Overview
One of the most influential rock bands that rose to prominence in the early 2000s is the band The Killers. This group is composed by vocalist Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci and they are best known for their signature song “Mr. Brightside”, the lead single from their album Hot Fuss. The name of the band is derived from the New Order’s music video for their single Crystal (“The Killers”, 2007).
The band is known for their indie and synthpop vibe, with a touch of New Wave and Heartland Rock. So far, the group has released six albums: Hot Fuss (2004), Sam’s Town (2006), Sawdust (2007), Day & Age (2008), Battle Born (2012), and Direct Hits (2013). Some of their famous singles are the previously cited “Mr. Brightside”, “Human”, “Spaceman”, “When You Were Young”, “Bones”, and “Miss Atomic Bomb”, among others.
Music and Video Analysis
In this paper, three of the music videos released by the band will be analyzed: their signature song Mr. Brightside (TheKillersVEVO, 2009), Human (TheKillersVEVO, 2009), and a song which was related to the track Mr. Brightside, Miss Atomic Bomb (TheKillersVEVO, 2012). The lyrics of the songs, their basic musical characteristics, as well as the entertainment qualities of the videos will be examined and discussed at length.
“Mr. Brightside” is probably the most famous track out of The Killers’ songs. The song is about the doubts of a man that his girlfriend is cheating on him with another guy, but he is trying to remain oblivious to that fact. The music is composed in an indie-rock genre, with a recurring and noticeable guitar riff playing all throughout. The influence of a synthesizer is also remarkably apparent. Flowers said that the lyrics of the song are distinctive and powerful and that is why the second verse is merely a repetition of the first (Titus, 2004).
The lyrics, which include the singer trying to stop himself from fantasizing his significant other cheating on him with another man, is based from Flowers’ real-life experience with a former girlfriend who cheated on him. The lyrics describe the state of mind that the singer experiences, from paranoia to jealousy and then falsely reassuring himself that everything is and will be fine.
The music video of the song is remarkable; it depicts the singer and an older guy vying for the affections of a showgirl in the burlesque show. These three characters are involved in a love triangle, and its visuals are highly reminiscent of the film Moulin Rouge.
Human
Another well-known single of The Killers is “Human” from their Day & Age album. It is a philosophical nature of being humans living on this earth. Like any other The Killers songs, the synthpop influence can be strongly felt in this song. It starts with a rhythmic guitar riff which preludes a melody that is heavily reminiscent of the 80s decade. The song, overall, can be described as a mix of the genres of alternative rock, new wave and synthpop—which is the trademark of all The Killers songs.
As mentioned earlier, the song is about the worth of being a human in the world. It is also interesting to note that the song raised some controversy regarding its confusing lyrics in the chorus (“Are we human or are we dancer/denser”). The band has confirmed that the real lyric of the song is dancer. This is fitting as it questions whether we people are ‘human’, i.e., we have limitless potential and if we will enough, we can do whatever we want, or we are ‘dancer’ [sic], mere performers on this earth who only act out what people think we are supposed to do (Gregory, 2008).
The video of the song is quirky in itself: it features the song performing on a desert landscape, with Flowers sporting a gear made out of feathers draped on his shoulders, the members holding portraits of themselves, and shots of various animals interspersed all throughout. These strange elements contribute to the thought-inducing atmosphere of the song overall.
Miss Atomic Bomb
Miss Atomic Bomb is one of the latest singles of the band, released from the Battle Born album in 2012. What is interesting about this song is that it is directly related to The Killers’ previous song Mr Brightside; in fact, the subject of the song is about the girl in which the eponymous Mr Brightside is referring to in his song. Unlike the previous two songs, the snythpop is more subdued in the song; instead it focuses mostly on rock elements, which shows that the band has changed their musical style over time.
The lyrics of the song include references from Mr. Brightside, with lines such as ‘boy with the eager eyes’, among other things. Because of this, it can be said that this song is the sequel to Mr. Brightside—he has already moved on from the jealousy he experienced during his song, but it clearly shows that he cares about her but even that is fading away as well.
The accompanying music video is interesting as well—it shows what really happened during the video of Mr. Brightside, which suggests that the events that happened during that video were only happening inside Mr. Brightside’s head. In other words, her girlfriend (Ms. Atomic Bomb) is not really cheating on him; he just saw his apparent closeness with the other guy as a sign that he is cheating on him and thus he left her for good (Martins, 2012). These two videos—Mr. Brightside and Ms. Atomic Bomb—tell a story of regret and scenarios of ‘what-could-have-been’ which makes the whole situation more poignant.
References
Gregory, J. (2008, October 31). Killers' Brandon Flowers Settles Debate Over 'Human' Lyrics. Retrieved from http://www.gigwise.com/news/47201/Killers-Brandon-Flowers-Settles-Debate-Over-Human-Lyrics
Martins, C. (2012, December 11). Video: The Killers – “Miss Atomic Bomb”. Retrieved from http://www.spin.com/2012/12/the-killers-miss-atomic-bomb-video-mr-brightside-sequel/
The Killers (Music Picks). (2007, November 20). The Advocate, 997, 59. WSU Library
TheKillersVEVO (16 June 2009). The Killers – Mr. Brightside [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGdGFtwCNBE
TheKillersVEVO (13 Dec 2009). The Killers – Human [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZdjT1472Y
TheKillersVEVO (11 December 2012). The Killers – Miss Atomic Bomb [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qok9Ialei4c
Titus, C. L. (2004, December 4). The Killers: Mr. Brightside. Billboard, 116(49), 29. WSU Library
