"Question!" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down, released in July 2005 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Mezmerize (2005).
Release After the release of "B.Y.O.B.", the band were deciding what song to release as a single. They eventually chose "Question!" after finding out radio stations had already been playing the track.
Music video Shavo Odadjian produced the video, and co-directed it alongside Howard Greenhalgh, after allegedly having an image of the video in a nightmare, which consisted of a boy offering a girl berries, unaware that they were poisonous. It is claimed that before the dream he did not intend to produce the video and did not want any special treatment over other possible producers for being in the band, thus submitting the idea anonymously.
Filmed mostly in the Los Angeles Theatre, which opened in 1931, the video opens with a gray-haired, gray-clothed, and gray-skinned boy shooting a red bird with a slingshot in an alleyway, after which the song starts. It then switches to the band members in dark suits in the theatre's forestage performing music for a play, similar to an orchestra. Based on a theme of life, death, and reincarnation, the play revolves around two lovers, a man in a dark suit and a woman in a red dress, who are shown both as children and as adults. As the music reaches its climax, the woman collapses after eating a red berry and the man screams in grief. The video closes with an intense scene of a woman giving birth in a hospital room, followed by a shot of a newborn baby wrapped in red cloth. The color red significantly links the bird, the girl, the woman, and the baby in a cycle of rebirth.
Tankian described the theatre, "It's an amazing old theater that is due for renovation. I'm glad they haven't renovated it yet, because it has the right character for what we were looking for. It has a fairy tale vibe."System of a Down Pose "Question!" Rolling Stone
Track listing
Personnel
System of a Down Serj Tankian – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Daron Malakian – guitar, backing vocals Shavo Odadjian – bass John Dolmayan – drums, percussion
Additional personnel Marc Mann – string arrangements
Production Rick Rubin – production Andy Wallace – mixing David Schiffman – engineering Jason Lader – editing Dana Neilsen – editing Phillip Broussard – engineering assistance John O'Mahony – Pro Tools engineering Steve Sisco – mixing assistance Joe Peluso – mixing assistance Vartan Malakian – artwork Brandy Flower – graphic design
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Question!" Chart (2005) PeakpositionCanada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)29
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for "Question!"Chart (2005)PositionUS Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard) 32US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard) 44
Certifications
References