# The Killers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346 "2005-07-06T21:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phish\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Phish\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phish_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/1 "2005-07-06T21:21:01Z")
Ok, so I really liked _Somebody Told Me_ (Hello, New Order). I absolutely loved _Mr. Brightside_ (Hello, Cheap Trick). And I just can’t stop watching/listening to their performance of [All These Things That I’ve Done](http://music.aol.com/artist/main.adp?tab=songvid&artistid=643632&albumid=0) (Hello, Bowie) from Live 8. These guys are out of this world good! I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a perfect synthesis of Pop and Rock, ever. And those hooks. My god, it’s perfect! So yesterday I said, “That’s it, I’m buying _Hot Fuss_”. This was no small feat for me, because I hardly ever buy CD’s anymore (and no, it’s not because I pirate them. I just plain don’t buy music CD’s much anymore). Damn if it’s not the best debut album I’ve heard since _Appetite for Destruction_, maybe even since _Boston_! And these guys are in their early 20’s!? That’s out of this world, crazy! And what’s really weird, is that up until yesterday I thought these guys were from the UK! They sound like they are from the UK. I thought somebody told me (heh, somebody told me!) they were from the UK. But damn, they are from Las Vegas! Cool! And lastly, I showed my wife their performance from Live 8, and now she is madly in love with their lead singer! Great! :eek: I’m not sure why I felt the need to post this, but I havn’t been this excited about a new band in a long time. And now, I must leave to watch _All These Things That I’ve Done_ for the 18th time. 😉 Thanks for listening ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/2 "2005-07-06T21:39:22Z")
Envy me. I have tickets to the sold-out August show here in Austin. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/3 "2005-07-06T21:54:07Z")
Okay, so I may just be a jaded indie music fan, but why the heck do people keep going on about The Killers? They’ve got a couple of decent songs, which is about standard for a debut album, and they’ve got decent stage presence, but I have no idea why the hype machine has glommed on to them so much. Are they just safe enough to appeal to a mainstream audience or something? I don’t think they’re a bad band–I just don’t understand why they’ve been getting all the hoopla. (And yes, I’ve seen their live show. I was about three feet from the lead singer throughout their set when they opened for Harvey Danger’s reunion show in Seattle.) ---
**Author:** ![Phish\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Phish\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phish_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/4 "2005-07-06T22:34:46Z")
Well **Hunter** , I think you answered you’re own question. They _are_ mainstream. They are a mainstream act who have dropped two huge crossover hits in _Somebody Told Me_ and _Mr. Brightside_, and are poised to unleash a third in _All These Things That I’ve Done_. This, combined with the fact they are a new, young, band, creates all kinds of buzz and publicity, which fuels their popularity. That and the fact that they write fantastic songs, with powerful hooks and melodies. 😉 I learned a long time ago that mainstream does not always = bad. A lot of artists have major labels for a reason: They are talented! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/5 "2005-07-06T22:56:56Z")
I think they’re pretty good, but their album turned out to be pretty uneven for me. There are some really great songs on there, but then there’s a stretch in there where it seems like I skip every track. And I’m convinced that “Somebody Told Me” was either the last track written before the album was completed or it’s got the producer’s fingerprints all over it. The synths on that track are dramatically different than the rest of the album. Not that I’m complaining, I really like that track. Oh, and **Phish Head** , you might want to add a “Hello Duran Duran!” to “Jenny was a Friend of Mine”. I thought I’d bought the wrong cd the first time I heard that one. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/6 "2005-07-06T23:09:03Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > I don’t think they’re a bad band–I just don’t understand why they’ve been getting all the hoopla. For whatever reason, “Somebody Told Me” clicked with large audiences and the Killers started selling albums. That’s all it takes to get the hype machine going. Besides, they’re miles ahead of anything else I’ve heard on the radio lately. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/7 "2005-07-07T00:06:11Z")
Honestly, they are no where as good as The Hospital Bombers and they have about half the talent of Satan’s Fingers. Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/8 "2005-07-07T00:11:04Z")
I know I’m raining on the parade, but one year from now The Killers will have all the relevance of The Vines, The White Stripes, The Strokes, or Oasis. (Ok, let’s get ready for the NBT\*, people… this one is about run into the ground) \*Next Big Thing ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/9 "2005-07-07T00:26:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > I know I’m raining on the parade, but one year from now The Killers will have all the relevance of The Vines, The White Stripes, The Strokes, or Oasis. > > (Ok, let’s get ready for the NBT\*, people… this one is about run into the ground) > \*Next Big Thing To be completely fair, the Strokes were a solid band with a classic sound that people loved, and the White Stripes are led by probably the biggest creative force in rock ‘n’ roll music in the last five years. With any luck, the Strokes and the Killers won’t go away anytime soon, and the White Stripes will keep experimenting and redefining their sound and getting even better. ---
