System of a Down's track "Needles" off their 2001 album Toxicity might be one of their most well-known, if only for its chorus regarding pulling tapeworms out of one's ass. Though according to vocalist Serj Tankian in an interview with producer Rick Rubin on his Broken Record podcast, the chorus damn near killed the band. Tankian said he got into such a significant altercation with guitarist Daron Malakian and bassist Shavo Odadjian over one word that a breakup was in the cards.
For those unaware, Rubin produced Toxicity.
“Originally, the chorus was ‘Pull the tapeworm out of my ass.’ Daron and Shavo didn’t like ‘my ass,’” said Tankian. “They were like, ‘No, no, no, that doesn’t sound cool, that sounds bad, that sounds vulnerable,’ or whatever it was. Whatever word you want to use as an adjective. I’m like, ‘What I’m trying to say is philosophical. Take this negativity out of me.’”
“I felt like, it seemed like, the band could have broke up over the lyric,” added Rubin. “It was so extreme, but it speaks to the passion in the band. There’s real passion that’s amazing. The fact that a lyric, an insignificant… one word and arguably comical line is enough to potentially break up a band or discard a great song. That was another possibility.”
“And all we had to do was change it to ‘your.’ ‘Pull the tapeworm our of your ass.’ ’My’ became ‘your’ and then in the middle part where I’m singing nicely, ‘Pull the tapeworm out of me,’ they were okay with that. You probably thought, ‘These guys are fucking nuts,’” added Tankian.
“I think it’s the metal attitude versus the non-metal attitude, as well. For me, I like showing vulnerability in our music. I don’t mind showing it, because I think, as an artist, you’re vulnerable either way. You either show it or you don’t. But the metal attitude is, ‘No way, dude. No way, we’re metal!’ I think that’s what it was more than anything else.”
I guess when Tankian recently said System of a Down will always have drama, he wasn't kidding.
[via Loudwire]
