Author: Emil Lazarian

Phoenix New Times (Arizona)
August 4, 2005 Thursday
New School Hollywood
System of a Down’s Daron Malakian plays it cool in the big league
By Rob Trucks
Famed producer Rick Rubin, the man responsible for signing the now
uber-successful System of a Down, recently told the L.A. Times that
SOAD guitarist/songwriter/vocalist/mastermind Daron Malakian is
“a true artist.” Malakian, said Rubin, “doesn’t really live in the
world. He lives in a bubble and the bubble is filled with music. All
he does is listen to music and play music all day every day.”
“I don’t know about the true artist part,” Malakian tells New Times
from his Glendale, California, home, “but the way he explained the
way I live was pretty right on.”
But as it turns out, there’s at least one other thing that Malakian
likes to do.
“I’m a sports fan in general, you know,” he says. “I really love
sports. That probably doesn’t fit very well with the art part,
does it?”
Not that the 29-year-old guitarist is concerned with appearances.
“You’ve got a lot of people who are really into making people think
they’re an artist,” he says. “I think an artist should just do whatever
the hell they want and stop trying to be artists. That’s pretty much
how I live my life.”
In actuality, the members of Malakian’s band, a quartet of Los
Angeles-based Armenian-Americans and surely the only arena rockers
in history whose names all end in “an,” go out of their way to stand
apart. Mezmerize, their latest disc and just the first half of a
double album pairing released six months apart, furiously propels
a now signature mix of hardcore, metal, opera, and Armenian folk
riffs behind vigorous political invectives. And yet SOAD’s singular
amalgamation of sound has certainly found an audience. The group’s
first three albums have all gone platinum. 2001’s Toxicity has done so
three times. And Mezmerize is well on its way to its own certification.
“I’m proud that we’re a band that isn’t made by a machine,” Malakian
says, “and I know the machine has taken effect in some ways, but I
can’t say that the machine was there when we were building from the
ground up, you know? I’m really proud that System of a Down isn’t
like that and never was like that.”
To be sure, System’s ground-floor, lyrical politics are often painted
with an overreaching brush. Take the tag from SOAD’s current single
“B.Y.O.B.” — “Why don’t presidents fight the war? Why do they always
send the poor?” — which both literally and figuratively raises
questions it can’t, or refuses to, answer. Still, it’s a discourse
that, in the past, has only been pursued by a legion of folkies and
the stray, politically aware punk rocker — certainly not by any
metal act that, against all odds, has managed to reach out and touch
the face of the mainstream.
So while Malakian and fellow SOAD writer/vocalist Serj Tankian
habitually editorialize on the cornerstones of societal ills —
violence on television, a Statue of Liberty weeping over America’s
polarization, and genocide (“P.L.U.C.K.,” a song from their debut
album, functions as a history lesson on the Turkish slaughter of
neighboring Armenians in the early 20th century) — Mezmerize also
brings to the table “Old School Hollywood,” a rare personal take on
the guitarist’s participation in the L.A. Dodgers’ annual celebrity
baseball game.
“My publicist said, ‘Hey, they play this game every year at Dodger
Stadium, and do you want to do it?’ And I was like, ‘Cool, man,’
because I was such a big fan. When I was a kid, like in elementary
school, I played basketball on the Forum floor. And I was like, ‘Wow,
I did that.’ It would be kick-ass to play baseball at Dodger Stadium.
“I ended up going there, and you’ve got all these actors who like
haven’t been in a show for 15 years or so. And they’re really taking
the game seriously. Like they’re wearing like fucking uniforms and
shit. And I felt very awkward, because my whole thing was not to go
there to win. I was there just so I could get a chance to play at
Dodger Stadium.”
“It kind of turned out,” Malakian says, “to be a really surreal,
weird experience. And a song came out of it.”
Two participants whose careers have seen better days, Tony Danza and
Frankie Avalon, make appearances in Malakian’s composition, as does
the manager of Malakian’s team, Jack Gilardi, agent and husband to
Annette Funicello. But don’t expect any dinner for five to be held
at the guitarist’s home.
“When they let me play,” he says, “they stuck me in the outfield for
like two minutes, and then they sat me back down. I was so benched
it wasn’t even funny.