**Author:** ![Phish\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Phish\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phish_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/10 "2005-07-07T00:27:09Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > I know I’m raining on the parade, but one year from now The Killers will have all the relevance of The Vines, The White Stripes, The Strokes, or Oasis. > > (Ok, let’s get ready for the NBT\*, people… this one is about run into the ground) > \*Next Big Thing One can speculate that, but we don’t know for sure. They could be a one album wonder, or turn out to be a 40-year monster. We’ll have to wait and see. I’ll I know is this: **It’s hard as hell to have three huge crossover hits, off one album, in music today.** To be critically acclaimed at the same time is even harder. These guys deserve the hype they are getting. Staying power is tough, real tough. Can they sustain this level of excellence album after album? The odds are against them, for sure. Regardless, they will always have _Hot Fuss_. A brilliant, brilliant debut album! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/11 "2005-07-07T00:28:37Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > To be completely fair, the Strokes were a solid band with a classic sound that people loved, and the White Stripes are led by probably the biggest creative force in rock ‘n’ roll music in the last five years. With any luck, the Strokes and the Killers won’t go away anytime soon, and the White Stripes will keep experimenting and redefining their sound and getting even better. I’ll give you The Vines and The Strokes, but The White Stripes are one of THE bands right now (still gotta listen to Get Behind Me Satan though) and Oasis was the biggest band in the world for a while and still commands a very large fanbase. The Killers won’t be The Vines, but they probably won’t be Oasis either. Not that that’s not a bad place to be. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/12 "2005-07-07T01:20:19Z")
I saw the with The Thrills. opening up for the Pixies last August. I already had Hot Fuss at the time, and I had no idea that The Killers were opening for The Pixies. Yeah, that was a reasonable show. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/13 "2005-07-07T01:23:31Z")
I bought _Hot Fuss_, wow, almost a year ago. It’s a great CD. Thanks for reminding me I have it. When video for _Somebody Told Me_ used to come on, my five year, two year old and I used to jump around the house dancing to it. As my husband put it, we looked like a bunch of clowns. ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/14 "2005-07-07T08:45:26Z")
I saw the Killers at Glatonbury a couple of weeks ago. They were good but I really can’t understand why everyone rages about em. I personally thought the album was fine, just fine and I enjoyed their set, but compared to the White Stripes who headlined one of the nights there and were jaw droppingly good, or Coldpaly or the Zutons, they were average IMO. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/15 "2005-07-07T14:35:43Z")
Can someone confirm if _Somebody Told Me_ is either a remake or if the chorus was ‘borrowed’ from another song (probably mid 80’s)? The first time I heard this, I was able to sing along with the words. I _KNOW_ I’ve heard it before. The frustration on this has mounted so great that recently I had a dream where I was actually _LISTENING_ to the original version (sounded like a British artist/group perhaps). I thought I was going crazy, until I recently discovered that the beginning of a song by Placebo infact sounds identical to _Let Their Be More Light_, by Pink Floyd (which had been driving me nuts, knowing that I’d heard it before). I was right on that one, and I was less convinced of that than I am of The Killers Tune. Of course, I’m still probably going crazy anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/16 "2005-07-07T15:05:37Z")
I love _Somebody Told Me_. It’s just infectiously delicious. The Josh Harris Club Mix is great and often played on my iPod, but I’m not sure if you can purchase it online. A friend sent it to me, and it may have been from a club vinyl or something. Good stuff. Someone mentioned how the song sounds mainstream and safe. I don’t understand why some people see look down on “mainstream” music like it’s inferior. I tell people that I enjoy pop music without a sign of shame on my face. I grew up on “popular” music, so it is no big surprise to me. I haven’t bought a CD in a while. All that money’s been funding my new DVD collection obsession. Might get this record though. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/17 "2005-07-07T16:45:33Z")
> [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](#): > > Can someone confirm if _Somebody Told Me_ is either a remake or if the chorus was ‘borrowed’ from another song (probably mid 80’s)? Maybe you’re thinking of the song [Girls & Boys](http://blur.lyrics-online.net/Girls-and-Boys.html) by the band Blur? Some people have compared the choruses of the two songs. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-killers/311346/18 "2005-07-07T16:48:02Z")
Love listening to “Mr. Brightside”, and Brandon Flowers ain’t too hard on the eyes, either. 😉