Over the creative process for music making, many songs either die out early on, get recorded but never released, or end up a bonus tracks on special edition releases of albums.
I’m a really big fan of bands releasing b-sides and rarities compilations. It’s a really interesting look into how the art is made and what artists (and their labels) believe to be their best or most marketable versus more obscure or experimental.
The Killers’ compilation album Sawdust is a huge favourite of mine. It’s their (so far) only collection of singles, covers, b-sides, rarities, and remixes. Released in 2007 in between the releases of Sam’s Town and Day & Age, it’s essential listening for fans.
There’s a few fan favourites from Sawdust – a cover of Shadowplay by Joy Division, the conclusion of the Hot Fuss Murder TrilogyLeave The Bourbon On The Shelf, as well as Tranquilise featuring Lou Reed. Alongside those are covers of the country classic Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town and Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet.
Compilation albums are not everybody’s cup of tea but to me they’re incredibly intriguing. Other ones of note to me are Placebo’s covers (Covers) album and Oasis’ The Masterplan album.
Aside from the obvious element of “more content from a band you like” in support of my love of compilation albums, there’s a few more layers to it for me.
Covers are tribute
You don’t cover a song unless you really love it or think you can put a fresh spin on it. It’s like remaking a movie. The line between paying respect to an artist and also pissing all over their legacy is tough, but when done correctly it is perfect. In Sawdust, the cover of Shadowplay is such a love letter to Joy Division and New Order it’s as clear as day.
Something the Shadowplay cover does really well for me as a big fan of the original is it changes it up enough to make it unique and different. The original is brooding and much less of a song you can dance to, but highly impactful because of how strong the voice of Ian Curtis is. Killers frontman Brandon Flowers is definitely not similar to Curtis in singing style. But that helps the cover work and become transformative. The Killers cover is a bit of a bop and something you can dance to. It’s an interesting marriage of Joy Division and its successors in the genre of new wave.
The rarities
Seeing a band live is usually because they’ve released a new album and they want to promote it as much as possible. Non-singles off previous albums are rarely played and become rarities to hear live, and fewer covers of other artists work will be played.
In a compilation album, it’s a chance for those rarities to be heard and given much more of a spotlight. Tracks like Under The Gun, All The Pretty Faces, and Sweet Talk come into their own and outright become peoples favourite tracks.
I think it also adds extra hype to when you do see a band live and they play one of those rarities. Before that you probably had heard in the past they’d played that song live in a concert 20 years ago, but now it’s back! Hearing Muse for example play Glorious live was really extra exciting because I’d previously only heard it as a b-side.
Beauty of backlog and experimenting
Bands outright experimenting in musical style for major studio album releases is a constant see-saw battle. Do you try and expand your audience by trying a new style and potentially adding another string to your bow? Or do you keep doing what made your audience follow you and not risk changing it up too much and upsetting fans?
Well, that’s a bonus of a compilation album. Your experimental tracks can get airtime allowing fans to listen to it without the expectation and high stakes associated with a major album release. Sure, sometimes you’ll be glad that they never decided to experiment with that style again, though sometimes they really strike a goldmine.
I’m really passionate about compilation albums existing more. I love what they can do and what they give out to the world. Constantly I’m in hope of The Killers releasing another Sawdust because with what they’ve produced so far so much of it hits for me I’d love to know what the stuff that wasn’t deemed good enough for an album is like.
Joy Division’s music was always filled with a very pessimistic, jaded view on love and relationships – shaped by Ian Curtis and his failing marriage. The lyrics downbeat and never about falling in love as much as falling out of love, that’s if they even wrote about relationships. Much of the tracks off the seminal work Unknown Pleasures reflect the misanthropic and nihilistic view Curtis had towards his own existence.
Tracks like Shadowplay reflect that he felt his life, like hand puppets in a literal shadowplay, was a show for everyone but the one performing.
After his tragic death in 1980, remaining Joy Division members formed a new band – New Order. Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris were joined by Gillian Gilbert who had previously been a last minute replacement for Curtis during gigs.