“Here I am in the middle of all these huge like television sitcom
actors and fucking movie actors, most of them from like my childhood,
and just the whole experience, playing baseball with Frankie Avalon
on your team, is just, I mean, come on. You couldn’t dream that.”
Ah, but this is L.A. La-La Land. The place where rock ‘n’ roll dreams
can come true.
“I remember coming home,” Malakian says, “[and in] no more than like
half an hour, picking up the guitar, and that song just shot out
of me. It was a very spontaneous thing. A lot of the stuff that I’m
proud of usually comes out very natural that way. I don’t even feel
responsible for it sometimes.”
The night after he talks with New Times, Malakian will return to the
scene of the crime to take in a Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine. But
make no mistake, his heroes extend past the diamond. Take former
Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (which may at least partially explain
why two consecutive songs on Mezmerize contain the phrase “10 feet
tall”). And Malakian’s musical paladin?
“Keith Moon is my biggest guitar hero,” he says. A surprising choice,
since the late Who drummer, you know, wasn’t a guitarist. “He played
so free and powerful,” Malakian says, “but also changed rock drumming
forever.”
Over the years, Moon’s balls-out, bull-in-the-china-shop persona
has drawn more than its fair share of rock ‘n’ roll followers who,
like Malakian, just want to make a difference.
“[I want ] to affect art,” he says. “To do something that kind of
contributes to art. Not just follow the trend or something like that.
Something that kind of helps. Something that helps it evolve, you
know? That’s still my dream today. I’ve never lost that.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Genozid kein Thema im Standerat
Schweiz
06.08.2005 — Tages-Anzeiger Online
Der Volkermord an den Armeniern wird im Standerat – anders als im
Nationalrat, der ihn anerkannt hat – nie ein Thema sein. Es sei nicht
Sache von anderen Landern, 90 Jahre spater mit dem Finger auf die
Turkei zu zeigen, sagt APK-Prasident Briner.
Die Aussenpolitische Kommission des Standerats (APK) sei im Gesprach
zum Schluss gekommen, uber den Genozid von 1915 nicht im Plenum zu
befinden, sagte APK-Prasident Peter Briner heute auf Anfrage der
Nachrichtenagentur SDA. Wie der Bundesrat sei sie der Meinung, das
ware nicht die Aufgabe des Parlaments.
Das ware vielmehr die Aufgabe der betroffenen Parteien, also der
Turkei und von Armenien. Eine gemischte Historikerkommission musste
die “schrecklichen Ereignisse aufarbeiten”, fuhrte Briner aus –
so wie die Schweiz ihre Geschichte wahrend des Zweiten Weltkriegs
aufgearbeitet habe.
Jetzt Ruckgrat zeigen
Zur Ausladung von Bundesrat Deiss sagte Briner in einem Interview in
mehreren Schweizer Tageszeitungen, die Schweiz durfe jetzt gegenuber
der Turkei nicht schwach werden. Sie durfe aber auch nicht mit gleicher
Munze zuruckzahlen.
“Wichtig ist, dass wir jetzt Ruckgrat zeigen”, sagte Briner. Und es
sei auch “gut, dass hierzulande hart darauf reagiert wird”. Dass
die Turkei die Absage des Besuchs von Bundesrat Joseph Deiss mit
Termingrunden erklare, entspreche sicher nicht der Wahrheit.
Sie sei eine der typischen diplomatischen Ausreden, wenn man keine
bessere Erklarung finde, erklarte Briner. “Man wird den Eindruck
nicht los, dass die turkische Regierung mit diesem Sabelrasseln das
Volk beruhigen will.”
Stimmung gegen Schweiz gemacht
Ganz offensichtlich hatten die turkischen Medien “wieder Stimmung gegen
die Schweiz gemacht”. Dies wegen des Verfahrens, dass die Schweizer
Justiz gegen den Vorsitzenden der Turkischen Arbeiterpartei und gegen
einen Historiker wegen Leugnung des Volkermordes an den Armeniern
1915 eingeleitet hat.
Die Turkei wisse aber auch sehr genau, dass sie – wenn sie das Land in
die EU fuhren wolle -, nicht darum herumkommen werde, die Armenierfrage
aufzuarbeiten. “Und das ist innenpolitisch heikel.”

