Serj Tankian Tries Nonsense Food From System of a Down Lyrics
Serj Tankian has finally tried the nonsense food from the lyrics in System of a Down's "Vicinity of Obscenity."
Yes, you guessed it — banana terracotta pie.
"Vicinity of Obscenity" is from System's 2005 album Hypnotize, which was technically the last full body of work that they put out. "Banana terracotta pie" is a phrase that's repeated throughout most of the song.
System of a Down, 'Vicinity of Obscenity'
The singer actually just got to eat banana terracotta pie for the first time during an appearance on the YouTube series Last Meals.The dessert was brought out as a surprise at the end of the second course.
Upon looking at the pie, Tankian admitted he didn't know what it was. That is, until host Josh Scherer mentioned that the container holding the pie was made of terracotta.
"It's a banana terracotta pie with Nilla wafers!" the singer said enthusiastically before high-fiving Scherer. He also added that he's never eaten it before.
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"I like creating relationships between things that don't have a pre-existing one. I was thinking of a banana... I don't know how it even came up in my head — banana terracotta pie," he explained.
Tankian smiled and recalled that producer Rick Rubin didn't like the lyric when he first heard System rehearse the song. However, by the time they went in to record the track, it had grown on him and became one of his favorites on the album.
The vocalist then stated that the silliness in some of System of a Down's songs makes their music "more palatable."
"If you just preach, no one's gonna listen," he suggested, citing Daron Malakian's part in "Prison Song" as a good example of a lighthearted moment balanced with a serious subject.
Unfortunately, we don't get to see Tankian's reaction to eating the pie, but you can still watch the full Last Meals episode below.