New Order’s sound is incredibly different to that of their predecessor, with it going from gothic, downbeat rock to synth pop with an often uplifting spirit. When the music of Joy Division viewed love often in a negative light, New Order use it to really tug on heartstrings and tell earnest, raw anecdotes of relationships.
New Order’s take on love has always been one of interest to me – the way they’re often able to express emotions and tell stories in such a bright and well intentioned way. The giddy nervousness for early love expressed in Temptation, the jaded but sincere Age of Consent about nearing the end, to the philosophical Superheated which tackled with looking back on relationships in hindsight.
New Order in concert, March 2020.
Temptation
Temptation is particularly interesting to me. The song’s way of looking at how we develop crushes – or infatuation – I think is really interesting and well expressed.
A heaven, a gateway, a hope Just like a feeling I need, it’s no joke And though it hurts me to treat you this way Betrayed by words I’d never heard, too hard to say
The hope and feeling of finding someone that sparks that sort of feeling is an incredible one. Most people in life strive towards it. It’s an unbelievable sensation that powers people on.
I read the “though it hurts me to treat you this way” as sort of a statement of how an infatuation on other people can end up being a negative thing and causing you to do dumb things and act in stupid ways. Once you fall for someone it’s hard to undo it and you get tunnel vision for that person.
Oh, up, down, turn around Please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight, I think I’ll walk alone I’ll find my soul as I go home Up, down, turn around Please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight, I think I’ll walk alone I’ll find my soul as I go home
Please don’t let me hit the ground – don’t give me the reality check – don’t make me lose this feeling. Whatever you do, let me stay in this bubble of infatuation.
Each way I turn, I know I’ll always try To break this circle that has been placed around me From time to time, I find I’ve lost some need That was so urgent to myself, I do believe
A point of realisation around the narrator. Realising just how often this seems to happen to them and how much it ends up meaning for them each time. A relentless cycle, which can be viewed as both a tragic tale and an uplifting one. Is it healthy to require this sort of feeling constantly? What is life like without this feeling?
Oh, you’ve got green eyes, oh, you’ve got grey eyes Oh, you’ve got blue eyes Oh, you’ve got green eyes, oh, you’ve got blue eyes Oh, you’ve got grey eyes And I’ve never seen anyone quite like you before No, I’ve never met anyone quite like you before
This is one of my all-time favourite verses from a New Order song. I think it perfectly summarises what the song is about, completely nailing the sentiment and emotion. You can get an exact idea of what it’s saying without explanation.
Oh, it’s the last time, oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time, oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before No, I’ve never met anyone quite like you before
The outro to the song, which leaves it on an interesting note. It’s simple but incredibly effective. I really love how this song is able to express the feeling of infatuation so well.
Age of Consent
Album art for Power, Corruption, and Lies.
Won’t you please let me go These words lie inside they hurt me so And I’m not the kind that likes to tell you Just what I want to do I’m not the kind that needs to tell you Just what you want me to
I saw you this morning I thought that you might like to know I received your message in full a few days ago I understood every word that is said And now that I’ve actually heard it You’re going to regret
A very poignant song to me, Age of Consent is about a failing relationship which both parties want to end but neither has the strength to cut it off.
And I’m not the kind that likes to tell you Just what you want me to You’re not the kind that needs to tell me About the birds and the bees
Both of them are emotionally no longer in the relationship, and I think the “birds and the bees” is about infidelity on both of their parts- or at least suspected infidelity. They don’t have the same level of love and trust anymore. It’s just a husk of what they once were.
But at the end of it all, they’ll still miss each other. It’s a much more Joy Division feeling song lyrically than New Order- it reminds me heavily of Love Will Tear Us Apart Again.
I’ve lost you I’ve lost you I’ve lost you I’ve lost you
Echoing out as the song ends, “I’ve lost you” is the gut punch to the song.
The human brain is great at making attachments to people and things, but struggles heavily with trying to cut off those same feelings.
Break-ups, cutting contact, ending friendships or any relationship are all incredibly tough. It’s one of the hard things in life we all end up experiencing and is a universal experience yet we all respond differently to it. It’s hard not to keep some level of affection and feeling for people in your life who were once close to you but no longer are.
