Editing Steal This Album! (section)

==Background==
In early 2002, medium-quality [[MP3]]s of the album were released on the internet under the name ''Toxicity II''. The band issued a statement expressing disappointment that fans were hearing material that was unfinished, and they worked to release a completed, higher-quality version of the album, which became ''Steal This Album!''.<ref name="CMJ">{{cite book |title=New music report |publisher=[[CMJ]] |page=23 |date=December 16, 2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPzr8f3lVW8C&q=new+music+report.+cmj.+2002+system+of+a+down&pg=PT2 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323115424/https://books.google.com/books?id=tPzr8f3lVW8C&q=new+music+report.+cmj.+2002+system+of+a+down&pg=PT2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Though often reported in the media as a collection of B-sides and outtakes, the band insisted that the ''Steal This Album!'' material is of the same quality as the tracks that made it onto ''Toxicity''. Vocalist [[Serj Tankian]] has said that the songs were left out of ''[[Toxicity (album)|Toxicity]]'' "because they did not fit the overall continuity of the album". In May 2009, drummer [[John Dolmayan]] revealed that the album is his favorite System of a Down release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stereokill.net/2009/05/17/interview-john-dolmayan-system-of-a-down-scars-on-broadway/ |title=Interview: John Dolmayan (System of a Down/Scars on Broadway) |access-date=May 17, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415133452/http://stereokill.net/2009/05/17/interview-john-dolmayan-system-of-a-down-scars-on-broadway/ |archive-date=April 15, 2014}}</ref> Similarly, Tankian also called the album his favorite System of a Down album in a 2012 [[Reddit#IAmA and AMA|AMA]] on [[reddit]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/w44co/i_am_serj_tankian_ama/c5a2taa/?context=1 |title=R/IAmA - Comment by u/Serjtankianofficial on "I am Serj Tankian. AMA." |date=July 6, 2012 |access-date=February 13, 2020 |archive-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505234749/https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/w44co/i_am_serj_tankian_ama/c5a2taa/?context=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A first version of "Streamline" was used in ''[[The Scorpion King]]'' soundtrack, which was released in early 2002, and as a B-side on the CD2 edition of "[[Aerials (song)|Aerials]]".

Multi-instrumentalist [[Arto Tunçboyacıyan]] sings on the song "Bubbles", marking his third appearance with System of a Down (having appeared on two songs on ''[[Toxicity (album)|Toxicity]]'').

Commenting on the track "I-E-A-I-A-I-O", drummer John Dolmayan said it was inspired by an encounter he had with actor [[David Hasselhoff]] in a liquor store in Los Angeles when he was around 12:<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hartmann |first1=Graham |title=System of a Down's John Dolmayan Reveals Lyrical Inspiration for 'I-E-A-I-A-I-O' |url=http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-john-dolmayan-lyrical-inspiration-i-e-a-i-a-i-o/ |magazine=[[Loudwire]] |access-date=August 2, 2014 |date=July 14, 2014 |archive-date=July 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721043444/http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-john-dolmayan-lyrical-inspiration-i-e-a-i-a-i-o/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|He was getting a drink, not an alcoholic beverage, a soda or something. He was walking out and I couldn't believe it! Here was Knight Rider in front of me! And I said, 'Knight Rider!' I must have been 12. He looked at me and he goes, 'Hey kid,' and he kind of pointed the finger [at me] cowboy style. I told Serj the story, so the lyrics, 'Meeting John at Dale's Jr. / Winked an eye and point a finger.' 'Dale's Jr.' was the liquor store. There's a little insight.}}