The Killers: A Retrospective, 2001-2023

The Killers A Retrospective: 2001-2023

Overview: The Killers formed in Las Vegas in 2001. The alternative-rock band has sold more than 28 million records worldwide. Their song “Mr. Brightside” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Digital Era, 2000-2019. Their 2004 album Hot Fuss is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century. The Players: Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards, bass, guitar: 2001-present) Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals: 2001-present) Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion, guitar: 2002-present) Mark Stoermer (bass, backing vocals, guitar: 2002-) Matt Norcross (drums: 2001-02) Brian Havens (drusm: 2002) Dell Neal (bass, backing vocals: 2001-02) Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Killers Top 20 Songs TheKillersMusic.om (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards:

Compilations: DH Direct Hits (covers 2003-2013, released 2013) RD Rebel Diamonds (covers 2003-2023, released 2023) Immediately below is a list of the top songs by the Killers as ranked by the DMDB. The codes beside the songs indicate which of the above albums the songs appear on. In addition, you can scroll farther down the page to see a snapshot of the Killers’ individual albums with the singles from each indicated. The songs are again followed by the codes, but also for those songs that charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts. Top 20 Songs: DMDB Top 1%: 1. Mr. Brightside (2003) DH, RD DMDB Top 5%: 2. Somebody Told Me (2004) DH, RD 3. When You Were Young (2006) DH, RD 4. All These Things That I’ve Done (2004) DH, RD 5. Human (2008) DH, RD DMDB Top 10%: 6. Read My Mind (2006) DH, RD 7. Caution (2020) RD DMDB Top 20%: 8. The Man (2017) RD 9. Spaceman (2008) DH, RD 10. Smile Like You Mean It (2004) DH 11. Runaways (2012) DH, RD Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 12. Shot at the Night (2013) DH 13. Boy (2022) RD 14. Bones (2006) 15. Run for Cover (2017) 16. My Own Soul’s Warning (2020) RD 17. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (with Ned Humphrey Hansen, 2016) 18. Tranquilize (with Lou Reed, 2007) 19. Shadowplay (2007) 20. Quiet Town (2021) RD

Hot Fuss (2004): Mr. Brightside (9/29/03, 10 BB, 10 RR, 11 A40, 3 MR, 10 UK, 5 CN, 29 AU, 6 DF) DH, RD Somebody Told Me (3/15/04, 51 BB, 21 RR, 17 A403 MR, 3 UK, 17 AU, 11 DF) DH, RD All These Things That I’ve Done (8/30/04, 74 BB, 45 RR, 10 MR, 18 UK, 42 AU, 1 DF) DH, RD Smile Like You Mean It (4/2/05, 15 MR, 11 UK, 47 AU, 31 DF) DH Jenny Was a Friend of Mine RD Read more on the DMDB page for this album.

Sam’s Town (2006): When You Were Young (7/29/06, 14 BB, 31 RR, 15 A40, 16 AA, 30 AR, 1 MR, 2 UK, 10 AU, 15 DF) DH, RD Bones (11/25/06, 21 MR, 15 UK, 22 AU, 29 DF) Read My Mind (1/20/07, 62 BB, 43 RR, 25 A40, 1 AA, 8 MR, 15 UK, 39 CN, 32 AU, 25 DF) DH, RD For Reasons Unknown (6/25/07, 53 UK, 33 DF) DH

Sawdust (2007): Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town (2/28/05, --) Romeo and Juliet (6/25/07, 86 UK, 98 AU) Shadowplay (10/8/07, 68 BB, 19 MR, 49 CN, 35 DF) Tranquilize (with Lou Reed) (10/12/07, 13 UK, 59 CN, 84 AU, 33 DF)

Day & Age (2008): Human (9/22/08, 32 BB, 35 RR, 3 AA, 6 MR, 3 UK, 9 CN, 28 AU, 17 DF) DH, RD Spaceman (11/4/08, 67 BB, 17 AA, 8 MR, 40 UK, 47 CN, 62 AU) DH, RD A Dustland Fairytale (5/9/09, 36 MR) DH, RD The World We Live In (5/18/09, --)