The song is just so human and I find it fascinating how it manages to tell its story.
Superheated
Album art for Music Complete
A collaboration between New Order and The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers, Superheated is the final track of the album Music Complete.
If these songs were all part of one same story or character arc for the same narrator, Superheated would be the narrator years later reflecting on their life philosophically and the relationships they had. Sung as a duet between Bernard Sumner and Brandon Flowers, it’s a pretty perfect marriage between New Order and Flowers’ style. My opinion is the duet element is meant to be about how the narrator felt during the break-up when he was younger (Brandon Flowers), and how he feels about it now as a much older man (Bernard Sumner).
Bernard Sumner: Sometimes I wake up and the sky is grey When you’re not here by my side I see your make up on the shelf In a photograph of someone else And it breaks me up like I don’t exist Did we ever love, did we ever kiss? Do you ever listen to what I have to say? As life unfolded that one short day
Some stage after his relationship, the narrator begins to try and analyse what their dynamic actually was like and if it was as great as they felt it was at the time. Doubts go through his mind and everything he remembers of their time together becomes hazy and clouded.
Bernard Sumner & Brandon Flowers: However you want it, it’s my desire Girl you’ve got me hanging like a bird caught on a wire We are so different, yet we’re the same Things that I remember, that I wish I could change
He’s still hooked on the memory and can’t forget. Part of him wonders if it would have ended differently if he made different choices or said things differently – it’s slightly haunting to him. Would putting himself as second priority in the relationship have saved it? The imagery of a “bird caught on a wire” is symbolic of restricted freedom, a lack of comfort and autonomy – he feels stuck emotionally.
The overlap of Sumner and Flowers for the chorus is important, it’s showing the thoughts that have stayed with him all this time and have never really gone away.
Bernard Sumner: Sometimes I wake up as angry as hell I feel deserted, I feel unwell But it’s not your fault, no not at all I was the reason for our downfall Sometimes I wake up when I’m alone As angry as hell because you’re gone
The anger and frustration of his own actions and what he did and didn’t do is all he can think about. Around this time, the narrator realises how much things were down to his error in his own mind. As an older man, he feels the loneliness of being without the other person. It’s the power of hindsight, really.
Bernard Sumner & Brandon Flowers: However you want it, it’s my desire Girl you’ve got me hanging like a bird caught on a wire We are so different, yet we’re the same Things that I remember, that I wish I could change You want your life back, girl I’m not a thief You told me that it’s over and that you were gonna leave
She’s gone and able to move on freely, but he can only hope for being at the stage that he can forget and truly move on.
Bernard Sumner & Brandon Flowers: Now that it’s over Now that it’s over Now that it’s over Now that it’s over Now that it’s over Now that it’s over It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
Just like the previous two songs analysed here, it has an outro which has a single phrase repeated. After the crescendo of the last chorus, it goes out to a really classic New Order bit of synth, fading out. Is the outro of songs having one repeated phrase just a motif of New Order, a conscious continuation of themes, or a big coincidence? I’m not sure, but it’s interesting to think about.
All three songs sound unique and have really different tones from the outset. It’s a great example of how bands can keep a similar sound over time but adapt it to different scenarios to get the most emotional reaction out of their listeners.
This “trilogy” of songs is a favourite of mine. I think it’s hard to not listen to them as three – when Temptation comes on shuffle, I’ll pretty much always go to Age of Consent, and then Superheated after that.
New Order’s writing around infatuation, love, and relationships is a strength. I don’t think many bands quite manage to hit these themes as well and as maturely as New Order do.
The 2000s were a defining generation for many genres, but particularly alternative rock. The grunge sound of 90s rock morphed into a more interesting amalgamation of 80s New Wave and 70s post-punk in the 2000s.
The Killers, born out of Nevada, were one of many bands that saw their rise in the era, with music which blended Britpop, New Wave, and kept an indie rock sound. Their first album, Hot Fuss, is widely considered one of the best debut albums of all time.
Aesthetically, The Killers owe a lot to New Order – and that’s just for their name. In the music video for New Order’s song “Crystal” it features a fictitious band called The Killers up against a screen projecting several colours in a faux concert setting.
