Music of the Day, 20 June 2025
forsaken
Well, it’s been a sucktastic week. A few of my closest friends are immersed in difficult situations, and none is close enough for me to be able to offer physical support. I trust I don’t need to comment on the ongoing mishegas in this country and/or worldwide, and my personal concerns seem petty in comparison, so I’ll leave off the list-making here. It should be no surprise that after putting in a full day’s work, which started before I was barely caffeinated,1 and finally getting a bite to eat, I needed some music to feed my head.
I knew whom I wanted to turn to, but it took me a while to find the song. I don’t often listen to this band even though I own multiple albums, and I’m not sure why. I think other musicians tend to come to mind first and I usually find something there that satisfies.
That could have happened today too, honestly. But the radio station in my mind spoke decisively, and I know better than to ignore it. It took a little bit of searching to find the song,2 and with only two repetitions thus far, I’m feeling so much better.
The version of “Chop Suey!” on System of a Down’s (SoaD) 2001 album Toxicity has a very short vocal intro, which threw me off because I don’t remember ever hearing it.3 The frenetic guitar riff that comes after is what I remembered—and I felt the stress leaving my shoulders as soon as it started.
I also didn’t remember that it’s about suicide; or maybe I didn’t grok that back then. That makes it even more meaningful to me. One of my paternal great-grandfathers died by suicide long before I was born, but it wasn’t treated as a shameful secret by my family. It’s long been just another piece of the family history, and I’m sure that has colored my thinking about the subject, over practically my entire life.
I have an epic cleaning session awaiting me in the kitchen, so I may just crank up all of Toxicity, as well as Steal This Album! I know I like them both, and it’ll be good to seed my internal radio station with more hard music… and especially SoaD’s unique sound.
don’t you hate it when someone else’s emergency becomes your emergency too? Ugh
a sad state of affairs that’s due to me not remembering how the song starts
a stepson introduced me to the band via Toxicity on road trips, where listening conditions were consistently subpar
My son and I drove from Iowa to Colorado a few years back, about 14 hours. He spent the entire time playing new music for me, from Black Metal to Post Rock to Shoegaze to stuff with the word "core" in ot that I can't even remember. And most of it was fantastic. It's a great way to make a long drive feel more ... something. Time well spent.