He hasn’t a clue when Hanukkah begins this year. My husband’s holiday indifference now seems like laziness. ![]() I cannot even see the words “needlepoint wall hanging” without feeling inadequate and faint. I’ve opened it, spotted a lot of illustrations of craft items to make at home, then shut it in a sweat. “Unlike Santa Claus, who is so natural? Practically organic, practically vegan-coming down a chimney like that!” “Do we have to do Kwanzaa? It’s really just an invention,” my husband says. Our family is an improvisation, a desperate rendition of “Gilligan’s Island.” Hanukkah for my husband, Kwanzaa for my son, who is adopted and part African-American, and, of course, Christmas (I think in my Gentile-centric way) for everyone. We have to do all the holidays if we do any. Performance anxiety pervades the household. There is, after all, a possibility that, at two, he will remember this as his first “holiday season.” (At a theological loss, we have adopted the retail phrase.) Despite our anti-ceremonialist leanings, it is time to do something commemorative at home. “Chop Suey!” was removed from the radio for a brief time as Clear Channel and promoters thought it too aggressive considering the circumstances.Oy. In the days after 9/11, US media conglomerate Clear Channel sent a memo to each of its radio stations with a list of questionable songs that programmers and DJs might want to consider not playing in the wake of the 9/11 attack. While the song would eventually receive a gold certification status from the Recording Industry Association, the song’s initial charting success was cut short. The title stands out and is not mentioned at all in the lyrics, but the strange choice is believed to have helped the song’s success. While seemingly random, the group chose the title to describe their musical style: lots of stuff thrown together. The title of the song is named after a Chinese stew made with meat or fish, plus bamboo sprouts, onions, rice, and water chestnuts. “Like, if I were to die from a drug overdose, everyone would say I deserved it because I abused drugs, hence the line Angels deserve to die.” So… What exactly is chop suey? The meaning behind the song title. “The song is about how when people die, they will be regarded differently depending on the way they pass,” said Malakian. Malakian said that people judge others for how they pass, especially if due to any drug-related issues. Let’s make them believe we actually did it.’”ĭespite the assumptions, the song was intended to make a comment on the ways that people die. “ ‘Self-righteous suicide’, ‘Aerials in the sky’, Jet Pilot.’ I was, like, ‘Wow, that’s cool they think that. ![]() “Our fans were starting to say, ‘Hey, these guys are prophets, they’re saying things that hadn’t happened yet,’” says Malakian. Frontman Serg Tankian’s energy on the verses comes out in righteous anger before slowing down to the half-time lines that would ignite the controversy. The song begins with an iconic, driving chord progression before the rapid-fire chaos of the verses unfolds. As bold a move as it was to release this as a single, it solidified the group’s breakout hit. “Chop Suey!” comes from the band’s second album, Toxicity. I just started playing that acoustic guitar, and that’s when I started writing Chop Suey!” The Controversy “There was an acoustic guitar I used to take around with me. ![]() ![]() “I was just hanging out by myself on a bed at the back,” said Malakian.
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