Serj Tankian

“I think I might write a book. I like writing. People have asked me if I would get into politics, but I think I feel a lot more effective being a representative of truth through the arts.”

“Corporatization is the descendant of industrialization.”

“I think music has the ability to inspire people and to change hearts, and the heart has the power to change the mind, and the mind has the power to change the world.”

“The best way to do that is to pick up a new instrument or an instrument that you don't typically write on and see where it takes you. Whether it's using an acoustic guitar, or piano, or electronics as tools, all of these lead to creating different types of songs and I used all of these methods for this record.”

“People think our music's very aggressive or angry or whatever, and it's just the opposite, really... I like laughing. And I like being really calm before a show, and smiley.”

“Touring and putting out records is fun and cool, but I've been doing it for a long time.”

“You listen to Bob Dylan and you can't help but think of the 60s, it's very relational and if artists are true artists and not just mere musicians they need to be truthful because the music doesn't come from them it comes from the universe and it's to be shared. At best, we're skilled presenters, and I say that at best.”

“We're addicted to this concept of civilization - we can't imagine living outside of it because we've had it for 10,000 years, all of what we call history. But according to archaeologists, humanity has been on this planet for millions of years in indigenous form.”

“Awareness in our society has flipped all types of injustice on its head.”

“I think it's my interaction with journalists that has pegged me more as political than my actual records, although they have obviously political aspects to them as well.”

“Sometimes a good love song can change the world and create positive energy more than any political song can.”

“With most of the songs and music that I've composed, irrespective of the myriad videos made, I was always careful not to overly define the experience, leaving room for people to internalize things for themselves, making their experience more integral.”

“With 'Elect the Dead,' I learned how to make a rock record without a rock band and make the rock record I've always wanted to make.”

“I hate injustice, and I can't help but speak against it. But I don't want to get involved in politics.”

“People get so attached to a position which they identify themselves with that they just spurt it out, but they can't really give you a viable reason why they feel that way.”

“I like having songs that go from the personal to the kind of inter-relational, universal, because everything comes back to micro/macro and everything's tied in.”

“I don't want to spend all my time working as an activist. I don't get satisfaction out of it. I'd rather be doing something else. I'm a musician.”

“I think anytime that you go to the extreme of any mode of economics, be it capitalism or communism, you have these feedback mechanisms that make the system turn in on itself.”

“People always ask me 'do you think there should be more bands doing political music?' and I say 'absolutely not.'”

“I think that the memory of Armenia's genocide opened my eyes at an early age to the existence of political cynicism.”