Sugar (System of a Down song)

"Sugar"
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 Studios (Van Nuys, California) Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Nu metal[1]
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
"Sugar" (1999) "Spiders" (1999)
Promo cover The 2nd promo version of "Sugar". Music video "Sugar" (clean version) on YouTube

"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

Official Video on YouTube

1. Chesler, Josh (May 18, 2015). "10 Nu-metal Songs That Actually Don't Suck". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved March 13, 2016.