In love with the Killers
December 16, 2015
I elbowed my way through the crowd, fighting for the spot closest to the stage, knowing that in a mere few seconds, they would emerge. I had memorized the words to every song, sang every lyric with a fiery passion while alone in my room, and as the opening chords of my favorite song rang out into the arena, tears streamed down my face. It was 2013, and I was about to see the band that I had loved for the past four years, perform live.
While boy bands have come and gone, with my friends obsessing over each one, I have stayed loyal to my favorite band ever since my discovery of them. And while their name may make them sound like a heavy metal band, this native Las Vegas group is anything but.
The beauty of The Killers (other than lead singer Brandon Flowers’ face) is that they change their genre with every album, yet somehow maintain a certain sound that makes them so unique.
Just as their fans have changed, so has their music. Whatever troubles I may face, there is an album that understands me. From dancing around and screaming the chorus of “When You Were Young,” to feeling sorry for myself while listening to lyrical masterpiece that is “Dust Land Fairytale,” this band is a part of my daily existence.
Though I love every song that Brandon Flowers has sung, the album “Hot Fuss” holds a special place in my heart. I was only six at the time that “HF” was released, (I didn’t discover The Killers until much later) but it was around this time that they reached stardom.
Surely everyone who has gone through a punk phase has heard “Mr. Brightside,” and has seen the music video in which Flowers wears copious amounts of guy-liner. Since then, the band has stopped wearing makeup, and has managed to maintain their position at the top of the charts over the years.
Along with their immense musical talent, “The Killers” also know how to get into the Christmas spirit. For the past nine years, the group has released annual Christmas singles, aiding the charity Project Red in their fight against AIDS. With titles such as “Dirt Sledding,” “Don’t Shoot me Santa,” and “Joel the Lump of Coal,” it’s pretty obvious that these Christmas songs can’t be compared to classic carols. Along with these unique singles, the band also releases equally strange music videos.
While the members have all gone off and participated in side projects, and a hiatus of The Killers seems reasonable, no matter how many years pass, I will always smile like I mean it.
