This week's throwback is actually two songs, both by a band that I discovered in middle school, The Killers. Why am I picking both? Because I don't want to pick just one. I love them both for differing reasons, and believe they're two of the best songs written by the band, and two of my favorite songs period. They are "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" and "Mr. Brightside:, the first two tracks off their first album Hot Fuss, which was released in 2004.
"Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" is a fantastic start to the album, kicking it off with an odd collection of noises leading into the song itself. The bass-line is one of my favorites, being fairly simple and not distorted, but popping out and being catchy. The synths are also great; distinctive, yet not distracting from the vocals, which are in my opinion the best part of the song. Brandon Flowers has one of the most distinctive voices I've ever heard, and it is wonderful to listen to. He has such passion in his vocals on this song; they're blistering with raw emotion. He screams, but not in a hardcore sense; he screams to be real, to show he feels what he is singing. This song is 9 years old, and I still love it as much, if not more than the first time I heard it.
"Mr. Brightside" was the song that put The Killers on the map; it was their rise to fame, and rightly so. The song is fantastically catchy, with the vocals and guitar line burning their way into the memories of millions of fans worldwide. The minute the song starts up and I hear the guitar intro, I immediately get excited and can't help singing along. The chorus is probably the best part, finishing with the iconic line "Open up my eager eyes, cause I'm mr. brightside". Even though the lyrical content should evoke more sadness, the upbeat nature of the instrumental side of the song masks that fact from the listener. Even after years of listening, there are still different things that I'll notice about the song each time I listen. This is a song I know I will show to my children, when I tell them about all the music I used to listen to when I was younger.
Even though I just talked about these two songs, the rest of the album is a spectacular work of music, and I would recommend it to any who have not given it a listen. Some of my other favorites from the album include "Smile Like You Mean It", "Somebody Told Me", and "All These Things I've Done".
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