US-British company to develop Azeri gold mines
Assa-Irada
6 Aug 05
Baku, 5 August: US RV Investment Group will tackle the development
of Azerbaijan’s gold fields shortly. The company will start drilling
the first exploration on the Ordubad gold field over the next four
to six weeks, its director, former British Energy Minister Gerald
Philips has said.
RV Investment has established a new company – the Azerbaijan
International Mining Operating Company – to operate Azerbaijan’s gold
deposits. The Ordubad field covers an area of 462 sq.km. The results
of geological and exploration work carried out during the Soviet
Union times will be used in the drilling operations, said Philips.
A factory will be built in the area after the drilling of the
well is completed. The field is to be put into operation in the
third quarter of 2007, with some 700 workers to be employed, the RV
Investment director said. A total of 50m dollars, to be invested in
the project in the first stage of the operations, will be drawn from
US and British international financial institutions. If considerable
copper reserves are discovered after the exploration well is drilled,
a copper plant will be built in the area as well, Philips said.
The Azerbaijani government earlier signed a contract with RV
Investment Group on tapping gold deposits. The 25-year agreement,
concluded earlier by the Azarqizil state company, abolished in 1997,
and RV Investment Group (with Azerbaijan holding 51 per cent of shares
and the US company 49 per cent), envisages developing nine fields
containing 400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5m tons of
copper. The fields are mainly located in the Kalbacar, Zangilan,
Daskasan and Ordubad western and southwestern regions. Three of the
deposits are located in Azerbaijani territories currently occupied
by the Armenian armed forces.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijani youth group slams leader’s arrest as smear campaign
Agence France Presse — English
August 5, 2005 Friday 2:02 PM GMT
BAKU Aug 5 — An Azerbaijani youth movement slammed Friday the arrest
of its leader for allegedly orchestrating an Armenian-sponsored coup
plot as a government smear campaign ahead of elections.
“The authorities are trying to link the youth movement to Armenian
operatives in order to crush it,” said Fikret Farmazogly, the deputy
leader of Yeni Fikir. “This is slander.”
The arrest of Yeni Fikir leader Ruslan Bashirli has captured the
headlines in this oil-rich former Soviet Caucasus state since it was
announced by prosecutors on Thursday.
His group, modeled on movements that helped topple entrenched regimes
in Georgia and Ukraine over the last two years, has participated
in some of the most visible protests since a ban was lifted on
demonstrations this summer.
Prosecutors have accused Bashirli of attempting “to take power by
force,” after national television networks aired footage they said
showed the youth leader accepting money from Armenian secret police
posing as Armenian and Georgian democracy activists.
The video, allegedly shot in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in July,
showed Bashirli drinking with the men and discussing the possibility
of a velvet revolution in Azerbaijan.
“Those men were agents of (Azerbaijan’s) ministry of national security,
he did not know who they were,” Farmazogly said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have held a fragile ceasefire since the two
republics fought a bloody war for the contested Nagorno Karabakh
enclave in the early 1990s.
They have yet to sign a peace agreement and the status of the mostly
Armenian enclave has yet to be determined.
Bashirli’s lawyer Elchin Gambarov said the authorities would not
allow him to meet his client.
“We don’t know where he’s being held, or if he is being physically
and mentally coerced into providing the evidence that the authorities
want,” Gambarov said.
Bashirli’s arrest comes amid increasing government pressure on
opposition political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in
November.

Azerbaijani opposition group denies accusations that leader plotted anti-government acts
By AIDA SULTANOVA
The Associated Press
08/05/05 11:53 EDT
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) – A political youth group whose leader was
arrested on charges of plotting against the government with the help
of Armenian security services denied the accusations Friday, saying
he fell victim to a trap by Azerbaijan’s own security agents.
Ruslan Bashirli, of the opposition youth party Yeni Fikir, was detained
Thursday after a fellow party member accused him of taking part in a
secret meeting with Armenian agents in Georgia in July that focused
on organizing an uprising in Azerbaijan.
Bashirli is also accused of receiving $2,000 (euro1,600) from the
alleged agents, who prosecutors said called for using weapons at an
opposition rally in Azerbaijan in order to spark violence.
Prosecutors contend Bashirli was acting on orders of U.S.-based
National Democratic Institute, which denied the accusations.