Brandon Flowers, Mark Stoermer, Dave Keuning, and Robbie Vannucci took the name and ran with it. The music video for their hit Somebody Told Me is more than just a simple homage, it’s a statement of what inspired them.
New Order’s album Get Ready in particular definitely shapes the music of The Killers from Hot Fuss. Tracks like Crystal and 60 Miles An Hour have such a clear influence on the sound of The Killers’ debut album, I’d argue Get Ready is essential listening to truly understand The Killers.
Music video for Crystal, by New Order.
For me, Hot Fuss is my favourite album of all time and has such a sentimental value to me. This was probably one of the first albums I fell in love with – I can’t remember a time in which I didn’t know this album and didn’t love it.
Hot Fuss isn’t just good because it’s filled with great tunes, it carries a great sense of teenage coming-of-age, growing up, relationships, and the experiences of being a teenager and young adult. Plus a bit of murder.
Two songs off Hot Fuss make up part of the “Murder Trilogy”, though there have been many fan theories that suggest there are more than 3 songs that tell the story- however The Killers themselves have confirmed there are only 3 songs in the saga.
But what exactly is the story told by Hot Fuss outside of the “Murder Trilogy”? It’s hard to exactly pinpoint it having one narrative, but instead I see it as a collection of different stories and experiences from different people. Each track has at least one of three themes: relationships, coming-of-age, and search for identity.
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
The album begins with a flashforward of our narrator being questioned and interrogated by police over the murder of his girlfriend – Jenny. He attempts to give his alibi in the first verse of the song. The song opens with the sounds of police scanners and helicopters, setting a moody midnight city aesthetic to the song.
We took a walk that night, but it wasn’t the same We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go She couldn’t scream while I held her close I swore I’d never let her go
The last two lines is an allude to him suffocating Jenny and murdering her, fairly clearly.
Tell me what you wanna know Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on There ain’t no motive for this crime Jenny was a friend of mine So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on, oh
His defence is as simple as that: Jenny was a friend of mine, how could I have murdered her? The choice of saying “friend” instead of girlfriend is crucial as it points to our main character realising they were never really dating, it was more him with an unhealthy obsession. The story of this track becomes expanded upon later in Hot Fuss, and with a B-side.
Mr. Brightside
The most well-known song on the album and one of the defining songs of the 2000s – Mr. Brightside is an important part of this story and album. It’s all about paranoia, jealousy, and crushes.
Izabella Miko in the music video for Mr. Brightside.
The narrator “Mr. Brightside” is a very, very relatable person. He’s an average guy in his youth who finds himself falling head over heels in love for someone. Whether or not our main character ever has a “girlfriend” to imagine losing is not really the point – it’s about how you can completely fall in love with someone and become obsessed with them despite there being nothing official. A one-sided crush. Most people have been this sort of person at some point, imagining yourself with that person and speculating endlessly to yourself about what your life could be. Unfortunately, it’s not about healthy speculation really, Mr. Brightside is torturing himself with it.
Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cab While he’s having a smoke and she’s taking a drag Now they’re going to bed and my stomach is sick And it’s all in my head, but she’s touching his
Chest now, he takes off her dress now Let me go I just can’t look, it’s killing me And taking control
Mr. Brightside is someone who falls for people easily, gets very attached, over-analyses everything that person does, and leads a self-fulfilling prophecy that always ends in disappointment. Someone who falls in love on a first date.
And when someone like a Mr. Brightside does end up in a relationship, he self-sabotages everything with his paranoia.
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea Swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis But it’s just the price I pay, destiny is calling me Open up my eager eyes, ’cause I’m Mr. Brightside
To be a Mr. Brightside is to be self-aware enough you have a problem, but completely lost on how to fix it. A fitting song in an album which has a subtext of coming of age and adolescence.
Smile Like You Mean It
The third track of Hot Fuss, and one of the four singles released off the album, Smile Like You Mean It is a look into nostalgia, growing up, and trying to disassociate from trauma I feel.