Battle Born (2012): Runaways (7/17/12, 78 BB, 11 AA, 7 MR, 18 UK, 37 CN, 67 AU) DH, RD Miss Atomic Bomb (10/23/12, 23 MR) DH Here with Me (12/16/12, 88 CN) The Way It Was DH Be Still RD

Direct Hits The Killers

Recorded: 2003-2013 Released: November 11, 2013 Peak: 20 US, 6 UK, 25 CN, 10 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.75 UK Genre: alternative rock Rating: 3.859 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) Mr. Brightside (2) Somebody Told Me (3) Smile Like You Mean It (4) All These Things That I’ve Done (5) When We Were Young (6) Read My Mind (7) For Reasons Unknown (8) Human (9) Spaceman (10) A Dustland Fairytale (11) Runaways (12) Miss Atomic Bomb (13) The Way It Was (14) Shot at the Night (15) Just Another Girl Total Running Time: 61:13 Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Shot at the Night (9/17/13, 22 AA, 20 MR, 23 UK, 90 CN, 33 DF) DH Just Another Girl (11/25/13, --) DH About the Album: This collection gathers the best-known material from the Killers’ first four studio albums and adds two new tracks.

Wonderful Wonderful (2017): The Man (6/14/17, 31 A40, 1 AA, 2 MR, 63 UK, 65 AU, 31 DF) RD Run for Cover (7/28/17, 20 AA, 5 MR, 100 UK) Wonderful Wonderful (8/24/17, --) Rut (12/9/17, --)

Imploding the Mirage (2020): Caution (3/12/20, 26 AC, 16 A40, 2 AA, 35 AR, 1 MR, 95 UK, 3 CN) RD My Own Soul’s Warning (6/27/20, 4 AA, 7 MR) RD Dying Breed (8/14/20, --) RD C’est La Vie (2/27/21, 18 AA)

Pressure Machine (2021): Quiet Town (8/12/21, 6 AA) RD Runaway Horses (with Phoebe Bridgers) (8/27/21, --) Pressure Machine (10/10/21, --) RD

Rebel Diamonds The Killers

Recorded: 2003-2023 Released: December 8, 2023 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: alternative rock

Tracks: (1) Jenny Was a Friend of Mine (2) Mr. Brightside (3) All These Things That I’ve Done (4) Somebody Told Me (5) When You Were Young (6) Read My Mind (7) Human (8) Spaceman (9) A Dustland Fairytale (10) Be Still (11) Runaways (12) The Man (13) Caution (14) My Own Soul’s Warning (15) Dying Breed (16) Pressure Machine (17) Quiet Town (18) Boy (19) Your Side of Town (20) Spirit Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Boy (8/13/22, 29 A40, 1 AA, 1 MR) RD Your Side of Town (8/25/23, 6 MR) RD Spirit RD About the Album: The second compilation from the Killers offers a full career retrospective of the band’s 20+ year career. While it is nice to have snapshots of their entire career in one collection, the set also short changes the band’s second decade. Nine of the first eleven songs were already featured on Direct Hits. It would be nice to see a collection focused exclusively on the Killers post-Direct Hits days. There are three new songs here.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Killers Dave’s Music Database: Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists Wikipedia page for Direct Hits Wikipedia page for Rebel Diamonds First posted 12/8/2023.

The Killers Hot Fuss released

Hot Fuss The Killers

Released: June 7, 2004 Peak: 7 US, 12 UK, 4 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 3.75 US, 2.4 UK, 7.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: post punk revival

