Sugar (System of a Down song)
| "Sugar" | |||||||||||||
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| Single by System of a Down | |||||||||||||
| from the album System of a Down | |||||||||||||
| Released | May 24, 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Format | CD, Airplay, 7" | ||||||||||||
| Recorded |
November 1997–March 1998 Sound City Van Nuys, CA Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Hollywood, CA | ||||||||||||
| Length | 2:34 | ||||||||||||
| Label | American | ||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian | ||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin, System of a Down | ||||||||||||
| System of a Down singles chronology | |||||||||||||
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"Sugar" is a song by Armenian American rock band System of a Down. It was released as a single and EP in May 1999 and was taken from their album System of a Down (1998).
"Sugar" is one of System of a Down's first songs, having initially appeared on their first official demo tape. This song has been played at most System of a Down concerts, and the concerts mostly end with this song.
The song was used in certain World Wrestling Federation (WWF) promos during 1999-2000 and is featured in the game Madden NFL 2010.
Music video
The music video for "Sugar" shows the band playing on a stage, with an American flag intercut with images of public violence, hangings from the Holocaust, armies, footage of the Upshot-Knothole Grable nuclear test and footage from the German film Metropolis.
The video begins with a reenactment from the movie Network of a news reporter saying:
"Good evening, I'm Eric Alost [America Lost]. NATO forces bomb Serbia and Kosovo. An unidentified man is being held for questioning by the FBI for suspected links to last month's biological virus deaths. In local news, a dog named Hero takes the grand prize at the annual- I wish I could tell you more pertinent news, but we're in a rating system here, and the key factor is 'sensationalism'. They've got you running in circles, 9 to 5, *static, then TV image resets* and 5 to 9... you're mine! I tell you what they want you to know, and you consider it the truth. Nobody is opening their eyes! Our global economy is depleting the world of our lives and natural resources! AND ARE YOU HAPPY?! COME ON! I WORK FOR THE SYSTEM!"
It then cuts to the band. Tankian and Malakian are seen with their faces painted throughout the entire video, drummer John Dolmayan is seen, though very briefly, wearing a gas mask, and bassist Odadjian is seen with his beard braided and face paint also.
Due to the controversial nature of the video, it received little airplay. Channels such as Kerrang!TV were restricted to showing the video after the 10pm watershed.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic (CD Single) |    link |
| Allmusic (EP) | link |
Track listing
All lyrics written by Serj Tankian.
| CD single | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Sugar" | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:34 |
| 2. | "War?" (Live) | Malakian | 2:49 |
| 3. | "Sugar" (Live) | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:23 |
| 4. | "Suite-Pee" (Live) | Malakian | 3:04 |
All lyrics written by Serj Tankian.
| 7" single | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Sugar" | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:34 |
| 2. | "War?" (Live) | Malakian | 2:48 |
All lyrics written by Serj Tankian.
| Sugar E.P. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Sugar" (Album Version) | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:34 |
| 2. | "Sugar" (Clean Version) | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:34 |
| 3. | "Störagéd" | Malakian | 1:19 |
| 4. | "Sugar" (Live Version) | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:27 |
| 5. | "War?" (Live Version) | Malakian | 2:48 |
| 6. | "Sugar" (Clean Live Version) | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:27 |
| 7. | "War?" (Clean Live Version) | Malakian | 2:48 |
All live tracks featured on this release were recorded on January 19, 1999 at Irving Plaza in New York City, NY.
External links
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