Figure It Out (Serj Tankian song)

"Figure It Out"
Single by Serj Tankian
from the album Harakiri
Released	May 1, 2012
Recorded	Serjical Strike studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Nu metal [1]
Length	2:52
Label	Serjical Strike, Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Serj Tankian
Producer(s)	Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian singles chronology
"Reconstructive Demonstrations" (2010) "Figure It Out" (2012) "Cornucopia" (2012)

"Figure It Out" is a song by the rock musician Serj Tankian. The song was released as the lead single from his third solo album Harakiri .

Reception

Writing for Artist Direct, Rick Florino complemented the opening guitar, stating "[it] slashes intensely as the legend's poetry rises and falls with the inflection of his voice." ^[2] Iaan Robinson of CraveOnline also praised the track and compared it to Tankian's work in System of a Down. ^[3]

Consequence of Sound reviewer Adam Kivel criticized the line "Why pretend that we don’t know/ that CEOs are the disease?" for "attempting to force issues into the listener's face". ^[4] Steve Lepore of PopMatters was also less than enthusiastic about the track, calling the talk-singing sections of the song cliche. ^[5]

Music video

A lyric video was released for the song on May 1, 2012, the same day as the single release. The song's official music video was later released on May 25, and was directed by Ara Soudijian. ^[6]

Track listing

Australian promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fuck, Let's Figure It Out" (Dirty Version)	2:52
2.	"Figure It Out" (Clean Version)	2:52

American promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Figure It Out" (Clean Version)	2:52
2.	"Figure It Out" (Dirty Version)	2:52

7" single

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Figure It Out"	2:52

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Revolver"	2:31

European promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Figure It Out"	2:53

Chart positions

Chart (2012)	Peak positions
US Main.	17 [7]
US Rock	44 [8]

Personnel

• Serj Tankian – vocals
• Dan Monti – guitar
• Mario Pagliarulo – bass
• Troy Zeigler – drums

References

1. "Recensione: Serj Tankian - Harakiri" (in Italian).
2. Florino, Rick (June 28, 2012). "Serj Tankian "Harakiri" Album Review". Artist Direct. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
3. "Review: Serj Tankian - Harakiri". CraveOnline. July 3, 2012. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
4. Kivel, Adam (July 10, 2012). "Serj Tankian - Harakiri". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved May 9, 2015.
5. Lepore, Steve (July 16, 2012). "Serj Tankian: Harakiri". PopMatters . Retrieved May 9, 2015.
6. "Serj Tankian - "Figure It Out" Official Music Video". YouTube. 25 May 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
7. Elect the Dead : Awards at AllMusic . Retrieved May 9, 2015.
8. "Chart Highlights: Matchbox Twenty Returns With 'She's So Mean'". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2015.