Gorik Akopian, the head of Armenian’s National Security Service, called
the claims of Armenian involvement “ridiculous and absolutely wrong.”
Speaking at a news conference, Yeni Fakir deputy head Fikret
Faramazoglu said Bashirli went to Georgia to attend an international
conference on democracy and had no idea he was interacting with
Armenians, as prosecutors claim.
Faramazoglu contended that the Yeni Fakir member who accused Bashirli
served with Azerbaijan’s security forces, and he blamed them with
setting a trap to tarnish the image of an opposition group.
Bashirli’s arrest came amid concern among governments throughout the
former Soviet Union following protest movements that helped bring
opposition leaders to power in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been under control of ethnic Armenians since a
six-year war against Azerbaijan ended with a 1994 cease-fire. The war
killed some 30,000 people and drove a million from their homes. The
enclave’s status remains unresolved and both sides regularly exchange
fire along the cease-fire line.
Tensions are high in Azerbaijan ahead of November parliamentary
elections. Opposition parties have rallied almost weekly amid fears
that the government of President Ilham Aliev could try to rig the
voting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM SAMTSKHE JAVAKHETIA STARTED
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 5 2005
05.08.2005 07:12
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today the withdrawal of the Russian military
equipment from the 62-nd base located in Akhalkalaki, the center of
the Armenian-populated Samtskhe Javakhati region of Georgia started.
The first autocade consisting of 11 staff vehicles and vehicles
of technical support made for the town of Mtskhet situated 300 km
from Tbilisi. Then it will cross the Russian-Georgian state border
through Verkhni Lars checkpoint. However, the autocade cannot cross
the border according to the schedule, as heavy rains have eroded a
30-meter sector of the road. The Georgian authorities forbade traffic
along the Military Georgian highway in the direction of Verkhni Lars
checkpoint, IA Regnum reports.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Aug 4 2005
AZERIS AND ARMENIANS BEST OF FRIENDS IN MOSCOW
National conflict is forgotten in a city where both Armenians and
Azerbaijanis feel like strangers.
By Samira Ahmedbeily and Elina Arzumanian in Moscow
“Your nationality doesn’t matter in Moscow,” said Agif Abdullaev, a
33-year-old Azerbaijani. “What matters is whether you are a local or
a visitor. Migrants here share one overriding concern: how to survive
in this giant city.”
Agif, an economics graduate, spent three years looking in vain for a
job at home, so he decided to move to Moscow and join the army of
market traders from the Caucasus. In 1998, he met and went into
business with Levon Arayan, an Armenian, at the Kuzminki market.
Although the two nations have been in conflict with one another over
the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh since 1988, Armenians and
Azerbaijanis in Moscow say they get along well with one another – and
often find they have much in common as Caucasians in the Russian
capital.
“I offered him my goods, and we did a deal and started doing business
together,” recalled Levon. “National hatred between our people is no
obstacle to business. We hardly ever talk about politics or Karabakh.
The whole thing was orchestrated by those in power. Regular people
like us have always been good neighbours.”
Levon joked, “What’s the use of that land [Karabakh] to Armenia
anyway? I think we should donate it to Azerbaijan in exchange for an
oilfield.”
“Levon is the only person I know who will always help me out in
emergency,” said Agif. “Once I had to scrape together 4,000 dollars.
He gave me the money, no questions asked. We really trust each other.
It’s hard to find someone you can trust in this day and age.”
His business partner chimed in, “I’ve borrowed large sums from Agif,
too. Our joint business has been very successful. We have recently
started a new project at the Tekstilshchiki market.”
The two men visit each other’s homes frequently – but only in Moscow.
Because of the unresolved Karabakh conflict, Agif cannot invite Levon
to Baku, while Levon thinks it would be too dangerous for Agif to
show up in his native Gyumri in Armenia. “I rarely go back there
myself,” said Levon. “It’s not fit for living in. I only go to see my
family there once a year, for three or four days.” Agif said he
travels to Baku quite often, but never tells his Azerbaijani family
about doing business with an Armenian.
If the 2002 census results are to be believed, there are 96,000
Azerbaijanis and 124,000 Armenians in Moscow, each group accounting
for about one per cent of the city’s population. However, most
observers think this is a gross underestimate.
