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Post by lahaine on Apr 25, 2014 14:02:27 GMT -5
What a breath of fresh air they were when they released this back in June 2004, even I thought they were a British band when I heard it and was shocked when I found they were Americans. If a band need to be from another country it was the Killers, that's why their biggest market is still the UK. Even their own country didn't buy into them when they went all U2/Bruce Springstein with their other albums. It's a pity they never dealt back into this sound for later releases
It's still got their biggest songs, Somebody Told me, All the Thing's I've Done, Smile Like you mean it and Mr Brightside. You can hear British Bands like Oasis, New Order, The Smiths, Orange Juice and The Psychedelic Furs were big influences on their sound. It's crazy to think it took a good few months before they even made a mark on the UK with Hot Fuss, I strongly remember a few singles were released before they released Mr Brightside again and it became a hit. It's still their masterpiece and the reason why many still stand by them.
Following released like Sam Town which was a good follow up, Day and Age was very patchy and Battle Born was a little bit better. But Hot Fuss was perfect.
Anyway What do you guy's think of their Debut album?
I still love the singles, On Top, Andy you're a Star and Midnight show. |
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Post by StepOut on Apr 25, 2014 14:06:46 GMT -5
Great album, the follow up was very good too. After that their material for the most part is very forgettable.
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Post by lahaine on Apr 25, 2014 14:14:23 GMT -5
Great album, the follow up was very good too. After that their material for the most part is very forgettable. I really love Hot Fuss, it knocks out pure and simple good old fashioned indie rock. You can see why they became the big band for a while. Sam's Town really was a real try to hard to say "look we're really Americans" for their own home country, it has some nice moments the Singles and Uncle Johnny and the title track are great.
For me they are really a singles band now, their greatest hits really is one for the ages.
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Post by John William Anglin on Apr 25, 2014 14:40:47 GMT -5
i like all their singles except 'somebody told me' and 'human', and enjoy their first three albums, not heard much of the fourth.
I was little thrown off when finding out they're mormons but they do still rock.
God bless.
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Post by lahaine on Apr 25, 2014 14:45:41 GMT -5
i like all their singles except 'somebody told me' and 'human', and enjoy their first three albums, not heard much of the fourth. I was little thrown off when finding out they're mormons but they do still rock. God bless. The Third album singles are great but too much sax was appearing on that album and It put me off a little. You don't like Somebody told me? It's one of their best.
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Post by John William Anglin on Apr 25, 2014 14:53:24 GMT -5
i like all their singles except 'somebody told me' and 'human', and enjoy their first three albums, not heard much of the fourth. I was little thrown off when finding out they're mormons but they do still rock. God bless. The Third album singles are great but too much sax was appearing on that album and It put me off a little. You don't like Somebody told me? It's one of their best.
'somebody told me' just isn't my cup of tea. 'a dustland fairytale' might be my favorite song from them but I don't know, they've got quite a few good songs. God bless. |
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Post by scott1 on Apr 25, 2014 15:02:28 GMT -5
Hot Fuss was an album I remember clearly as being absolutely perfect from start to finish.
Probably one of the very few albums I can say that about - I tend to forget it then when I rediscover it, it never ages.
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Post by beentherenow on Apr 25, 2014 16:45:58 GMT -5
Hot fuss is a great album, i remember seeing them support stellastar in early 2004 and thinking 'wow this band are awesome' they werent particularly great live but their songs were a cut above most bands at the time.
The singles are obvious highlights and the 2nd half isnt quite as good as the 1st but songs like On Top and Midnight Club are still great pop songs.
I actually think Sam's Town is a far superior album but thats not a knock on HF I just think ST is a phenomenal 10/10 album. From the first track right through to the epic Why do I Keep Counting? Its fantastically huge and overblown.
The third is decent but not very memorable plus it was a little annoying they forgot to bring the guitars. That said Dustland Fairytale and Goodnight Travel Well are two of their best songs.
