Serj Tankian for President

I am officially obsessed with Serj Tankian. (My significant other can easily vouch for that statement...) I listen to him in the car, at my apartment, on my laptop, and from my phone. Almost any chance I get I'm singing or humming his melodies. And there's good reason.
This is no mere man; this is no mere composer; and this is definitely no mere musician. I prophesy that he is the epitome of where music is heading for my generation. (Although, I have to say not all my generation supports metal the same unwavering and passionate way that I do...Lady Gaga comes to mind, unfortunately.) With his politically-driven lyrics forming the basis in his circus of melodic differentiations, he isn't afraid to singe on any touchy subject matter that happens to be sitting on his heart. Example-"I believe that you're wrong, insinuating they hold the bomb - clearing the way for the oil brigade, clearing the way for the oil brigade!" (Ouch.) -Truth of the matter is, this guy isn't afraid to say anything and his fans love it!

While the lyrics themselves are as honest as they come (and I do love to hear artists bear themselves against the popular and accepted common notion)- the melodies, key changes, and meter changes in his melodies are what really stick in my inner voice. I think back to an infamous assignment I had my freshman year of Music Theory. My professor, Mr. Hakoda, had required us to bring in a CD with a track of our favorite music. He made the challenge that with just about anything we brought in he would be easily able to dissect the music using only I, IV, and V chords. Sure enough, our dreams of somehow underhandedly foiling the plot of a Music Theory Doctoral Candidate were almost instantly done away. Even things that sounded dense and complicated to my young and not-so-trained ear were easily stripped down and detailed after only one audio sampling. Now that I'm older, smarter, and more educated (in theory...) my knowledge of musical structures has grown, and with it my cochlea's desire for more sophisticated melodies . Serj's music is something that pleases my need for loud metal, unexpected soft lullabies, and lyrics to spend time pondering over, but is also music that I believe would make Mr. Hakoda and say "Oh, tha's interesting!".

My advice to any adventurous and open-minded music lovers is to look him up, listen to a variety of his tracks, (not just one!!!), look over his well-crafted lyrics, and see how he is definitely more than just the former voice of System of a Down.

http://www.serjicalstrike.com/site/