The imagery the lyrics invoke in me personally give me strong nostalgia of particularly being a child. The way everything seems so big and grand and wonderful, but as you grow up realise you must abandon that sense of wonder in order to be “grown up”.
I like to view the lyrics being said throughout the song as being different bits of advice given to our main character throughout his teen years.
Save some face, you know you’ve only got one Change your ways while you’re young Boy, one day you’ll be a man Oh, girl, he’ll help you understand
Save some face is a classic idiom meaning to try and regain reputation and standing after an embarrassing moment, which as any teenager can tell you, embarrassment and saving face is half the teenage experience.
“In the house that I grew up in…”
The chorus of “smile like you mean it” is his attempt of dealing with the sensations of growing up, and learning to let go of his past and nostalgia. To live in the moment, and not allow yourself to be caught in that which has already happened.
The most poignant part of the song for me is the bridge, which does a better job detailing the feeling of nostalgia and how it can feel than I ever could:
And someone is calling my name From the back of the restaurant And someone is playing a game In the house that I grew up in And someone will drive her around Down the same streets that I did On the same streets that I did
You rarely ever know when you’ll do something for the last time ever. Like the last time you’ll ever visit a certain store, a friend, a family member, a restaurant, or a lover. Thinking about moments in my own past where I unknowingly said goodbye to something invokes evocative memories in my head, taking back to places and moments I’d long since forgotten.
Somebody Told Me
Another of the singles released from the album, Somebody Told Me is one of the most iconic songs by The Killers.
Somebody Told Me is a classic of the “heterosexual man singing about maybe having gay feelings and being unsure of himself” genre, which previously was heralded by Morrissey and his work with The Smiths. However this only makes up half of the double entendre of the track, the other meaning within it is very different…
It’s about creating things in the first place.
Breaking my back just to know your name Seventeen tracks and I’ve had it with this game I’m breaking my back just to know your name But heaven ain’t close in a place like this Anything goes but don’t blink, you might miss ‘Cause heaven ain’t close in a place like this I said, oh, heaven ain’t close in a place like this Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight (Ooh-ooh) Never thought I’d let a rumor ruin my moonlight
The relentless burn of attempting to write and create something only to find out you aren’t original enough. As a writer this resonates. The amount of times you feel you’ve caught lightning in a bottle and it hasn’t been, or you see someone get huge amounts of success with something you had tried to do is frustrating.
The “boyfriend” who looks like a “girlfriend” is his idea. He knows he has potential to make it and release a hit, he just hasn’t had one yet. Every creative person I know has this feeling in them – it can takes years to get noticed and even longer to be noticed and successful.
Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriend Who looked like a girlfriend That I had in February of last year It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
The “song-writing” side of the song’s story is definitely only half of it though. The androgynous lover idea and gay subtext in the album stands out here in particular, alongside Andy, You’re A Star.
All These Things That I’ve Done
Screengrab from the music video
Known probably best for its iconic bridge of “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier”, ATTTID is similar in theme to Smile Like You Mean It. The third longest track on the album, it is a song I always have had a strong affinity for.
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go You know, you know; no, you don’t, you don’t I wanna shine on in the hearts of man I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand Another head aches, another heart breaks I’m so much older than I can take And my affection, well, it comes and goes I need direction to perfection, no, no, no, no
The lyrics reflect attempts to “grow up” and become an adult. The narrator unsure of himself, who he is, what he wants to do, or why he does the things he does. He’s a lost boy waiting to become a man. He’s incredibly indecisive.
For Flowers, part of his confusion with growing up was because of his background. A member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) he would have grown up under serious scrutiny for a lot of his emotions and desires. The song is like him trying to repent and make up for his failings to properly follow his religious beliefs, and an overwhelming sense of guilt.
Help me out Yeah, you know you got to help me out Yeah, oh, don’t you put me on the back burner You know you got to help me out, yeah
The “you” Flowers refers to in this song is God and religion. He feels like it must surely be able to show him the right way. But for others, I think the “you” will often be ourselves in a rhetorical sense.
