"Mr. Brightside" / The Killers

Why don’t you look at the bright side and just accept it’s been wildly successful?

Strangely this song about a love triangle from the point of view of the aggrieved party is immensely popular at weddings. It *is* very danceable and catchy with a (pun intended) killer hook.

I have no idea why it's still charting in the UK though. Brits are very weird.

It's kind of the millennial anthem. As r2 notes, it's a staple at weddings and hugely popular at karaoke.

Are The Killers on Top of the Pops?

[quote]Now I'm falling asleep And she's calling a cab While he's having a smoke And she's taking a drag

[quote]Now they're going to bed And my stomach is sick And it's all in my head

[quote]But she's touching his chest now He takes off her dress now Let me go

[quote]And I just can't look it's killing me And taking control

Anyone else like to interpret these lyrics as the singer being jealous that his guy is hooking up with a girl and not the other way around?

Brandon Flowers is dreamy.

Yeah, I really don't think it's THAT great of a song. I was in college in 2005 and that song played in dorm rooms for YEARS. I like The Killers (Brandon Flowers is underrated as a vocalist) but that song's success is bewildering.

I do remember hearing "Somebody Told Me", thinking it was Franz Ferdinand.

Big in Buffalo

l love Your Side of Town, released a couple of years ago. It has a Pet Shop Boys/New Order vibe.

The Killers - Your Side of Town seems like a direct rip off of New Order.

R10, not a coincidence, they are massive fans of New Order. They took their name from the band in New Order's "Crystal" music video.

They're a new wave (revival) band. Sounding like New Order is not news.

Brandon at 22 was the archetype brit pretty boy singer, accessible glam. He was pretty but not model handsome. He was arty but not TOO arty. He was queerish but not gay or maybe just a little bit, like Bowie. An Emotional Crooner for Lads and Girls Alike. He sang about jealousy, heartbreak, vulnerability but with a stadium-sized chorus. That emotional openness in a lad wrapping is catnip for British pop culture.

Brandon Flowers "Bette Davis Eyes"

Brandon Flowers "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"

So the good joke is that he's a mormon the brits found irresistible. In the UK, the Killers are arena and festival headliners, with multiple #1 albums. The mirror star might be Gavin Rossdale and Bush. Huge in USA and ignored or dismissed in UK.

Saw them in their hometown (Las Vegas,) and the crowd went apeshit for every song.

My favorites are "When You Were Young" and "The Man."

I sing "The Man" to myself whenever I have to go to a meeting I'm not thrilled about at work.

(And Flowers looks hot in the video)

Does he still have good hair or is there a system.

I would call it a millennial classic, maybe even the first? Just because it’s so well known and such a karaoke go to.

R16, the Killers have always been very popular in the US. They are hardly "ignored or dismissed."

The Mormon shit bugs me. He's still very much involved.

I don't trust highly religious people - he's met enough people out of the church and been around the world. He has a broad world view and yet - he believes in this shit?

No thanks.

R6 The Killers helped kick off the revival of the 80s and synthesizers. For millennials who grew up with grunge, 90’s dance, teen pop, soft rock, and nu metal, 1980’s synth rock was pretty fresh and exciting.

What throws me off about The Killers is that I was about 15 / 16 when “Hot Fuss” came out and they were pretty popular amongst my age group.

And somehow they’ve evolved into this Dad rock band. I feel like the same people who go to U2 concerts are also Killers fans.

I don’t understand how that happened.

Maybe because "Hot Fuss" was released 21 years ago, so a lot of your age group is actually Dads?

The video for this song is a big fashion shoot. Eric Roberts plays the aged lothario who is screwing the young whore. She is ethereal and beautiful. Looks familiar but no idea who she is.

Pop culture is marketed to the 18-34 year old demographic, R21. Welcome to middle age. Anything that became popular 20 years ago is definitely "dad culture" today. The youngsters prefer Chappell Roan these days. Their dads listen to The Killers.

Meant for R22^

R16: "So the good joke is that he's a mormon the brits found irresistible."

Haven't they been finding The Osmonds irresistible for about 60 years, now? Doesn't Jimmy practically live there?

I'm Gen X, and I have willfully avoided this band and singers who sound like this. Never heard this song until now, but it's pretty good.

