Monday, February 5, 2024: The Killers - Mr Brightside (Glastonbury 2004)

 

What is Cool Song Of The Day? What is the purpose of this blog? 

Why put myself through this? Again? 

To be fair, I have not "officially" relaunched this blog.  Basically, I'm just trying it out, trying it on, see if it still fits.  I quit back in 2012 because things were happening and I needed to free up space in my life.  Space I thought I would use for great things.  Alas, they did not end up being "great".  But they did end up being necessary.

Walt Whitman said, "These are the days that must happen to you."  Hot damn if that ain't one of the truest things said.

The highest tier idea behind CSOTD was a selfish one: I wanted to reach out, research and discover new music.  Well, new music, and music I had not heard before.  That's it. 

I guess the 2nd tier after that was a desire to share music.  Music is nothing if not shared.  

Below those, was a desire to explore just exactly what the idea of "cool" is.  It is a concept, an idea, that has eluded me most of my life.  I have not, nor will I ever be, thought of as "cool".  But those people who are, who I write about and who's music I share, are almost always "cool".  

Is Mr. Brightside by The Killers undiscovered music?  Obviously not.  I mean, not unless you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years. Quoting Wikipedia, 

"Mr. Brightside" was named "Song of the Decade" by UK radio stations Absolute Radio and XFM, and in April 2010 Last.fm revealed that it was the most-listened-to track since the launch of the online music service, with the track being played over 7.66 million times. It is the third most streamed song on Spotify from the 2000s.In October 2010, it was voted ninth in the Greatest Guitar Riffs of the 21st Century so far by Total Guitar magazine. Additionally, in 2010 Rolling Stone listed "Mr. Brightside" as the 48th-best song of the 21st century, and in 2021, it was ranked number 378 in the same magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

That's a hell of a list, right there. 

It's a 20 year old song that sounds just as fresh today as it did when it was released, and sounded like it could have fit in around 1987 as much as it landed comfortably in 2004.  It's a sad song with a upbeat rhythm, a song about obsession and despair over losing a lover to another, that also packs dancefloors all over the world. It was written by a Mormon kid from Las Vegas, NV with a passion and self-awareness that has no business coming from a Mormon kid from Las Vegas, NV.  

All of those things combine to make this a very cool track.  And a killer way to start the week.

Crank it up.

Monday, July 16, 2012: The Killers - Runaways

Nevada.

 Officially, The Silver State.

But, also known as the Battle Born State.

Which is also the title of the upcoming album from Vegas' own The Killers.

I've blogged The Killers before. Specifically, I said that they frustrated the hell out of me.

Because I felt that this was a group with talent that could fill in a mine shaft, but just hadn't really been successful enough in putting all their disparate elements together. Meditating on their 4th album, I wrote, "let's hope they get it right this time, because they deserve it. And so do we, the listening public. God knows that we need a group as good as the Killers could be."

Well, listen to this single. It's looking like they, indeed, got it right this time.

What a great way to start this week.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011: The Killers - When You Were Young (Live at Abbey Road)

The Killers frustrate the hell out of me. I just can't help but think, here's a band that just never reached their full potential.

It's easy to see the 80's New Wave/Post Punk influence in their debut album Hot Fuss, but you can't get past the notion that they hadn't really fleshed a lot of those ideas out. The pumped out a couple of good singles, but the whole album just screams, "Stay tuned, better things to come"

And, indeed, Sam's Town is, for me at least, a far better effort. I realize that I'm in the minority opinion here. Obviously the obligatory "growth" and "maturity" concepts are tossed around, as with many sophomore efforts, but here it's a bit more warrented. Yes, on a certain level it sounds like Brandon Flowers had listened to a few too many Springsteen albums in between recording sessions, but that's not a bad thing in and of itself.

But, here again, ideas are left hanging, some songs seem more sketched out than realized, and it all compares to a train that has stopped just a bit before it's reached the platform.

Day & Age only seems to combine the shortcomings of both previous albums. Rolling Stone originally reviewed this album and gave it 2 stars out of a possible 5. Later, Rolling Stone reversed itself and listed Day & Age as one of the most underated albums of the decade.

They had it right the first time.

Now, despite Flowers in solo mode, it does look like there will be a fourth studio album.

And, let's hope they get it right this time, because they deserve it. And so do we, the listening public. God knows that we need a group as good as the Killers could be.