And when there’s nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son? These changes ain’t changing me The cold-hearted boy I used to be
Part of why I think this song is so powerful is that, as a now adult man, I realise how accurately the themes of this song reflected my own teenage years. You want to be and do everything, but have no idea where to start. Your emotions and desires are all over the place and there isn’t a definitive way through this period of change.
Honestly, the song could be called Puberty Blues. Trying to find your identity can take a long time for people, and getting through your teenage years is a lot harder than people give it credit for.
I mean hey, you’ve got soul… but you’re no soldier… yet.
Andy, You’re A Star
There’s a lot of discussion and disagreement in Killers fan circles over what Andy, You’re A Star is about. Some claim it’s there to mock a high school bully of Flowers called Andy who made his school life miserable; others say it’s about a young man realising he might be gay with his idolisation of the school’s star athlete. Personally I think there’s truth in both.
On the field I remember you were incredible Hey, shut up, hey, shut up, yeah On the field I remember you were incredible Hey, shut up, hey, shut up, yeah On the match with the boys, you think you’re alone With the pain that you drain from love In a car with a girl, promise me she’s not your world ‘Cause Andy, you’re a star Get down, hey
I see it as Flowers being cynical about his high school bully and him having some weird idolisation of Andy’s skill and fame which crossed into adoration. Everyone had some sort of idol or person in their high school they at some level envied and wanted to be, and I think Andy is who a young Flowers wanted to be. Popular, athletically talented, well-respected.
Leave your number on the locker and I’ll give you a call Hey, shut up, hey, shut up, yeah Leave your legacy in gold on the plaques that line the hall Hey, shut up, hey, shut up, yeah On the streets, such a sweet face jumping in town In the staffroom, the verdict is in In a car with a girl, promise me she’s not your world
Looking into professional sports circles, a lot of young men end up crossing from having just a sports idol to someone who is more than that, a figure of immense adoration that might go further. As a football fan, I think it happens a lot. All you need to do is look at “Football Twitter” where people rarely use photos of themselves, instead choosing to “represent” their favourite player.
‘Cause Andy, you’re a star In nobody’s eyes but mine Andy, you’re a star In nobody’s eyes but mine Andy, you’re a star In nobody’s eyes In nobody’s eyes but mine
The refrain here with “in nobody’s eyes but mine” reads to me as Flowers recognising how everyone felt the same way towards Andy, yet for all that they didn’t really know why. Flowers definitely wrote the song in the form of a love letter to Andy, and with some other gay subtext in Hot Fuss as an album, I don’t think it’d be surprising if Flowers had a crush on Andy.
Allegedly, the “real life” Andy is now working at the same high school they both attended and is a gym teacher. This is probably one of the most cynical songs Flowers has ever written, it seems to be a real “up yours” type of song. A more petty form of revenge, really.
On Top
Much more of a dance song than any other track on the album, On Top is inspired heavily by Ibiza nightclubs and hearkens back to the influence of New Order on The Killers.
In the back, ah-ho, I can’t crack We’re on top It’s just a shimmy and a shake, ah-ho I can’t fake, we’re on top, we’re on top
On Top is filled with sexual innuendo and is pretty universally accepted to be about a one night stand. I see it as a continuation of the gay subtext throughout the album, and about a first ever one night stand with a man for the narrator. It’s a very straightforward song, and the innuendos don’t take much to decipher or notice.
The day is breaking, we’re still here Your body’s shaking and it’s clear You really need it, so let go And let me feed it, but you know That I’ve been down across a road or two But now I’ve found the velvet sun That shines on me and you
It isn’t until the bridge (which is repeated twice) however, that the song gets more of a narrative. The narrator is brutally describing why he goes for hook-ups, the appeal of them to him, and with “because I’m fine now” accepting the hook-up.
And we don’t mean to satisfy tonight So get your eyes off of my pride tonight ‘Cause I don’t need to satisfy tonight It’s like a cigarette in the mouth Or a handshake in the doorway I look at you and smile because I’m fine x2
Change Your Mind
Probably the only real “love song” on this album, Change Your Mind has such a shy energy to it. I think it’d be fair to pair this song with Mr. Brightside as being part of the same particular narrative.
