Early 2000s Albums: War All the Time- Thursday

ALBUM OF THE DAY

War All the Time- Thursday (2003)

Thursday is an American alt rock/post hardcore band that was at the forefront of the post hardcore/emo scene in the early 2000s.

Formed in New Jersey in 1997, the band consisted of Geoff Ricky (vocals), Tom Keeley (guitar), Bill Henderson (guitar), Tim Payne (bass), and Tucker Rule (drums). The band was influential and rose to popularity by singing about dark themes, especially related to the history of the times. War All the Time is an album that reflects that so deeply, showing glimpses of the Palisades fires, 9/11, and the ever growing divide across the nation in the early 2000s.

War all the Time, released on September 16th, 2003, reflects the changing atmosphere of America during the time, drawing from events like the Palisades fires and the tragedy of 9/11. This album, I think, is the best representation of post 9/11 America.

Personally, I think music has this great ability to tell us and teach us about history, and it’s something I love about this album. Musicians tend to be honest and use raw emotion and feelings to convey history in a way that textbooks just simply can’t. To me, War All the Time does all of those things, so well.

This album always gives me goosebumps. It was haunting listening to the song “War All the Time” for the first time, specifically because of the obvious 9/11 reference and the haunting cries of Geoff Ricky as he sang “we used to be very tall buildings, we’ve been falling for so long”. This song always takes me back to that day, almost instantly.

Other memorable songs on the album that draw on the current history of the times include “For The Workforce, Drowning”, “Division St”, “This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb”, and “Tomorrow I’ll Be You”.

When I was in high school, I used the song “War All the Time” for the ending song in a history project I did in class. I always felt this song so strongly because I related to the feeling of sadness and pain and despair; the feelings that so many people had after 9/11, and I think that’s the thing that this band captures with this album that simply can’t be replicated.

It is like a time capsule of history that we can forever listen to. War All the Time is a reminder of what happened to America in 2001 and the years following. It is a reminder of the darkness and despair and the sadness that many felt. Even though those feelings might be difficult, we still need to feel them. War all the Time is a timeless piece of history in music that will never be forgotten.

With that, I’ll leave you with my favorite lyrics from the album:

“We used to be very tall buildings,

we’ve been falling for so long,

now your eyes are the sign on the edge of town,

they offer a welcome when you are leaving,

War all of the time, in the shadow of the New York skyline

we grew up to fast, falling apart,

like the ashes of American flags.

The pieces fall it’s like a last day parade,

and the fires in our streets start to rage,

so wave to those people who long to wave back

from the fabric of a flag that sang

‘LOVE ALL OF THE TIME’…” - "War All the Time"