In times where social issues are front and center in society, musicians often speak out about their views. Some fans appreciate that they use their platforms, others bash them, commanding them to "just stick to music." Serj Tankian gets both — but he questions whether the anti-political System of a Down fans have paid attention to their lyrics at all.

The vocalist addressed the matter in an interview on the "Side Jams with Bryan Reesman" podcast. "I've always explained music like pizza — some people like the crust, some people like the cheese, some people like the topping," Tankian began. "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," he continued. "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?'"

The singer explained that he thinks it's okay if people just listen to their music solely because they like hard music, but they're still obviously missing the point of some of their songs. "They never even thought that 'B.Y.O.B.' is anti-fucking-imperialist maybe. I don't know — I don't know how you can, but I guess maybe. So it's very interesting to me, seeing that."

Tankian concluded the topic by expressing the need for the country to spend more money on public education, which he thinks would help make people understand certain issues more clearly. "The easiest way to start fixing it is first fixing us — we have to fix us first."

Listen to the full interview here or in the player below

System of a Down have always been a politically-charged band. Tankian and bandmate, drummer John Dolmayan, have both recently spoken out regarding their contrasting views on President Trump.

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