I have a running list of songs in my head that if you put them on in a social setting (bar, dance, restaurant, wedding) people will get up and dance or sing along. Some of these songs are, “Loveshack” (The B-52s), “Cupid Shuffle” (Cupid), “Footloose” (Kenny Loggins), any Queen song, “Wonderwall” (Oasis), “Barbie Girl” (Aqua) and “Don’t Stop Believing” (Journey).
My personal favorite being “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers. It still blows my mind that “Mr. Brightside” is the band’s debut single. The success that “Mr. Brightside” brought to the Killers is something that takes years for some bands to achieve. Initially the song was released in 2003, but its 2004 re-release brought the group commercial success.
When “Mr. Brightside” was re-released it got to the number 10 spot in the United Kingdom and the United States. In the two decades since the song’s release it is still one of the most downloaded songs on iTunes. This year Rolling Stone magazine also named it one of the “500 Best Songs of All Time.”
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the Killers debut album “Hot Fuss” (June 15, 2004). Even though the album as a whole was a success for them (the quartet earned multiple Grammy nominations), “Mr. Brightside” does seem to overshadow an overall solid debut that marked the beginning of a music career that is still going strong 20 years later.
The Killers were a part of a scene in the early 2000’s of bands inspired by the post-punk/new wave music of the 1980s. The re-emergence of this sound is called the post-punk/indie revival.
The Killers especially let it be known who has influenced them musically. In an article I wrote about how the music of the 1980s can still be heard in music now, I briefly mention that the band name origins can be found in the 2001 music video for “Crystal” by New Order. In the video the fictional band is called The Killers. The music video for “Somebody Told Me” pays tribute to “Crystal.”
In 2015 lead singer Brandon Flowers was featured on the song “Superheated” from New Order’s album “Music Complete.”
But the ‘80s isn’t their only influence; the band’s hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada has also left a staple on the sound of “Hot Fuss.” It makes sense that for the 20th anniversary they are doing a residency in Vegas at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
“Hot Fuss” is filled with synth and sounds of the past mixed with a more modern sound that bridges the two decades together. The obvious influences never feel gimmicky or sound like they are in a covers band. They have a natural charisma that is present on every track.
The opening song “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” first sounds artificial and the faint sound of what I think is a helicopter can be heard. The transitions into guitars and drums gets the listener into the narrative that is a throughline in the album. This song gives us the point of view of a man being questioned for the murder of a girl named Jenny.
“Jenny” opening verse has the narrator recount presumably to the cops the events that led up to her death. Flower sings, “We took a walk that night, but it wasn’t the same/We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain.” As the listener we don’t know if the narrator is telling the truth. In “Jenny” the narrator fluctuates between two extreme emotions.
The verses show the narrator starting to unravel and his guilt becomes apparent. His sudden burst of emotions when he says, “She said she loved me but she had somewhere to go/She couldn’t scream while I held her close/I swore I’d never let her go.” And in the second verse the narrator finally loses his cool, “I just can’t take this, I swear I told you the truth.”
When the chorus happens he is calm and feels like he is taunting the cops and listeners when he says, “Tell me what you want to know/oh come on, oh come on, oh come/There ain’t no motive for this crime/Jenny was a friend of mine.” But the police are onto him and see through his facade (“And then you whisper in my ear/“I know what you’re doin’ here.”)
It isn’t until track 10’s “Midnight Show” that we start to see more of the story. Indicating that “Jenny” is part of something larger. “Midnight Show” is more frantic in nature and follows the narrator just presumably after he committed the crime he is being questioned for in “Jenny.” The repetition of the words “Drive faster boy” paints a picture of him driving at full speed down a dark road. The further he drives the more he starts to confess. One of the most revealing lyrics is, “I took my baby’s breath beneath the chandelier/of stars in atmosphere and watched her disappear/Into the midnight show.”
The first piece of the puzzle “Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf” wasn’t released until the 2007 b-side compilation “Sawdust.” This song completed the trilogy of songs that showed how love can quickly turn into jealousy and obsession. It makes the lyric from “Midnight Show” “She said she loved me” that more desperate.
My favorite track and what I would consider my favorite song by the Killers is “Smile Like You Mean It.” Here we have the band lamenting about the past. They are all adults now and long for a simpler time. But the past is the past and they must move on with their lives. The bridge brings the point across perfectly.
And the vocals have this effect that makes Flowers’ voice sound like a ghost witnessing life go on. Flowers sings, “And someone is calling my name/From the back of the restaurant/And someone is playing a game/In the house that I grew up in/And someone will drive her around/Down the same streets that I did/On the same street that I did.”
The Killers sound has changed a lot since the two decades they released “Hot Fuss,” but I come back frequently to this one for the songwriting quality and the nostalgia that it brings.