I have come to the conclusion that Mr Brightside by The Killers might just be the best song of the past ten years

but what I was referring to

3. "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" > "Mr. Brightside" (or "Somebody Told Me" or "Smile Like You Mean It")

"Unlike Starsailor, The Killers are perfect candidates for a Lu Cont makeover, perhaps because they sound like they should be making dance music instead of rock anyway, as the great-hooks-in-search-of-a-point conundrum of "Somebody Told Me" aptly demonstrates."

What was the "point" of the hook to "Double Shot of My Baby's Love?"

There you go. The point to the hook in "Mr. Brightside" is that he is Mr. Brightside.

"Somebody Told Me" is banal and pish compared to "Mr Whiteside".

But, you know, they're a rock band! Think of how IMMACULATE it is compared to, say, the Pop Group.

"Mr. Brightside" and "Smile Like You Mean It" probably work better as songs qua songs, but I probably like them (in their original form anyways) a little bit less (the aristocatty vocals in the verses of "Smile Like You Mean It" are pretty ace though, I wonder if Stereophonics cross-bred them with Interpol's vocals to get that illustrious deep romanticism on the verses to "Dakota").

The JLC remix of "Mr. Brightside" has the best of both worlds, retaining the song's conceptual unity while adding and outperforming the melodic and sonic bombast of "Somebody Told Me". Where it sails miles above "Somebody Told Me" is that the combination of the two here allows for a really wholehearted sense of emotional immersion, whereas the open and unleavened silliness of "Somebody Told Me" creates a slight distancing effect ("Somebody Told Me" is the "Robot Rock" to the "Mr. Brightside" remix's "Digital Love").

"I'm not sure I get this rock-not-dance/dance-not-rock dichotomy."

Rock music can be dance music obv, but the concept of "rock" and all that it entails tends to enforce a level of coherence that The Killers really have to strain for and probably don't need (the fact that "Mr. Brightside" and "Smile Like You Mean It" hang together represents a triumph of pathos over logic). So when I say that The Killers might be better off as a dance act, it's insofar as they would not have to meet these expectations.

The one band that *no one* mentions as being an obvious precedent for all this stuff, and who I had at times a sneaking affection for, is the Space Monkeys. They struggled with similar issues, though in a cruder, blockier manner compared to The Killers' relative eyeliner suaveness.

1. Providing an easily quotable title
2. Sounding vaguely like "Girls and Boys"
3. Glamming up the lyrics to fit the glam of the song
4. I dunno, being a chorus. Whatever. It works.

I don't see that the Killers are "straining" after anything. And if I understand what you're saying properly, I think this is a narrow definition of "rock." Where is the "level of coherence" in "Surfin' Bird?" In Hawkwind? In the Fall?

That said, I can't think of a single thing it has in common with "Somebody Told Me".

Hmph perhaps I shouldn't have sold that album.

"And if I understand what you're saying properly, I think this is a narrow definition of "rock." Where is the "level of coherence" in "Surfin' Bird?" In Hawkwind? In the Fall?"

Er, okay, indie rock then. It was a flippant point anyways. Hawkwind is dahnce music obv.

And yeah The Killers do strain for coherence - "Mr. Brightside" feels like it's trying to be a story, but it only becomes so by a certain sleight of hand (it seems to make sense until you try to follow the lyrics sequentially and logically). Again though, this isn't necessarily a bad thing!

I'm not that enamoured of the JLC remix, I reckon JLC is used as a prop by people who want to look like they hate pop while still being able to love "What You Waiting For", "Mr Brightside' or whatever. Not that I'm accusing anyone directly.

Anyway, I think the Killers have a sense of taut groove that a lot of their contemporaries lack, but it doesn't seem instinctive or indelible from their music, as a lot of their songs DON'T HAVE IT. "Somebody Told Me" does, perhaps not to the extent of say, Duran Duran, but there's elements of this "rock music you can dance to" (that said, that Soulwax album from last year really let me down on that unfulfilled promise, so maybe I'm overcompensating by liking The Killers). "Mr Brightside" sometimes strikes me as being better and sometimes as worse - maybe it ties up far too neatly at the end. Not sure.

(Oh, and "Sugar Cane" by the Space Monkeys was a great single, yes. "Fly" done CORRECTLY, indeed.)

haha but wait EMF's "Unbelievable" did better than "Fly" maybe. Perhaps it did.

I mean in 1998 I had no idea who Primal Scream were, but I knew that song was gonn be HUGE. And I SHOULD HAVE BEEN RIGHT GODDAMNIT

dude don't be defensive! I like your review a lot! I just don't get the dahnce/rock thing. I don't see how that would fix the band's "problem"