Havent even heard the fourth but didnt like any of the singles
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Post by Beady’s Here Now on Apr 25, 2014 16:54:12 GMT -5
Good album. Can't stand them now at all, though.
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Post by Cast on Apr 25, 2014 17:18:35 GMT -5
Hot Fuss was one of the first albums I really feel in love with and it actually led me to discover Oasis. As a kid I wasn't engaged with music until the mid 00's, so I kinda missed out/caught the tail end of the garage revolution of the early 00's with The Strokes and The White Stripes.
I'll always have a soft spot for the killer because they were the first band that I really cared about. Then they lead me to my favorite band Oasis which led me to my bigger passion of music in general.
Hot Fuss is still a superb listen. So many people claim it fades out after its A-side but really those first five tracks is one of the best A side's of the 00's. It just smacks you with hit after hit song. The second half is really good as well though. I really like On Top and Midnight Show those two come pretty damn close to the highs on the first half of the album. The rest of the tracks are very underrated specifically Believe Me Natalie.
Sam's Town is a great album as well. I've kinda a resurgence with it in recent months. It probably is a better "album" than Hot Fuss with its themes and sequences but then again I really like Hot Fuss's metro darkness. When You Were Young has just a killer riff, Read My Mind is one of their best written songs, and Bones is up there with Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me in terms of being their best pure pop single.
Day & Age is a nice listen but it does kinda miss the bite that their earlier work has. Ronnie vannucci's drumming (big inspiration for my drumming) is very much buried in the newer material and that really affects how the band sounds. I mean his work on Somebody Told Me and Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine is very lively and energetic but extremely tasteful. Dude has serious drumming chops and he always kinda pushed the band forward, but as they've thrown more stuff into their songs with more key's, horns, etc (Killer's do big well, look at Sam's Town) that energy as been lost. Day & Age is a good album and I like the new wave vibes but it doesn't come close to rush of Sam's Town/Hot Fuss.
Sawdust - This is a good b-sides collection. All the Pretty Faces is a huge track that should have been on an album. Sweet Talk is one of their best written songs as well. The Ballad Of Michael Valentine, Tranquilize, Under The Gun, Move Away Glamourous Indie Rock And Roll could all be A-Sides. It is probably their third best album.
Battle Born - I gave it a few listens then I just deleted it. It was really bad. That's all I'm going to say about it.
The band has made some of the best singles in recent memory: Mr. Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young, Bones, Human, Spaceman and they can lay claim to having one of the best all time festival anthems with All These Things That I've Done.
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Post by The Milkman & The Riverman on Apr 25, 2014 18:03:48 GMT -5
The thread just reminded me of The Killers, first two albums pure perfection. I like Sam's Town even more, very personal album for me, helped me to get through some hard times a few years ago. Love the concept with enterlude and exitlude, songs are maybe less go- ahead on it but more mature.
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Post by defmaybe00 on Apr 25, 2014 18:05:49 GMT -5
Fantastic record from start to finish
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Post by mkoasis on Apr 25, 2014 22:16:50 GMT -5
I quite liked Hot Fuss, bought it back when it came out. Mr Brightside is one of the best of the 00s, and most of the songs on it are really good (I also like Andy you're a Star and On Top) but I never liked Somebody Told Me, still don't really.
But I haven't listened to them in quite a while. The lead single off Sam's Town, 'When You Were Young' was good but kind of lost interest in them. Same with Kings of Leon, I liked their first EP and album but kind of lost interest after. Not bad at all, but not bothered either.
