Song: “Toxicity”
A song with an unclear meaning clearly means a lot to people
The title track from System Of A Down’s second album — both of which were produced by the legendary Rick Rubin — “Toxicity” is a tour de force of dynamics, driving and thrashing one minute, quiet and contemplative the next.
The band took their time with Toxicity, recording over 30 songs for the album before winnowing it down to 15. The album was released on September 4, 2001, just one week before 9/11.
The song’s meaning isn’t clear, with band members claiming it deals with ADHD, Native American mysticism, REM sleep and meditation states, or the toxicity of Los Angeles. Perhaps they’re all true enough to count, as the band’s bass player explained: “The universe is the sacred silence and sleep, and the kids are the disorder. So how do you control the disorder in that universe? You can’t. To me, that’s ‘Toxicity.’”
Toxicity the album sold more than 3 million copies. It remains popular. For unknown reasons, it briefly vanished from Spotify on April 30th. The uproar was immediate, and the album was restored hours later.
School of Rock students performed this recently at a show their parents attended. The gasps of delight from their parents when the first notes hit — and how electric the performance was of this challenging and rewarding song — were notable.
Enjoy!