This music definitely felt like "oh this is the NEXT generation's stuff," and I think that's why I rebuffed it initially. Nowadays, I'll listen to anything if it's good.

It's funny how we practically define ourselves by the music we listened to growing up. At least I know I do.

I think some Mormons are like a lot of Catholics in that they pick and choose what parts to believe, often believing very little of it in truth, but stay nominally in the flock because of cultural preferences and familial connections.

Resistance if futile. Aren't the Mormons baptising the world's dead?

I loved their first two albums. When You Were Young is a gorgeous song.

Mr. Brightside is easily their catchiest song. It never really gets old, which is a feat. I totally get why it's so huge.

[quote]I think some Mormons are like a lot of Catholics in that they pick and choose what parts to believe,

That could be said of Christians in general, and followers of other religions as well.

That's not true at all of self-professed evangelicals. They're true believers all the way. That doesn't mean they actually follow every tenet but they pretend to and police others in their flock. Not true of cafeteria christians who are more mainstream in views.

haha! I've never heard the term "cafeteria Christian" before, R34!

I'm gonna use that from now on.

Adam says I have Bette Davis eyes

R24 No because Britney Spears isn’t “Mom” rock. And Taylor Swift came out 2 years after “Hot Fuss”, she’s not “Mom” music.

The Killers aged themselves musically and gravitated towards the U2 and the Springsteen crowd.

I’m not 40 yet.

[quote] Brandon at 22 was the archetype brit pretty boy singer

He’s British? I didn’t know they were a British band like Oasis.

R37, no. Just no. Britney Spears isn't rock at all, she's pop/dance pop, and plenty of women in their 40s still listen to that era of pop. She's also not really adding a new generation of fans at this point so her core demographic remains Millennials. Taylor Swift is also not rock and also has older fans. I know multiple women in their 40s who are huge fans. She's known for attracting fans across age groups.

Millennials are parents now so their music is considered "older." Feels like a lot of Millennials are in denial about that. It's basic pop culture math. Nothing stays hot and trendy for 20 years. Teenagers set and drive current trends, not parents of small children. I have a 12 year old niece who is all about pop music and follows every new act but I'm not even sure she knows who Britney Spears is.

I'm Gen X (albeit younger Gen X, born late seventies) and I loved The Killers back in the early 2000s.

Me too, r40, but older, turning 59 this year. I was a huge fan of the Killers when they came out, and took my 16 and 14 year old nephews to see them in Central Park in 2005. They are both dads now btw.

R39, disagree about Britney. I hate her but Gen Z is pretty into her thanks to the "Free Britney" movement.

He’s not British. He’s from a Las Vegas suburb. Mormon.

Are we human?

Or are we dancer?

Brandon Flowers was once asked the meaning of this song and he said it was just a dance tune.

I think the Killers/Springsteen collaborations make perfect sense.

"Blinded by the Light" sounds like a KIllers song ahead of its time and "When You Were Young" would sound just fine on the "Born to Run" album.

i think it's just because it's easy to singalong at the pub

Read my mind was PEAK Brandon hotness. Fuck he is beautiful in this video.

it's relatable?

R47 Brandon certainly does very interesting things with his voice in that song.

Well, OP certainly is Mister Darkside.

Too bad Brandon destroyed his looks with his latest plasticizing adventure with cosmetic surgery,

I love "Mr. Brightside," but "Somebody Told Me" is THE ONE for me. That chaotic opening just sets the table and then WHAM! The song takes off and never quits.

Until it ends, of course.

R14, thank you. Brandon Flowers is one sexy man. And that video showcases those enticing, slim hips of his. I love his voice.

He has a great collaboration with Springsteen.

I love a song called Lonely Town by Brandon Flowers.

Spaceman is a great song that should've been a bigger hit.

The band is trash just like their music. I never really cared for anything they put out but I I was mostly indifferent until they played a fundraiser for Utah's Republican governor last year which they should be embarrassed about.

They had some great songs, better than a lot of shit music that was out in the early/mid 2000s. Same with Scissor Sisters. I wish both bands had lasted longer.

Their song Boy from a couple of years ago is beautiful and powerful.