The video also makes use of the SnorriCam technique, in which an actor will have a camera attached to them with a harness. One scene briefly shows Serj eating chop suey with some fans, the only reference to the title dish in either the song or the video.
Editing devices are used to create the effect of the band members "walking through" one another and teleporting on and off the stage. The video, directed by the acclaimed Marcos Siega, contains footage from two live concerts, in which all of the band members except Serj are shirtless. Hence the line, "I cry when angels deserve to die." The lyrics "Why have you forsaken me?" and "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" are references to Jesus' death on the cross, as they were two of the seven things Jesus said while dying.Ī cover version of the song appears in the music video game Rock Revolution, while the master track is in the video game Rock Band 2. Like, if I were now to die from a drug abuse, they might say I deserved it because I abused dangerous drugs. In an interview, Daron Malakian explained, "the song is about how we are regarded differently depending on how we pass. The song was included on the "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" list by the Blender magazine. It was never actually banned completely from the air, but all Clear Channel Radio stations were advised against playing "Chop a!" (and the other songs on the list).
The album it appears on, Toxicity, was Number 1 on the charts during the week of the Septemattacks and the controversy surrounding the popular single at the time led to Clear Channel Radio placing the song on a list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles.