The Killers-Hot Fuss - C or D?

I just heard Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and Somebody Told Me on the radio and was a little shocked at how great they sounded. Anyone else ready to call Hot Fuss a classic?

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd13/brendagoodmum/welcome%20back/welbac-1.gif

50% classic, 50% DUD.

I really REALLY like "Somebody Told Me."

Thanks to their tone-deaf singer with a penchant for head voices and mustaches, tese guys don't have classic albums in'em. I love most of their singles though.

As a friend recently pointed out, the Killers are this decade's Duran Duran - great fun until you're realise they're actually serious. So much of my enjoyment of Hot Fuss stemmed from the idea that they were knowingly ridiculous and synthetic, as epitomised by the nonsensical lyrics and Queen + U2 + New Order overdrive of All These Things That I've Done. Then Sam's Town came out and, oh dear, they thought they were a proper rock band with Important Things To Say. I'd still go back to Mr Brightside, Somebody Told Me and Jenny for the tunes (and the stalkerish lyrics put Flowers' intrinsic creepiness to good use) but it was a patchy album even then and it's been retrospectively soiled by all the crap that followed.

Queen + U2 + New Order overdrive of All These Things That I've Done

Isn't that the "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" song? Ugh. I put that one in the 50% DUD category, when I was tabbing-up my feelings on the disc.

I don't know that I agree with all that, if you watch some of the videos from Sam's Town, I think they are very much aware of how ridiculous they are. Not to say they didn't try for a more "serious" feel with that album, but I don't think they're anywhere near U2 levels of OUR BAND IS IMPORTANT.

If they do acknowledge any ridiculousness it seems to be on a purely academic level - the drummer aside, they don't appear to possess a genuine sense of humour. They definitely don't have 80s U2's deep-seated earnestness but they do have the trash-that-thinks-its-deep problem of Duran Duran circa Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

If The Killers have recorded an album as expertly purple as Rio I haven't heard it.

I always wondered if Sam's Town was a direct result of the final paragraph in pitchfork's review of Hot Fuss:

"So, it's plain that The Killers have made a record more concerned with artifice than artistry. If the intent is to place their album's principal teases on the next Now That's What I Call Music compilation, then bravo. But why does it try to squeak by as another deft pop reversion when it actually seems to be a revisionist cash dance? For the kids, I presume. But Hot Fuss is not hardcore; it's hard evidence that it's tough to focus on making great rock when you're preoccupied with cultivating an image."

In retrospect its a pretty silly review, but I imagine Brandon Flowers cutting it out taping it up in his vocal booth as a constant reminder. Artistry over artifice this time! Artistry over artifice!

I theorized that poor ol' Brandon suffered gay panic.

Make It Pop, I'm going to print and cut out the above post and tape it up in my bathroom so I can forever remember the Worst Post In History every time I take a shit.

I theorized that poor ol' Brandon suffered gay panic.

So he grew that moustache in response?

Ha, just spotted this: "Sam’s Town puzzles, like Flowers’ new mustache."

Awesome singles, shocking production.

Wow, that review is awful. What's wrong with cultivating an image and putting on a show? (they're from Vegas, after all!)

The Duran Duran comparison really fits ... plus, both are GREAT singles bands, but I never feel the need to listen to the entire albums.

You could probably draw a lot of comparisons between the career arcs of The Killers and Coldplay.

But they'd be stupid parallels.

Comparisons.

yeah i had a similar experience to makeitpop... I was in my friend's car & he played "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" & I was like holy shit this is actually pretty good.

neither "classic" nor total dud though

The first 20 minutes of this album is classic.

The remainder of the album isn't.

But Hot Fuss is not hardcore; it's hard evidence that it's tough to focus on making great rock when you're preoccupied with cultivating an image.

Amazing that someone wrote this sentence in 2005. Or ever.

It really is amazing, the cliff this album falls off of from the first to the second half. I can't think of a more extreme example.

this is the best thing they ever did btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0u07HDpNeU

Actually, 'On Top' isn't too bad, and stands out far more to me now. 'Glamorous Indie Rock'n'Roll' made me cringe like mad at the time, and age hasn't improved it.

Fucking atrocious music.

Except my karaoke version of "Human."

second half of hot fuss has "on top" "change your mind" and "believe me natalie" so imo it's just fine

second half of hot fuss has "on top" "change your mind" and "believe me natalie" so imo it's just fine

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, July 19, 2017 12:24 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Brad, you do realise that when you praise shit music - which you do so often it's threatening to become a trope - it completely devalues your opinion on what's actually good, right?

Turrican, help me find that book called Good Music so I can verify your opinions.

You're a critic, you should know it when you hear it.

Brad does too

Hmmyeah, no.

He should, but he doesn't ... Brad basically says he likes everything and hopes that it sticks. He's a bit like Bono or Chris Martin in that regard.

Boy, one day you'll be a man
Girl, he'll help you understand

What the fuck... They really always made rubbish lyrics.

Hot Fuzz is the hill that objective opinion about music has chosen to die on?

Huh. Did not see that one coming.

Everything after indie rock & roll is droppable, which was actually a very handy setup before mp3s

Everything single thing before that is greater than any single thing turricans top ten artists of all time have ever done.

Am I doing it right.

Autocorrect fuss but I mean look

No, you're doing it wrong. I don't have a Top Ten artists of all time, for one.

lmao wow

It really is amazing, the cliff this album falls off of from the first to the second half. I can't think of a more extreme example.

― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.)

Nite Flights by The Walker Brothers is the best example I can think of for this.

Brad, you do realise that when you praise shit music - which you do so often it's threatening to become a trope - it completely devalues your opinion on what's actually good, right?

― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, July 19, 2017 5:44 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao chill the fuck out dude

i love this album & imo brad is awesome

xpost:

It was merely an observation, and not a particularly difficult one to make either.

Brad, you /do/ realise that when you praise shit music - which you do so often it's threatening to become a trope - it completely devalues your opinion on what's actually good, right?

You polled metallica's load and reload, dude

seeing their Glastonbury show on tv really reminded me how much i don't like these guys. ordinary yet bombastic; a terrible combination.
Hot Fuss is really badly produced; glassy and glossy and hollow. actually i think listening to it makes me sick, like eating a tin of golden syrup would. the popularity of Mr Br*ghtside amongst absolute wankers is more proof of how dully they shine.

it is true that a negative correlation with Turrican's taste can often be a stronger signal than the overall positive correlation with Brad's. still some signals are more pleasant to receive.

xpost:

I thought the back half of this album was so unremarkable/awful back in 2004 that it near enough put me off giving a serious listen to any of their other albums, although I heard the occasional track here and there. Then they put out 'Human' and it pretty much confirmed to me I hadn't missed much.

"human" rules

Best lyrics they ever did

SO much fun to sing.

Turrican, in all seriousness, sams town is genuinely a better album than any album you have ever polled or heard or could imagine

lmao

^^^

50% classic, 50% DUD.

― Daniel, Esq., lunes 12 de octubre de 2009 3:16 (seven years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is how I feel about this band in general. It even applies in songs... I'll love the verse but the chorus is shit and viceversa. It still puzzles me how they got so popular there's hardly any surprises in their songwriting.

Sheeple h8 2 b shocked by a chorus moka

can't think of a more mediocre band from the past 20 years to come out of america with this level of success

kings of leon, perhaps, but they never had much goodwill with the critics

best explanation I can come up with is that there was a great desire for a contemporary "big rock" band and therefore people were willing to ignore the band's shortcomings

Kings of Leon had shitloads of goodwill with critics in the UK - the first four albums in particular. Far too much goodwill, I'd say. Awful band.

Killers are a synth band, flirting with glam.

One of their many strengths. Probably the most adaptable talent to come out of America since....Bowie?

That's good to know... never checked out anything past the first record bcz I thought they went all rootsy and stuff but if the synths are still there I'm game

The guys voice is pretty ridiculous though,

Terrible voice, beyond terrible lyrics, just bombastic and generally silly

BUT! The guy's got a real melodic knack and seems to sincerely believe in all the silly shit he spouts, which makes everything else kinda endearing. I can't hate 'em.

his signs are vital, doctor

Terrible voice, beyond terrible lyrics, just bombastic and generally silly

Again, they said this about bowie just before he broke big in nashville

I don't know anything about this band, nor do I care at all about this band, but I'm going to post in this thread about my complete apathy

the chorus of "all these things that i've done"... man, what a chorus!!

I don't think they're mediocre as they do have some very memorable songs but I agree that this was a band that rockists were desperate clinging to at the time without realizing they were actually following a boy band.

Only thing I ever gave a shit about by Killers is the song that was incorporated into Southland Tales.

Only Killers I like are the ones acting as New Order on the crystal video.

idk which killers thread to use but the new song is awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7rzzOQd1VM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIT0ucf_gys

The Man (part-produced by Erol Alkan i note with interest) is the best thing they've ever done IMO. Used to particularly great effect in the new trailer for 'Vice' (the film).

Now that it's 2019 and we can begin to look at the music of 2000-2009 with a bit of distance, I think we can realistically assess The Killers as being a band that put out about 25 minutes of decent music on their debut and then sputtered into irrelevance. I can think of a lot of bands from the same period that are far more unpopular on here that put out a larger amount of decent music. The 25 minutes of music they did do that's worth a shit (which includes all the hits from the debut) deserves to be remembered. On the whole though, this band aren't anywhere near the best that the decade had to offer.

battle born > sam's town > hot fuss

counterpoint: there are at least 3 great songs on every Killers album and the last Flowers solo record was almost front-to-back great xp

also yeah simon otm

i think i prefer the desired effect to every killers record tbh

also just like a stellar singles band from any angle

I thought the back half of this album was so unremarkable/awful back in 2004 that it near enough put me off giving a serious listen to any of their other albums, although I heard the occasional track here and there. Then they put out 'Human' and it pretty much confirmed to me I hadn't missed much.

― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, July 19, 2017 11:43 AM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh i see we've already done this

Which ones, Simon?

(xp)

I remember reading that 'Mr Brightside' was one of the first songs that Brandon Flowers & Dave Keuning wrote for The Killers. I can't help but feel that they've spent the rest of their time trying and failing to equal or surpass it, and I would have loved to have known what would have become of them if they hadn't managed to come up with it.

great killers songs not on hot fuss:

read my mind
for reasons unknown
this river is wild
tranquilize
spaceman
a dustland fairytale
goodnight, travel well
the way it was
a matter of time
battle born
shot at the night
the man
run for cover

i don't think they've ever tried to write "mr. brightside" again

I would add "I Can't Stay" to that list

"Land of the Free" is uh very, very bad though wow

it's a bit on the nose and overcooked but i don't hate it

sorry, what i really mean is that it's EXTREMELY on the nose lol

lol I was gonna say

i feel like it suffers in a similar way to the last record, idk if these guys really know what they want to do after battle born

The last Flowers solo album was awesome, and the last Killers album had some jams.

yeah the last flowers solo album was surprisingly solid and the best thing he's done by far