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Post by Cast on Apr 25, 2014 22:39:59 GMT -5
I quite liked Hot Fuss, bought it back when it came out. Mr Brightside is one of the best of the 00s, and most of the songs on it are really good (I also like Andy you're a Star and On Top) but I never liked Somebody Told Me, still don't really. But I haven't listened to them in quite a while. The lead single off Sam's Town, 'When You Were Young' was good but kind of lost interest in them. Same with Kings of Leon, I liked their first EP and album but kind of lost interest after. Not bad at all, but not bothered either. The two bands are similar in a sense that their first two albums are their best and their third album is decent but KOL never had the songwriting chops of the Killers in my opinion. The Killers have at least multiple songs that I prefer over my favorite KOL songs. Often that likely because I prefer the Killers in the first place. I'd give Sam's Town another listen it sounded really cliche (although it was still good) back in 2006 the songwriting is there on Sam's Town. It is rare to see a band reach for that hugeness in their songs anymore. The Killers have a knack for writing really good anthems (Oasis influence). Sam's Town is like BHN but done a little bit better. They Killers embrace dumbness and cliches on Sam's Town, but it just suits them so well. The Killers are fearless with their comical bigness (kinda like Oasis with BHN) but their songs are well written and well suited for bombast (unlike some BHN material). |
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Post by lahaine on Apr 26, 2014 4:38:22 GMT -5
I quite liked Hot Fuss, bought it back when it came out. Mr Brightside is one of the best of the 00s, and most of the songs on it are really good (I also like Andy you're a Star and On Top) but I never liked Somebody Told Me, still don't really. But I haven't listened to them in quite a while. The lead single off Sam's Town, 'When You Were Young' was good but kind of lost interest in them. Same with Kings of Leon, I liked their first EP and album but kind of lost interest after. Not bad at all, but not bothered either. You should give Hot Fuss and Sam Town a listen again, I was the same about Sam's Town for a few years but listened to it full a year or two back and have to say it's pretty good not as good as Hot fuss but still a good solid album.
KOL have the biggest drop off on quality I ever seen in a band. Even Oasis with their so-so albums after first three excellent albums never got as bad. From Hard rocking indie long hairs to sell out MOR clean cutters, every time I hear them say their new albums will sound like their old I just seriously laugh. They will never get back to that point in their life cause they are afraid to take the risks just in case they lose all of their new fan's that came from Sex on Fire success. Their first two albums are top notch and their third album wasn't too bad but you could see the MOR slowly creeping in.
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Post by lahaine on Apr 26, 2014 4:44:08 GMT -5
I quite liked Hot Fuss, bought it back when it came out. Mr Brightside is one of the best of the 00s, and most of the songs on it are really good (I also like Andy you're a Star and On Top) but I never liked Somebody Told Me, still don't really. But I haven't listened to them in quite a while. The lead single off Sam's Town, 'When You Were Young' was good but kind of lost interest in them. Same with Kings of Leon, I liked their first EP and album but kind of lost interest after. Not bad at all, but not bothered either. The two bands are similar in a sense that their first two albums are their best and their third album is decent but KOL never had the songwriting chops of the Killers in my opinion. The Killers have at least multiple songs that I prefer over my favorite KOL songs. Often that likely because I prefer the Killers in the first place. I'd give Sam's Town another listen it sounded really cliche (although it was still good) back in 2006 the songwriting is there on Sam's Town. It is rare to see a band reach for that hugeness in their songs anymore. The Killers have a knack for writing really good anthems (Oasis influence). Sam's Town is like BHN but done a little bit better. They Killers embrace dumbness and cliches on Sam's Town, but it just suits them so well. The Killers are fearless with their comical bigness (kinda like Oasis with BHN) but their songs are well written and well suited for bombast (unlike some BHN material). I think the difference with the Killer's and KOL, The Killer's were always a pop indie band really while KOL were playing for a hard rocking indie audience. The Killer's were always produced with a clean sound for the radio to play and KOL were a ragged indie band that weren't into the Top 40 singles but rather went out to rock and get drunk and stoned and fuck as many models as they could. I can't decide between their two debut's but I take KOL's second album over The Killer's aby day of the week, that's not saying Sam's Town was bad.
But even The Killer's later album's piss over KOL's stuff which has got so MOR even Bon Jovi wouldn't touch it.
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Post by mimmihopps on Apr 26, 2014 5:50:15 GMT -5
I remember seeing them playing "Somebody Told Me" on Glasto 2004 on BBC and Mark Radcliff wasn't very pleased with them for some reason. I've never been a fan of this band and since Brandon Flowers got Hollywood-ish costumes on stage, I lost interest in them.
