Common Existence

Untitled

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Common Existence is the fifth full-length album from post-hardcore band Thursday. It was released on February 17, 2009 on Epitaph Records. The band began recording at Dave Fridmann's Tarbox Road Studios on August 11, 2008. The album was completed in November 2008.

Song information

The band explores many subjects, including marriage (”Last Call”), fatherhood (”As He Climbed the Dark Mountain”), and physical abuse (”Time’s Arrow”).

In a March 2009 interview, Rickly explained the album's title refers to humanity's shared experience, and that many of the songs were influenced by the words of his favorite poets and authors.

Almost every song on the record is connected to a different writer. The first song, "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" is influenced by Denis Johnson's Resuscitation of a Hanged Man. Another song is based on a book Martin Amis's Time's Arrow. The whole record also has a lot of themes from Roberto Bolano, a poet who wrote The Savage Detectives and a few other things. The song "Circuits of Fever" is very influenced by [writer] David Foster Wallace.

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The album includes the track "As He Climbed The Dark Mountain," which previously appeared on the band's split EP with Japanese hardcore band Envy. The song "Last Call" originates from 2005 when five demos were leaked. While the first four were released on A City by the Light Divided, "Last Call" had not been released up until now.

On December 9, 2008, the band released the first new track from the album, "Resuscitation of a Dead Man", on their MySpace page. In early February, another new track, "Friends in the Armed Forces", was released for streaming on the band's MySpace page. In successive interviews with Spin.com and Rock Sound, keyboard player Andrew Everding and vocalist Geoff Rickly explained the track's significance:

"[The song] is about a personal experience that Geoff had with someone we know who's serving in the Iraq conflict. It can be forced down your throat to support someone who's fighting for a cause you don't believe in... We support you as people but we don't support your efforts." - Andrew Everding, Rock Sound interview

"I have a close friend in the service and several others that have finished their tours... The song was inspired by my conversations with them and by my conversations with their family members. It's about the shifting of perspective when it comes to wrong and right - ultimately, the song is a wish for peace and wellbeing for my friends." - Geoff Rickly, Spin.com interview

A music video was filmed for "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" which features various pyrotechnics such as sparks falling around the band. Footage includes the band performing in a red room and urgent scenes of a man being rushed on a gurney. Later on, Thursday's amplifiers become engulfed in fire as well. In an interview on No. 1 Countdown, band members stated that all pyrotechnics were indeed real and frequently singed their hair.

On September 15, 2009 Thursday with release a digital exclusive deluxe edition of Common Existence with five bonus tracks, the music video for "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" and a digital booklet.

Track listing

All music by Thursday. All lyrics by Geoff Rickly.

1. "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" – 3:21
2. "Last Call" – 4:03
3. "As He Climbed the Dark Mountain" – 3:01
4. "Friends in the Armed Forces" – 4:10
5. "Beyond the Visible Spectrum" – 3:59
6. "Time's Arrow" – 4:13
7. "Unintended Long Term Effects" – 2:18
8. "Circuits of Fever" – 5:07
9. "Subway Funeral" – 4:18
10. "Love Has Led Us Astray" – 4:39
11. "You Were the Cancer" – 5:49

Digital deluxe edition bonus tracks

12. "Fake Nostalgia" – 3:22
13. "Common Existence" – 3:53
14. "The Worst Vow" – 3:14
15. "Circuits of Fever (Innerpartysystem remix)" – 4:12
16. "Love Has Led Us Astray (original demo)" – 3:00

Personnel

Thursday

• Geoff Rickly – vocals
• Tom Keeley – guitar, vocals
• Steve Pedulla – guitar, vocals
• Tim Payne – bass guitar
• Tucker Rule – drums
• Andrew Everding – keyboards, synthesizers, vocals

Additional Musicians

• Tim McIlrath – guest vocals on "Resuscitation of a Dead Man"
• Walter Schreifels – guest vocals on "Friends in the Armed Forces"

Production

• Produced, recorded, and mixed by Dave Fridmann
• Engineered by Dave Fridmann, Andrew Everding, Joseph Pedulla and Karla Allen
• Mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone

Art

• Photography by Michael Brandt, Dennis Keeley and Mike Chapman
• Layout by Nick Pritchard

References

Th