years of man being on this planet. Everything before civilization is called prehistory. The reason that I don’t give credence to modern religions is because they are only partially true. Because they were started from after civilization. Therefore they all start from a place that’s not already to me natural. So if you want to know what my religion is, it’s the same religion as the native American, same religion as the Aborigine, as the Maori in New-Zealand, as the Kahunas in Hawaii. I believe in beginnings.”
The modern God, evolved from Pagan gods, which evolved from early human’s worship of the sun. Assigning mystical powers to natural phenomenons, was humanity’s best go at contemporary science. Without going to much further into religion, Prometheus and Satan are synonymous in their roles as “light bringers.” All this means is they are scapegoats for humanity’s ability to reason, much like the sun made life possible. Basically the sun made life possible, life evolved into animals, animals evolved into humanity, and humanity with its newly found gifts of reason and self-awareness and consciousness, saw the sun and it opened up their eyes, they saw the sun. The sun beamed it’s warmth and provided light, and they thought it was purrty and were able to appreciate it. Vishnu became “the death, destroyer of worlds.” Serj Tankian became the sun, shiner of love into men’s hearts.
This was written hastily. I did not proofread it. This is merely my interpretation. I did not elaborate on certain points, nor did I ever consider it to be this long. If you made it this far, thank you. I have ADHD and find it hard to pull my attention away from things I take interest in. Although it was written hastily, I appreciate anyone who took the time to read it. I got kinda tired halfway through, and the Outro is… yeah. I tried formulating my thoughts better, but once I got bored, well, you can’t spell ADHD without ADD...^[[1] https://genius.com/System-of-a-down-toxicity-lyrics | Coment by Whatever88 | 9 years ago]