But Hot Fuss was a great album. I went to my local record store back in 2004/2005 to buy a record, then they played this album in the store. I liked it, so I bought it.
It took years that I found out that this is an American band from LA!
This album is British than British and got great tunes on it.
"I got a soul, but I'm not a soldier".
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Post by globe on Apr 26, 2014 6:31:34 GMT -5
Love this when it first came out. Can't stand them now. Flowers is a tit.
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Post by lahaine on Apr 26, 2014 8:08:27 GMT -5
I remember seeing them playing "Somebody Told Me" on Glasto 2004 on BBC and Mark Radcliff wasn't very pleased with them for some reason. I've never been a fan of this band and since Brandon Flowers got Hollywood-ish costumes on stage, I lost interest in them. But Hot Fuss was a great album. I went to my local record store back in 2004/2005 to buy a record, then they played this album in the store. I liked it, so I bought it. It took years that I found out that this is an American band from LA! This album is British than British and got great tunes on it. "I got a soul, but I'm not a soldier". If their was a album that I could hear that was clearly influenced by Oasis it was Hot Fuss, apart from the synths of course. It had a touch of the swagger which The Killer's completely lost after it with other releases that many British bands lacked at that time. I'd say Noel would have been proud if he written a few of those songs on Hot fuss, it's that good.
It is the best British album released by a non British band. As I said earlier the Killer's should have been from Manchester and Flower's should have been the lovechild of Morrissey and Liam Gallagher instead he turned into Bono mixed with Bruce Springstein.
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Post by Sternumman on Apr 28, 2014 10:36:48 GMT -5
I dont know what it is but Ive never liked Hot Fuss. Anytime I heard the big singles off the album I would change the channel. For some reason I bought Sams Town when it was released though and thought it was really good. Still listen to it to this day. Tried listening to Hot Fuss many time sice the release of Sams Town and it just doesnt click for me.
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Post by oasisserbia on Apr 28, 2014 10:58:46 GMT -5
Killers was great. Dont shoot me Santa is their best song and i always saw them as very funny and fun band. For me they were like Oasis in Magical Mistery Tour phase. Dont know what happened to them but now they look like depressing religious freaks.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2014 14:46:53 GMT -5
couple of good songs does not maketh a great album y'all
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Post by Lennon2217 on Apr 28, 2014 14:57:58 GMT -5
couple of good songs does not maketh a great album y'all Agreed. Some really catchy singles. Never really listened to their albums in full because nobody I know recommends it. |
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Post by Cast on Apr 28, 2014 22:12:35 GMT -5
One of the best things about The Killers that they really lost was their dark Joy Division influence. Specifically on the lyrics. Flowers used to be edgy, violent, and dark with some of his lyrics. Their best songs were performed with angst and filled with dark undertones. They portrayed that lust for violenct emotions. Just listen to All The Pretty Faces, Under The Gun, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Midnight Show, Move Away.
Back in the Hot Fuss days they were sporadic in nature. I mean they sound effortlessly cool in songs like Glamourous Indie Rock And Roll and The Ballad Of Michael Valentine. They did hugeness tongue in cheek on those tracks and it really suited them well. They embraced rock cliches and hugeness well on Sam's Town but their newest material is just unashamedly huge for no reason at all. They kinda became the band that they would make fun of.
Yeah I think at the heart of it all The Killers are just a huge band but they just didn't progress enough. I would kill for a return to the dark themes in their music but I don't think that is who the band is anymore. I'm happy for Flowers and his religion and everything else. He always kinda seemed like an insecure guy at times but now he is one of the most confident frontmen in the world. I think he found some peace and that has reflected in his art to a degree.They deserve their success. Just hope for better tunes next time around.
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Post by John William Anglin on Apr 28, 2014 23:05:59 GMT -5
this is one of my favorite Killers performances...
God bless.
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Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5