Muscovites were never especially friendly to visitors from the
Caucasus, even in Soviet times. Now they are lumped together under
the pejorative tag of “persons of Caucasian nationality”. The
conflict in Chechnya has worsened Russians’ attitude towards people
from the region, and harassment and race attacks on southerners have
become commonplace.
This shared experience of xenophobia has brought Armenians and
Azerbaijanis closer together. But in many cases the partnership is of
longer standing, stemming from a shared background in the Azerbaijani
capital, Baku, which once had a large Armenian population of 200,000.
All but a handful of them left Baku between 1988 and 1990.
Edik Mirzoyan and Yashar Huseinov, an Armenian and Azerbaijani
respectively, run a flower stall at the entrance to the University
metro station. The two are childhood friends from Baku and have been
in business together for six years. Yashar trusts his partner more
than anyone else in the world. “Our business is quite recent, but
Edik and I go way back,” he said. “We’re childhood friends. That kind
of bond is stronger than money. We don’t care what goes on in and
around Karabakh,” he said.
“All my family are in Armenia, except my wife,” said Edik. “When she
gave birth, only Yashar’s wife Nargiz was here to help her. I will
never forget that.” The Armenian added, “It’s a pity that for
religious reasons I cannot ask Yashar to be my son’s godfather, even
though he is the closest friend I have in Moscow.”
Artur Shakhramanian and Zemfira Salimova are husband and wife as well
as business partners. They got married in Baku 20 years ago, but
three years later, when their daughter had just turned one,
hostilities broke out between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Baku.
“My husband is a native of Baku. I come from Ganje,” recalled
Zemfira, who is Azerbaijani. “We both went to the Pedagogical
Institute in Baku. We married during our graduation year. Then all
hell broke loose. My husband’s family fled to Armenia and wanted
Artur to come along. My family insisted I get a divorce. We defied
them all and moved to Moscow.”
Artur, Zemfira and their daughter – now 18 – all work at an upmarket
restaurant owned by an Azerbaijani. Zemfira tends the bar, Artur is
the gardener and their daughter manages the office.
“It was tough until the mid-Nineties, but since then we’ve been back
in touch with our families,” said Artur. “We call, and they visit us
from both Armenia and Azerbaijan. I’ve been working here for about
six years, and I’ve never had any problem because of my ethnic
background. I am a good gardener, and that’s all that my boss cares
about.”
Caucasians have traditionally specialised in certain trades in Moscow
– commonly working as market traders and ticket inspectors.
Vardan and Melikabbas, an Armenian and Azerbaijani, used to work in a
market but now have jobs as inspectors on tram route 28.
“Being a ticket inspector is a good job for people like us from the
Caucasus,” admitted Vardan. “Many of the people we catch without a
ticket are our fellow countrymen. For a small fee, we let them go.
For them it’s better than paying a fine, and it’s good for us too.
That way we supplement our meagre salaries.”
And – as if to confirm the prejudices of some Muscovites – the two
nationalities team up in the criminal world as well.
In June, the police arrested an Armenian and an Azerbaijani for armed
robbery in Moscow’s Shchukinsky district. According to police
reports, Alexei Aserian and Hasan Aliev spotted a man in a gambling
hall who had a huge wad of cash in his wallet. The temptation was too
strong to resist – when he left, they followed him and mugged him in
a dark street.
A week later, they were detained at the same gaming venue.
Investigators say this was not the first robbery they had committed,
and are holding them in custody pending trial.
Samira Ahmedbeily is a journalist with Azerros newspaper in Moscow.