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine (Brandon Flowers, Mark Stoermer) [4:04] Mr. Brightside (Flowers, Dave Keuning) [3:43] (9/29/03, 10 US, 10 RR, 3 MR, 11 A40, 10 UK, 5 CN, 29 AU) Smile Like You Mean It (Flowers, Stoermer) [3:54] (4/2/05, 15 MR, 11 UK, 47 AU) Somebody Told Me (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr.) [3:17] (3/15/04, 51 US, 21 RR, 3 MR, 17 A40, 3 UK, 17 AU) All These Things That I’ve Done (Flowers) [5:01] (8/30/04, 74 US, 45 RR, 10 MR, 18 UK, 42 AU) Andy, You’re a Star (Flowers) [3:14] On Top (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) [4:18] Change Your Mind * (Flowers, Keuning) [3:11] Believe Me Natalie (Flowers, Vannucci) [5:05] Midnight Show (Flowers, Stoermer) [4:02] Everything Will Be Alright (Flowers) [5:45] * For the U.K. edition, “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll” was substituted for “Change Your Mind.” Total Running Time: 45:39 The Players: Brandon Flowers (vocals, synthesizer) Dave Keuning (guitar) Mark Stoermer (bass) Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums)

Rating: 3.796 out of 5.00 (average of 31 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “There are so many garage rock/dance-rock tunes perfectly stylized and glamorous for the pop kids in the city and in the suburbs of new-millennium America. What’s nice about these the bands producing these songs is how they strive so desperately to individualize themselves. On a commercial level, they do quite well in delivering catchy pop hooks. When it comes to having actual talent, a select few actually do possess attention-worthy integrity.” MW Rolling Stone “reviewer Jenny Eliscu compared the band’s music to contemporaries The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand, stating that in comparison to those groups The Killers ‘[have] actual pop songs – in spades.’ Eliscu concluded, ‘This album is all Killers, no filler.’” WK This “Las Vegas foursome introduce a perfectly tailored new wave-induced art rock sound on their debut, Hot Fuss.” MW They “match postpunk guitars with a synthesizer overlay that recalls ‘80s New Wave without burying their sound in nostalgia.” RW The album is “one of the five most recent albums listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.” WK “They wooed MTV audiences and modern rock followers with the success of Somebody Told Me during summer 2004. This chunky-riffed single loaded with androgynous mystery and a dalliance with new romantic energy” RW focused on the theme of “sexual confusion” RW “captures the infectious delivery of the Killers as a band. Vocalist/keyboardist Brandon Flowers does his best Simon LeBon imitation; the sex appeal and the boyish charm are perfectly in place as the rest of the band accents his rich, red-hotness just so.” MW Mr. Brightside, about “voyeurism,” RW and Jenny Was a Friend of Mine “are equally as foxy as the album’s first single, affirming that a formula is indeed in motion. It’s hard to deny the sparkle of Depeche Mode beats and the sensual allure of Duran Duran. After 25 years, those sounds still hold up; by 2004, however, it’s an incredible task to pull this kind of thing off without selling yourself to the tastes of the masses. Interpol and the Walkmen have pulled it off; Franz Ferdinand and Hot Hot Heat have potential.” MW “Flowers and his mates are obviously canny students; the total effect is of a playacted obsession, but one made irresistible by their skillful, catchy songs.” RW However, “the dynamic doesn’t firmly hold together.” MW Mix “the painfully earnest line ‘I got soul but I’m not a soldier’ from All These Things That I’ve Done” RW with its “gospel/rock jaunt” MW and the song “doesn’t quit fit around the Cure-inspired synth reveries of Everything Will Be Alright and Believe Me Natalie.” MW Midnight Show, which, like ‘Jenny’ focuses on “murdered lovers” RW “does show promise,” MW even if it flagrantly “plucks from Duran Duran’s ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Is There Something I Should Know?’” MW “In a mixed review, Entertainment Weekly wildly praised the song ‘Somebody Told Me’ while asking ‘As for the rest, isn’t it a little too early for a Strokes tribute band?’” WK “If there’s an occasional misstep,” RW “Hot Fuss is one of several recent releases that bring a diverting faux glamour to the mainstream rock scene.” RW The album “came at the right time because the pop kids needed something to savor the summer with, and ‘Somebody Told Me’ served that purpose. Now pull out your Duran Duran records and dance like no one is watching.” MW

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Killers MW MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide RW Rickey Wright, Amazon.com WK Wikipedia First posted 9/10/2009; last updated 3/5/2024.