Killers vs. The Killers

A few weeks back, my good friend, Josh, posted a blog about going to a concert with his friend, Christine. The Killers were in concert and he was all excited to go. For those who know me, I'm musically illiterate unless it has been on Broadway or in a movie. Ok, so that is probably going a bit far, but it is no understatement to say I'm musically challenged at best.

Valuing Josh's opinion about most things, and seeing the potential for becoming a more well rounded person (without the aid of chocolate), I decided to trust his judgment and take a listen. Although I had never even heard of a group called The Killers, I trusted Josh wouldn't get so excited to go see anything too bizarre. =) I went to my library web site and typed in "Killers." This brought up one album by Iron Maiden, which I consider devil music. Golly, just look at the picture. That's devil music for sure. But, since Josh was SO pro-Killers, I requested it. I had to wait a week or so since many other people wanted to hear the album as well. That was a good sign, I figured, meaning Josh must be on to something.

Before it arrived, I mentioned my enthusiasm for broadening my musical horizons to a co-worker I thought would be well educated in music outside the realm of Broadway. Ben suggested I cancel the library request since he was pretty sure Josh didn't mean "Killers" by Iron Maiden. He said there is a group called The Killers. If Josh had gone to the Killers tour of Iron Maiden, Ben thought the name Iron Maiden would have come up at least once in Josh's blog, which it didn't. So, I put on my research hat and quickly realized I had devil music on the way for no good reason. Unfortunately, it was too late as the album was already in transit. (Eww, that efficient library staff.)

I found The Killers had two albums in the library holdings. Sam's Town and Sawdust. The good thing was all three albums became available on the same day. First, I gave a listen to the Iron Maiden, figuring my history of LDS contemporary and Broadway soundtracks could use some intellectual broadening. Actually, from the cover, I was ready to hate it and had to listen just to be fair. I don't want people to think of me as a judgmental bitch. So, I hated most of the album and hope to never be subject to devil music again. However, I found that I really liked the first track, The Ides of March. It is mostly instrumental and doesn't have that "I'd rather be shoving an ice pick in my eye than listen to any more" quality the rest of the album carries. I suggest renting the album from the library just for that track. Don't look at the pictures, though, especially the one behind the CD, as you may need to go talk to your Bishop afterwards.

Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway), the two albums from The Killers proved to be less mentally jarring. They have a sound that proved easier to swallow than Iron Maiden and on the second listen, I have started to really like some of the songs. Mr. Brightside and Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf are among my favorite. I can certainly see why Josh likes this music and would have enjoyed their concert.

I feel more musically literate for having taken a listen and suggest you do as well. I haven't yet, but will try to update my playlist with a few of their songs in the next few days. Until then, pop on over to Josh's blog (link on the right side of my blog). He has added a few songs (Including Mr. Brightside) to his playlist. Enjoy! Let me know what you think of the music.