Elina Arzumanian is a reporter for Mir TV and radio company

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO URUGUAY: FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DOES NOT NEED PROOF
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 4 2005
04.08.2005 03:33
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Relations Commission of the Uruguayan
Parliament has again organized hearings of the issue of the Armenian
Genocide. This time Armenian Ambassador to Uruguay Ara Ayvazyan was
the main person reporting. In the course of the discussion he stated
that «the fact of the Armenian Genocide does not need proof and the
proposal is very dangerous and may turn a trap to Uruguay, which
is known as the first country that has recognized and condemned the
Armenian Genocide.» The Ambassador suggested that Uruguay join the call
of different countries to Turkey to open the Armenian-Turkish border
and establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. After the discussions
MP Lilian Keshishian noted that the proposal of Armenia produced a
good impression. «There is an arrangement available beforehand on
the content of the statement,» she stated. During the debate the
Uruguayan Parliament unanimously reaffirmed that the massacre of
Armenians is a genocide. Deputy Uruguayan FM Belela Erera confirmed
it at the meeting with the Armenian Ambassador. In the course of the
discussion of the Armenian Genocide issue initiated at the instance of
Turkish Ambassador Shorkru Tufan in the Uruguayan Parliament, Turkish
PM Erdogan’s proposal to form an international commission was spoken
about. Turkey has asked Uruguay to take part in the commission work
and promote «determination of the genocide actuality.» Ara Ayvazyan
said he was concerned over the developments and made a proposal on a
meeting with commission members. As the issue referred to Aremnia,
the Ambassador proposed not making any public statements without
acquaintance with Armenia’s point of view. It should be reminded
that Armenian President R. Kocharian officially turned down Turkish
PM’s proposal on the forming of a joint commission, suggesting to
establish bilateral relations instead, reported RFE/RL.
–Boundary_(ID_44xDmLBFZgL+f4kbEZ/JAA)–

San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Aug 4 2005
System of a Down’s music reflects the times we live in … and if
that includes politics, so be it
By George Varga
UNION-TRIBUNE POP MUSIC CRITIC
August 4, 2005
When is a politically and socially charged rock band not a
politically and socially charged rock band?
ROBERT SEBREE
The members of System of a Down create hard-hitting music that
inspires thought as well as moshing. “When you want your music to be
timeless, you have to make your topics more broad,” says singer Serj
Tankian (second from right).
That’s the conundrum facing System of a Down, the Los Angeles-based
quartet of three Armenian-Americans and one Lebanese-American, who
combine nu-metal ferocity and prog-rock complexity with elements of
punk, goth, Armenian music and more. The uncompromising band has
always followed its muse, creating charged songs that skewer a
variety of timely targets with fire and finesse.
Some of the group’s most memorable numbers take aim at greed,
poverty, racism and decaying public morality. Other songs decry
government corruption, corporate brainwashing, blind consumerism and
the current American administration.
Witness the band’s recent hit, “B.Y.O.B.” (short for “Bring Your Own
Bombs”), which rails against the war in Iraq and features the
impassioned refrain: Why don’t presidents fight the war? / Why do
they always send the poor?
DATEBOOK
System of a Down, with the Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip
7 p.m. Saturday; ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena, 3500 Sports
Arena Boulevard, Midway area $39.50-$44 (plus service charges); (619)
220-TIXS
Witness, too, System’s 2001 song “Deer Dance,” inspired by the
aggressive police reaction to protesters at the 2000 Democratic
National Convention in Los Angeles. In it, lead singer Serj Tankian
embraces the city’s disenfranchised citizens and laments an American
Dream gone bad, as he intones Beyond the Staples Center you can see
America / With its tired, poor, avenging disgrace / Peaceful, loving
youth against the brutality / Of plastic existence.
And there’s the rub, whether listeners or today’s glut of apolitical
pop-music performers realize it or not.
System isn’t a socially and politically charged rock band. Rather,
it’s a band whose music seems designed to reflect on the world at
large, at a time when modern life has grown increasingly politicized.
“Reflecting the times is exactly what we’re doing,” said Daron
Malakian, the band’s guitarist and main songwriter, from his Los
Angeles home. “Most artists now – and not just in music – have done a
piece here and there about what’s going on in the world. To me,
that’s no different than having a couple of (timely) songs on our
records. It doesn’t limit what we’re all about.”
