-This is gonna bring new meaning
to "System of a Down."
[ Metal music playing ]
[ Tires screech
and bones crack ]
[ Grunts ]
-[ Singing ]
Take a sip from your soul
On a metaphysical milkshake
-I told you I wanted you
on my show.
I wanted you on
"Metaphysical Milkshake."
You were like, "No, no, no."
So, I had to run you over
to get you here.
-It's okay.
I like being run over.
-Welcome to the back
of my van, Serj Tankian.
-It's good to be in the back
of your van, Mr. Rainn.
-As you know,
it's a magical van.
Where would you like
to go today?
-Uh, let's go
to the Island of Dust.
-Yeah, that looks --
that looks pretty dusty.
-Yeah.
But it's an island.
So, it's,
you know, it's dusty,
but it's surrounded
by [ British accent ] water.
-[ British accent ] Water.
-Water.
-[ Normal voice ] Can I tug
on your little billy-goat beard?
-Sure.
As long as you pretend
to be the Dalai Lama after.
-Did he tug on your beard?
-He walked into the room.
I was there with a couple
of artist friends.
And the first thing
he did was just smile,
laugh, came, saw my face,
grabbed my little goatee
and started playing with it.
And he goes, "I want one.
I want like that, too."
And just, like,
my cousin's kids.
They're like, "Aah!"
-So basically, it's been me,
the Dalai Lama,
and your cousin's kids.
-Pretty much.
-And I imagine your wife
when she's really mad at you.
-Uh, when she's happy with me.
-Oh!
[ Singing ]
The toxicity of our city!
How do you write a song?
-It's kind of like play time.
The best way
to write a song
is to not actually think
about writing a song.
It's to pick up
an instrument and just have fun.
And when you do, generally,
something just comes through.
-So, you get yourself into
the state of almost a child,
just like, "I'm gonna
just goof around,"
and then inspiration
flows through you somehow.
-Exactly.
And the muse is there
for all of us
to kind of download,
if you will.
-What is the muse?
-Um, it is the collective
consciousness' art wing.
-[ Laughs ]
So, the collective
consciousness...
-Has an art wing.
-As spoken of by Carl Jung,
is out there.
And then there's a wing
that is the art wing.
-And that's the muse.
-And that flows through people
that are open to it.
-Inspiration.
It doesn't have to be art.
It's actually
inspirational wing.
-There's something
really interesting about that,
because it takes
you and your ego
and your will
out of the equation.
-As artists, we can never
take total credit for our art,
because it's beyond us.
It comes from beyond us.
I think art and music have,
besides entertainment value,
have this incredible
illustrative
and narrative value.
In terms of the times
that we live in, the truths
that we can expose,
the things
that we can relate
to and inspire, co-inspire.
Be inspired by something,
inspire something else,
get inspired by -- you know.
You're inspiring and being
inspired simultaneously.
-I love that "co-inspire,"
because you know,
"inspire" literally
comes from "to breathe."
Like, to in-spire.
You know, that inspiration comes
from the Latin "to breathe."
And "co-inspire"
is like a group of people,
like, breathing together.
-And it's also
the spirit, right?
In-spire.
-We pretty much figured out
what art is.
-That's it.
We can go home now.
-In the back of a van.
We should just shut up
right now.
-Yeah, that's it.
We're done.
-Don't say any more.
Stop talking.
Whoever talks first loses.
-You did.
-I di-- You did!
Ah!
No, no!
'Cause
I was setting the parameters.
-By saying the parameter --
[ Singing from Led Zeppelin
"Immigrant Song" ] Ahhhhh!
-Wow.
-It's good, right?
-You were great.
-You've got a new album out.
What is it?
-Yes, I do.
It's called "Harakiri." Hai!
-[ Grunts ]
Why would you name an album
after ritualized suicide?
-If you remember back
in early 2011,
we were experiencing
all the death
of bird and fish
around the planet,
and it's still
happening until today.
I could not understand,
reasonably, how these beings
that were so well-connected
to nature,
why would they either decide
to leave en masse,
or were given a sign to leave?
And I thought
of the word "harakiri."
Because it's a respectful form
of deciding to leave this place.
And it's also a symbolism
for what we're unconsciously
doing on our own planet.
-Wow.
That's some deep...
Okay, lightning round.
Life's big questions.
Serj Tankian.
Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
-Beatles.
-Why do we hate?
-Because we don't feel
the interconnectivity
of all things.
Otherwise, it would just be us
that we're hating.
-Do we need religion?
-Organized, no.
Disorganized, yes.
-What life's big question
do you struggle with the most?
-"What now?"
-How do you ask the universe
"what next" or "what now?"
-I usually do it
in the mornings.
I sit down,
blank out my mind,
and I ask for guidance every day
to find my vision,
to give me the strength
for compassion,
for patience, for wisdom.
And then I get out,
and I run on a treadmill
until my head falls off.
-I heard in an interview
with you,
you had the craziest
but simplest and best idea
about taxes or tax reform.
-Oh, right, right.
-What's your tax idea, again?
-You know, when we're
filling out our tax returns,
we should just be able
to check off
where we want that money
to be spent.
-People that are really
into the military,
you can donate money
to the military.
And people that are old
and really care about
Social Security and Medicare
and want all their money to go
to Social Security and Medicare.
-Exactly.
You'll know, as a democracy,
how many people
want to spend on defense,
how many people want
to spend on education.
-Right.
What's this organization
you have with Tom Morello?
-It's called Axis of Justice,
and we started it in 2002.
It's an organization
that brings together fans
of music, activists,
and artists to fight
for social change.
-Why all this activism?
Why not just sit back
and relax
and enjoy what you have
and your great musical career?
-I was an activist
before being a musician.
Growing up in Los Angeles,
growing up in the Armenian
community in Los Angeles,
and realizing the hypocrisy
of the denial
of the Armenian genocide
in a well-known democracy
such as the U.S.
made me really kind
of open my eyes
to all of these truths
that are out there that
are still not recognized
for either political expediency
or any other reason.
And that made me an activist.
And I've always had
a penchant for justice.
That's really it.
-Can politics
really make the world
a better place anymore?
-No. People can,
politics can't.
-So, what's a cause
that you care about?
What's a cause
that you would like
to share to get
other young people involved in?
Put it in the comment
section below.
Serj and I -- I'm gonna
drag him over like this
and make him read
every comment right here
on the SoulPancake
comment section.
Let's talk about a cause
you care about.
What do you want
to get involved in?
What would you like to see other
young people get involved with?
Involved waaaa.
-Laaah.
-Laaaaaah.
Go! Do it!
Comment! Now!
-[ Singing ]
The toxicity of our city!
-That felt so good.
