"Signals Over the Air" is a song by American rock band

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. It was released on August 12, 2003, as the second single from the band's third studio album '' War All the Time.'' It became the band's biggest hit in the United States, reaching No. 30 on the ''

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chart, as well as in the United Kingdom, where it placed at No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart. Vocalist Geoff Rickly wrote the song about "trying to find isown sexual identity" and being uncomfortable with masculinity.

Background

Rickly said that the "angles" in the song's guitars were indebted to the album ''

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'' by British band

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. During an interview at 2004's

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

, Rickly explained that the song was "about a lot of gender-related things, but especially sort of trying to come to terms with sexuality as not being a terrible thing, and trying to find my own sexual identity... I've never really felt comfortable being a man. I’ve never felt any kind of affinity with male culture." He expressed confusion towards ''

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'' and admitted to enjoying the song " Man Size" by

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. In an interview with New Jersey–based rock publication ''The Aquarian'', Rickly also said about the song, "I think that love and sexuality should be together as something really sacred and special. Not how sexuality is just thrown out there as something really commercial and how it’s been made a commodity. Like having sex with someone without knowing who they are or what their life is like and who they have been with." At a 2024 performance, Rickly dedicated the song to "the human rights of every single person, for reproductive healthcare and reproductive justice for every single person and for the right of every single person to identify with whatever sex, sexuality, gender you see fit."

Release

"Signals Over the Air" was released to radio on August 12, 2003, as the lead radio single and second physical single. According to Rickly, "That was as easy choice for me as a first single. I really like the idea of a song about the exploitation of sexuality being on major media outlets like radio and television. It’s an exploration of how dark sexuality has been made by those forces. It may not be as interesting as '

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', but having radio and TV play something that deals with issues of because of radio and TV is something I’m really proud of."

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Thursday (band) songs 2003 singles 2003 songs 2000s ballads Island Records singles LGBTQ-related songs Rock ballads