A lyric sampler
The members of System of a Down are quick to note that not all of
their songs address current or past social and political issues. But
some of the Los Angeles band’s most potent songs, including its
recent radio hit “B.Y.O.B.” (“Bring Your Own Bombs”), leave little
doubt about their subject matter. Here are samples of lyrics from
each of the band’s four albums:
Revolution, the only solution / The armed response of an entire
nation / Revolution, the only solution / We’ve taken all your (abuse)
/ Now it’s time for restitution. – “P.L.U.C.K.,” from 1998’s “System
of a Down”
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons / You don’t even flinch / All
our taxes paying for your wars / Against the new non-rich. – “Prison
Song,” from 2001’s “Toxicity”
Four thousand hungry children leave us per hour / From starvation /
While billions are spent on bombs / Creating death showers / Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! / Every time you drop the bomb / You kill the god
your child has borne. Boom! – “Boom!”, from 2002’s “Steal This Album”
We’re the regulators that deregulate / We’re the animators that
de-animate / We’re the propagators of all genocide / Burning through
the world’s resources / Then we turn and hide. – “Cigaro,” from
2005’s “Mesmerize”
– GEORGE VARGA
Those sentiments were seconded by Tankian, the band’s energetic
frontman, in a separate phone interview from a tour stop in
Rotterdam, Holland.
“We speak of real life, that’s the point I always make,” said
Tankian, who with Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello co-founded Axis of
Power, a nonprofit, social justice organization. “We speak about many
issues in System, and most of our songs are not political. There are
personal stories and social things and humor. There are some
political things, but that doesn’t make us a political band.
“The Beatles had a lot of songs that dealt with social change and
political issues. But they weren’t tagged as a ‘political band,’ and
we seem to be. And that’s something that’s bothered us for a while.”
That said, Tankian is quick to stress that apathy must be avoided at
all costs, especially in these tumultuous times.
“Politics is not something we can ignore,” he said. “The way the
world is today, everything is kind of tied together; economics is
global and it affects our lives, whether we want to ignore it or
fight it.
“And that’s something most people don’t realize. They say: ‘I’m not
political,’ and I respect that. But politics does change and affect
our lives.”
Tankian and Malakian, who perform Saturday with System at San Diego’s
ipayOne Center, both discussed their band and its music at length.
But they responded very differently to some of the same questions.
Asked what his strongest and weakest points are, Tankian said curtly:
“I don’t know, man. I don’t think that way.”
Malakian, conversely, was eager to respond.
“Regarding my musicianship,” he said, “I can tell you a million
things, although I’ve got to say that the songs I take to System are
pretty good. Are they perfect? There’s no such thing. But if the
emotion comes across, I think that works. “As a musician, I don’t
think I’m the greatest guitar player. I’m a bigger fan of the drums
than I am the guitar; I just happen to play guitar. I play drums
almost every day at my house. I wrote a lot of songs behind the drum
kit, just having the music and vocals in my head, and playing the
rhythm. Music is an emotion and I put it out there.”
The differences between Tankian and Malakian were also visible when
they were asked to name some of their early musical heroes and
influences.
Tankian declined to answer. “I don’t have any heroes,” he said, “and
there are too many influences to name.”
But Malakian cited everyone from Kiss and Def Leppard to such
decidedly non-hard-rocking inspirations as the Partridge Family,
Christopher Cross and Wham!
“The greatest song of all time is Christopher Cross’ (sentimental
1980 ballad) ‘Sailing,’ ” Malakian said with infectious enthusiasm.
“My whole life, I’ve just really loved that song.”
Sentimental ballads are in short supply on System’s potent new album,
“Mesmerize,” which showcases music that is hard-hitting and
thoughtful, challenging yet accessible. It also demonstrates how well
the band – which also features drummer John Dolmayan and bassist
Shavo Odadjian – can use humor to make serious points. On “Cigaro,”
for example, mock, over-the-top operatic vocal flourishes provide
comic counterpoint to the barbed lyrics, which depict the war in Iraq
as a tragic game of one-upmanship by braying political leaders.
ROBERT SEBREE
System of a Down’s new album, “Mesmerize,” entered the national
Billboard album charts at No. 1 in May. Another album, “Hypnotize,”
is due before the end of the year. From left are guitarist Daron
Malakian, drummer John Dolmayan, singer Serj Tankian and bassist
Shavo Odadjian.
“Some people can take ‘Cigaro’ in a very political way, and some can
take it as a joke,” Tankian said. “Both points of view are valid.
“The type of people we are, if we can’t laugh at what we do on a
daily basis, it’s not worth doing. Even in more serious times, you
have to step back and look at things in perspective, and humor plays
an important role in that.”
The angular, ascending guitar lines on “Cigaro” are one example of
how the shared Armenian heritage of the band’s members influences
their work.
