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In terms of political things, I think it's important to be more direct in terms of political statements. I think in terms of philosophical and things that you plant things and see them grow lyrically or musically, it's okay to be subtle.

Serj Tankian

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Serj Tankian
Age: 57
Born: 1967
Born: August 21
Bassist
Environmentalist
Essayist
Guitarist
Keyboardist
Lyricist
Peace Activist
Pianist
Poet
Record Producer
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Political
Philosophical
Important
Plant
Things
Terms
Think
Okay
Thinking
Direct
Lyrically
Grow
Musically
Grows
Statements
Term
Subtle

More quotes by Serj Tankian

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When I was younger, I was listening to a lot of Armenian music, you know, revolutionary music about freedom and protest. In the 70s I was listening to soul and the Bee Gees and ABBA, and funk.
Serj Tankian
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Harout Pamboukjian is one of the biggest Armenian folk singers in the world. In the '70s, he was making these records that were really Zeppelin-influenced.
Serj Tankian
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People get so attached to a position which they identify themselves with that they just spurt it out, but they can't really give you a viable reason why they feel that way.
Serj Tankian
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I don't want to spend all my time working as an activist. I don't get satisfaction out of it. I'd rather be doing something else. I'm a musician.
Serj Tankian
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I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I've only really gotten into them as an adult.
Serj Tankian
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A lot of pop music is based on trying to make people remember it so that they'll buy it. To me, it was not about that.
Serj Tankian
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I really feel like civilisation's already over. It's not ending but it's already done. We're all addicted to the concept that humanity equals civilisation and that's not the case. We need a global conversation to be able to decipher how we can live from this point forward. We have to redefine our relationship with our environment.
Serj Tankian
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I think music has the ability to inspire people and to change hearts, and the heart has the power to change the mind, and the mind has the power to change the world.
Serj Tankian
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As long as people are living their truth or their vision, whether they're activists or not, that's the important thing.
Serj Tankian
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Political statements are usually more direct, and it works with the upbeat music as well, for some reason, the directness of your statements.
Serj Tankian
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If you're using live bass versus orchestral bass, you've got to make sure that you're not stepping on the toes of the other elements, so you've got to balance it out.
Serj Tankian
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I like African music, and I'm a huge Ravi Shankar fan.
Serj Tankian
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I think every artist should follow their vision, their hearts is what they need to reveal, not something that society is looking out for.
Serj Tankian
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Sometimes a good love song can change the world and create positive energy more than any political song can.
Serj Tankian
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Awareness in our society has flipped all types of injustice on its head.
Serj Tankian
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We're addicted to this concept of civilization - we can't imagine living outside of it because we've had it for 10,000 years, all of what we call history. But according to archaeologists, humanity has been on this planet for millions of years in indigenous form.
Serj Tankian
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We have the power to change our lives, and the world around us.
Serj Tankian
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Sometimes it's better to have a benign dictator than a dumb democracy, to be honest.
Serj Tankian
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Touring and putting out records is fun and cool, but I've been doing it for a long time.
Serj Tankian
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I believe very firmly that indigenous populations had a really good, intuitive understanding of why we're here. And we're trying to gain that same understanding through psychology and intellect in modern civilization.
Serj Tankian