Ultimate Fan Setlists: System of a Down

If given the improbable task of curating a setlist for a favorite artist, what would you choose? What would your approach be. Recently, I asked myself these questions for Radiohead and Asobi Seksu. For the third installment of Ultimate Fan Setlists, System of a Down fan Jeff Cunningham intimated his choices to Simply Fuss Free. In addition to the songs he holds near and dear, he also shared his rationale.

"Choosing my favorite SOAD songs wasn't the hard part; that came when it was time to actually arrange them in the above order... I tried to find the right balance of hard and more down-tempo, without spending too much time in one or the other." Cunningham states. Because a setlist is more than just a collection of songs, it is important to achieve balance among tempos, eras, and to consider pacing. One thing that has become apparent here at Simply Fuss Free during these exercises of living in dreamland is just how difficult this can be, and it's something of an overlooked and underappreciated art in itself. 

Cunningam's choices also reveal an appreciation for System of a Down's offshoot Scars on Broadway and Serj Tankian's solo releases, with the intention of "showcasing what the members are capable of on their own", but also leaning towards choices that would mesh well with the rest of the set. And closing the main set with "Aerials" and encoring with tracks like "Lonely Day" and "Sugar" allow for the joy of delayed gratification and ending with a memorable bang. What say you? What would your fanboy/girl dream look like? 

Soldier Side (Intro)
BYOB
Revenga
Chop Suey!
Question!
This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song
Chic 'n' Stu
Kill Rock 'N Roll
Hypnotize
Violent Pornography
Boom!
Fuck the System
Spiders
Psycho
ATWA
Bounce
Toxicity
Deer Dance
Aerials

ENCORE 1
Sugar
The Unthinking Majority (Serj Tankian)
Attack

ENCORE 2
Prison Song
Chemicals (Scars on Broadway)
Lonely Day