Much Armenian music employs a modal style (music based on modes, not
keys), which falls neatly between the modal styles used in Turkish
and Iranian music. The Armenian modal style, present in varying
degrees on previous System albums, also is evident on other
“Mesmerize” songs, most notably “Soldier Side,” “Lost in Hollywood”
and the polka-inflected “Radio/Video.”
“It’s something that has to do with being Armenian, and that goes for
everyone in the band,” Malakian said. “Growing up, I’d hear it at a
wedding or at church, certain church songs that are very old and
traditional for us, and they probably inspired me more than even the
wedding songs. But with my songs I can’t ever put my finger on one
kind of music, and say: ‘This is where it comes from.’ It’s like a
big mutation of all the stuff I grew up with.”
But what if the musical subtleties and lyrical metaphors of System’s
provocative music don’t get through to fans who prefer to just mosh?
“You put the food out,” Tankian said. “And some people eat less, and
some eat slowly and eat everything, and probably benefit more. You
can’t make people eat their food, you just put it on the table.”
Three that fought the power
At its worst, the mix of music and politics can result in simplistic
songs that sound smug and self-righteous. At its best, the same mix
can produce timeless music that inspires and provokes, be it the
stirring civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” and Bob Dylan’s
gripping “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” or more recent ones like
Eminem’s “Mosh.”
Here are three of the most memorable artists to fuse music and
politics over the past 30 years:
MC5: Their recording career lasted only from 1968 to 1972, but this
Detroit band soared with its blazing proto-punk-rock and incendiary
performances. The group’s high-decibel mantra of sex, drugs and
revolution in the streets led to police raids and FBI wiretaps, but
no matter. The MC5’s legacy lives on in its ferocious music – a key
link between garage-rock, punk and heavy metal.
Key albums: “Kick Out the Jams” (1968); “Back in the U.S.A.” (1970)
Choice cuts: “Starship,” “Ramblin’ Rose,” “Kick Out the Jams” (1968);
“Tonight,” “Looking at You,” “Call Me Animal,” “High School” (1970)
The Clash: With singer-guitarist Joe Strummer at the fore, this
seminal English band made music that seethed with passion and
intensity. The group also boldly expanded punk’s stylistic palette,
embracing reggae, roots-rock and even swing. Commercial success was
fleeting (1980’s “Train in Vain” and 1982’s “Rock the Casbah” are the
band’s sole U.S. radio hits), but Green Day, blink-182 and many more
owe a big debt to the Clash.
Key albums: “The Clash” 1977; “London Calling” (1979)
Choice cuts: “White Riot,” (1977); “White Man In Hammersmith Palais,”
“Tommy Gun” (1978); “London Calling,” “Spanish Bombs” (1979)
Public Enemy: No hip-hop group before or since has rapped with such
ferocity, or produced such raging music. Eschewing empty odes to
bling-bling and booty, P.E. vividly chronicled various political and
social ills. Chuck D., the group’s masterful MC, espoused black
nationalism and took aim at corruption and inequities. Hank Shocklee,
P.E.’s in-house sonic visionary, gave the music a visceral punch that
puts most other hip-hop – then and now – to shame.
Key albums: “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” (1988);
“Fear of a Black Planet” (1990)
Choice cuts: “Bring the Noise,” “Don’t Believe the Hype,” (1988);
“Fight the Power” (1989); “911 Is a Joke” (1990)
– GEORGE VARGA
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM – BASIS FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTES IN RA
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 3 2005
03.08.2005 04:51
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We welcome the assessment of the Venice Commission,
according to which the reviewed draft constitutional amendments
provide for precise reform and can serve as a basis for securing the
activities of the democratic institutes in Armenia, CoE Secretary
General’s Special Representative for Armenia Bojana Urumova stated at
today’s press conference in Yerevan. Basing on the latest resolution
by the Venice Commission, Ms. Urumova noted that no considerable
changes will be introduced during the second reading. “We welcome
the good will of the Armenian leadership”, she noted. The political
majority and opposition parties of Armenia should double efforts for
securing constructive dialogue, Bojana Urumova stated. In her words,
raising of public awareness to lead Armenians to the adoption of the
reviewed Constitution on the way to the European integration will
become the next challenge.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress