Monday, May 1, 2017

System of a Down - "BYOB" (forgotten song)

A while back Herbert and I were talking about the lack of protest songs from the Second Gulf War.  Not protest songs from Vietnam-era artists (e.g., "Living With War") or from obscure artists, but protest from popular, contemporary artists with airplay on regular radio stations.  Part of the reason is surely a side-effect of the all-volunteer military: the burden is not shared across the general population and the conflict largely disappears from the public consciousness. 

One notable exception is System of a Down's "B.Y.O.B." which received a good bit of airplay on stations like FM99.  The song, from the 2005 LP Mezmerize, came out in the height of the Iraq War.  I'm really not even a "fan" of System of a Down, but 1) this song rawks, and 2) for blistering commentary, I'll put this up against any 60s folk-protest song.  With Trump spoiling for a fight with North Korea, sadly it's time to dust off "B.Y.O.B."  -- perhaps we can get SOAD to rewrite the references to "oil" and "desert" to be replaced with the frozen wastes of North Korea. 
Blast off! It's party time!
And we don't live in a fascist nation!
Blast off! It's party time!
And where the fuck are you?!

Where the fuck are you?
Where the fuck are you?

Why don't presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why don't presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
System of a Down "B.Y.O.B."

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