This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. Thursday frontman, Geoff Rickley, speaks with Alt Press in a new interview about the band getting back together to play Wrecking Ball and what could be next: There’s something I hated at the time that I’m counting as a blessing now. At the time, I really hated the fact Thursday came up and inspired bands like Story Of The Year and the Used because I hated that [the scene] was turning into radio rock that was turning off the kinds of bands that I wanted to be influenced by us, making them do smart things with post-hardcore. [Those bands] would think, “It’s totally played out and whitewashed, I’m going to move on to indie rock” or this or that. I resented it at the time because I wanted to have a bunch of really smart, interesting peers who pushed the art form to another level. Looking back on it, I feel like maybe part of the the reason Thursday is so relevant and pure is because there was this radio rush and the smart kids stopped making post-hardcore. There aren’t that many great post-hardcore bands who came in the wake of Thursday doing this stuff. I think that’s why Thursday still stands up: There wasn’t a lot of great innovation in the wake of the band. And I owe that to bands that were more interested in radio hits—they helped preserve the vitality of Thursday. Expand - View Original
Geoff always gives great interviews. Goes deep into his thoughts on the industry and his psyche and whatnot. You don't see too many people dissecting things like him.
Evan as a huge fan of Thursday, that statement comes across pretty arrogant, haha. This part, specifically: "There aren’t that many great post-hardcore bands who came in the wake of Thursday doing this stuff. I think that’s why Thursday still stands up: There wasn’t a lot of great innovation in the wake of the band."
I get his point, even if it did come across as arrogant. I think he loves post hardcore and really was saddened/hurt that the scene went in the direction it did. Anyways, love Geoff and hope Thursday sticks around.
It's a bit arrogant, but I get what he's saying. Nowadays the "post-hardcore" scene is like, Pierce the Veil lol
Eh he is allowed to be a little arrogant about post-hardcore, Thursday did it better than anyone else, and he is right, the bands they influenced for the most part sucked.
I look at Thursday as one of the most important influences in my tastes, in the early 2000's they propelled me forward in my music listening habits in ways I never would have went without them. That being said, I agree completely - it's not arrogant, post-hardcore that I knew and grew up with (as defined by bands like Thursday) changed rapidly in a short period time. By 2007 bands like Pierce the Veil and A Skylit Drive were being defined as post-hardcore. I love both of those bands, but they were not Thursday. They had the type of sound that would go on to define a lot of the more "modern" post-hardcore that I think of today. They moved the definition in a different direction, in a way. That can be good or bad however you look at it, but it's not wrong.
I didn't want to get into a whole big thing, but I never thought Thursday were very good songwriters. They create some interesting soundscapes, but their songs don't ebb and flow naturally at all. They all sound like demos to me, and not because they're raw or disjointed (I listen to plenty of similar bands), but because they just don't sound like they're finished, the vocals especially. I can always find something to like, but there are always so many instances where I would have changed something. As far as Geoff, he comes off intolerably arrogant here. Even if this had been Jesse Lacey, or if I'd held Thursday in a higher regard, my cringe meter would have been off the charts. I understand it's his opinion (just like everything I'm saying is mine), but that doesn't free his statement from any scrutiny (nor does it mine).
I get what he's saying, although he's better off considering The Used and similar bands emo-pop or something. They had a lot of the same fans as Thursday (Thursday actually probably benefited a lot from the mainstream 'post hardcore' bands) but the sound was pretty different. That said, Story of the Year are super underrated imo. Page Avenue, I can totally see what Geoff was thinking. But the two albums after that were pretty heavy, I think they pulled off that sound better than basically anyone. Just listened to The Black Swan a couple of times the other day and that record is phenomenal.
I love Geoff and Thursday, but this quote was hard for me to swallow, as well. I think what bothered me the most was the name-dropping. Not that I have any significantly strong feelings about The Used or Story of the Year in particular, but it just felt like an odd thing to do. Those bands (and many others I'm assuming he could have or wanted to name) made some great music as well, that in no way impacts my view or opinion of Thursday in any way. It's also strange to presume the motive of bands like The Used and Story of the Year, unless there's some quotes out there that I'm not aware of that find them blatantly saying that their goal is to produce radio hits.
I don't think he was saying "Thursday was the greatest thing ever". Just that he was dissapointed by the bands they inspired. I mean they did inspire The Used and Story of the Year... Good or bad they inspired a lot of bands. Acknowledging that doesn't mean he is saying they themselves were amazing (which they were, for proof listen to Waiting through War All The Time)