It has a daydream feel about it as well, as a lot of the lyrics reflect how Mr. Brightside thinks. Our narrator is a mess. Burnt out but still in love with the idea of someone. He’s back on his self-fulfilling prophecy.
Racey days help me through the hopeless haze But my, oh, my Tragic eyes, I can’t even recognise myself Behind
Everytime he reaches this self-fulfilling prophecy, he always has just one question:
So if the answer is no Can I change your mind?
The difference is that this time, he might have met someone who he thinks has the same issues as him – another dreamer. Another cursed with elaborate fantasies… maybe.
Out again, a siren screams at half-past ten And you won’t let go While I ignore, that we’ve both felt like this before It starts to show
The siren in my view signifies the start of his new obsession with someone, and for once it seems like it might go somewhere.
Why aren’t you shaking? Step back in time Graciously taken Oh, you’re too kind
We’re all the same and love is blind The sun is gone before it shines
His dreams and hopes with this person are gone before they had a chance to completely take over his mental state – it’s another rejection.
Believe Me Natalie
Roses by Claude Monet
The ninth track of the album, Believe Me Natalie is another one which has had many different things read into it by fans. A common belief is it’s about a dancer diagnosed with HIV/AIDs who works at the famous Studio 54 nightclub in SoHo, New York City.
The character of Natalie potentially having HIV/AIDs is not particularly vital to the story of the song though. It’s much more about being an optimistic artist struggling for survival. I think the usage of disco and nightclub terminology in the song is metaphorical of the struggle to get your art into the world.
Believe me, Natalie, listen, Natalie This is your last chance to find a go-go dance to disco now Please believe me, Natalie, listen Natalie This is your last chance to find a go-go dance to disco now Forget what they said in SoHo, leave the “Oh, no”s out And believe me, Natalie, listen Natalie This is your last chance
The last chance to make it big. To make something of yourself, to get yourself out into the world.
There is an old cliche under your Monet, baby Remember the arch of roses right above your couch? Forget what they said in SoHo, leave the “Oh, no”s out Yes, there is an old cliche under your Monet, baby
The old cliche under your Monet evokes imagery of artist Claude Monet’s Roses, hung above Natalie’s couch – perhaps her only possession to her name as a struggling artist. I picture her as a girl from a small town, who moved to the big city to try and make it, and lives in cramped conditions waiting ever so patiently to make it.
You left the station now to the floor with speculation What was it for? In that old hallway, Mum says, “Why don’t you stay? You’ve been away for a long time”
Her mum wants her to come home, to give up on her dream, and return to a life without fantasy. An acceptance of defeat, and to her, a loss of identity.
God, help me somehow There’s no time for survival left The time is now ‘Cause this might be your last chance to disco, oh-oh, oh-oh
Did Natalie ever make it? It’s hard to imagine so.
Midnight Show
A personal favourite song from The Killers, and a brutal continuation of the “Murder Trilogy”, Midnight Show takes place before the events of Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine.
Set during the murder of Jenny, it’s a fast-paced and sleek song. The details of the relationship between the narrator and Jenny and what lead to this point is detailed in Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf, which is too important in analysis of Midnight Show to ignore…
Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf
Originally recorded in 2002, and rerecorded in 2006 for the B-sides and rarities compilation album Sawdust, Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf acts as the chronological beginning to the Murder Trilogy.
It’s very different in sound to JWAFOM and Midnight Show, more closely resembling Smile Like You Mean It or Believe Me Natalie. A garage rock song, it’s also reminiscent of stuff by the Dandy Warhols to me – very conversational in tone and lyrics.
Shaking like the Devil when she lets me go Got a new place, and how it’s so much better Falling over myself, the television’s on I turn it off and smile “Oh Jennifer, you know I always tried” Before you say goodbye… Leave the bourbon on the shelf
Our narrator is in a terrible state. We find out later on in the song he believes Jenny has been cheating on him with another man, which causes him to breakdown and fall into a drunken stupor.
Darling don’t you see I’m not satisfied Until I hold you tight Give me one more chance tonight And I swear I’ll make it right
The continued use of “held tight” is continued on in JWAFOM and Midnight Show – it’s how he ends up killing her – strangulation. Has Jenny actually cheated on him though, or is it, Mr. Brightside style, all in his head?
Jennifer, tell me where I stand And who’s that boy holding your hand? Oh, Jennifer, you know I always tried Before you say goodbye
He knows the relationship is doomed, but he can’t help but still feel an attraction to her and a fondness. His feelings of love and jealousy mix dangerously, and he decides if he can’t have her, nobody can.
Leave the bourbon on the shelf And I’ll drink it by myself And I never liked your hair Or those people that you lie with But I’m not satisfied until I hold you tight
He won’t be satisfied truly, until she’s dead, hoping it stops her from haunting his memories. Back to Midnight Show, however.
Midnight Show is immediately different in tone to Bourbon as it starts, with some synthesizers and fast beat. It’s as ruthlessly an efficient a song as our narrator is with his plans to murder Jenny. He knows what he’s come to do.
I know what you want I’m gonna take you a midnight show tonight If you can keep a secret I got a blanket in the back seat on my mind And a little place that sits beneath the sky She turned her face to speak but no-one heard her cry
What Jenny thinks is just a parked car scenario for sex is really all part of the narrators plan. To lure her into a false sense of security and make her scream – not out of pleasure however.
Make it go away without a word But promise me you’ll stay and fix these things I’ve heard
A crashing tide can’t hide a guilty girl With jealous hearts that start with gloss and curls I took my baby’s breath beneath the chandelier Of stars in atmosphere and watched her disappear
The two pre-choruses in the song sums up the struggle in the mind of the narrator. He thinks he could make all his suffering just disappear by killing her, letting it go away “without a word”, or try and give Jenny a chance to defend herself from accusations she doesn’t even know exist. He’s so fixed on it being true that she’s cheated on him nothing else matters.
If you can keep a secret Well, baby, I can keep it if you can keep a secret If you can keep a secret, I can keep a secret If you can keep a secret Well, baby, I can keep it if you can keep a secret
The outro to Midnight Show is our narrator’s remarks to her corpse. A darkly humorous ending to the song.
Everything Will Be Alright
Rarely played live, Everything Will Be Alright is the final track of Hot Fuss in almost all versions of the album. A sombre song which feels like a homage to songs like A Night Like This by The Cure, and Waiting For the Night by Depeche Mode.
Very minimalist with lyrics, the chorus is repeated throughout the song (the longest on the album as well). It’s an uplifting message for dark times, born out of struggles. Everything will be alright… eventually, our narrator tells himself.
I’m coming to find you if it takes me all night Wrong until you make it right And I won’t forget you At least I’ll try and run, and run tonight
The idea of the song continues a theme from earlier in the album, developing feelings for the idea of someone and becoming in love with the concept of being in love.
I wasn’t shopping for a doll To say the least, I thought I’d seen them all But then you took me by surprise I’m dreaming ’bout those dreamy eyes I never knew, I never knew So take your suitcase, ’cause I don’t mind And baby doll, I meant it every time You don’t need to compromise I’m dreaming ’bout those dreamy eyes I never knew, I never knew but it’s alright, alright
A lot of Hot Fuss is about this idea of falling in love with people easily, and knowing you do it to yourself but being unable to help. Everything Will Be Alright acts as a coda to the themes of the album, and particularly of songs like Mr. Brightside and Change Your Mind. A tragic tale of growing up and learning about yourself, your relationships, and life.
Hot Fuss is a really personally hitting album to me. In my high school years, Mr. Brightside was my anthem. It wasn’t until much later that I started realising why it hit home so much for me.
Me as Brandon Flowers from the Mr. Brightside music video for a high school formal
Finding out who you are as a teenager and growing up is incredibly difficult. Harder and harder as we become more reliant on social media and technology as major aids in our life. I don’t envy those who are becoming teenagers in the midst of the current world climate, but I offer to them to find solace in creativity and art.
I struggle to believe I’d be who I am without Hot Fuss and the guidance of The Killers’ music. They’re as much a part of me as my flesh and bones. It’s comfort music. I hope it does similar for other people.
A Hot Knife Through Butter 