Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) To be clear, when I say I question XFM's methodology in declaring Mr. Brightside the #1 song of all time, that's not because I think some other song deserves it more. I mostly just don't think you can rank music like that. 2) Yeah, I'm kinda flagrantly abusing tremolo notation in the bass part, but in my defense it seemed easier than writing a bunch of 8th notes, so who's to say if it's actually incorrect? 3) Also, am I using the term "upper structure" correctly? Not really! But it's the best and clearest way to describe the thing I wanted to describe, so jazz nerds can deal with it. 4) Technically the second phrase of the verse is also a quatrain, it's just only gone one rhyme through it. Actually, technically, all four phrases are quatrains, just with couplet-style end rhymes. Huh, these thoughts/corrections all seem to be about me misusing technical terminology this episode, don't they? Weird. Not gonna reflect too much on that. 5) In the prechorus, the upper structure of the 2nd chord is actually slightly different, in that he plays an Ab on the D string as opposed to leaving it open, (it's tuned down a half-step, so it rings as Db) but it's such a buried note that I don't think it has any real impact on the harmonic structure of the section. 6) In the modified bass demo, the moved walk-down sounds a little extra dissonant because I made the rest of the track with stem separations, not the actual stems, so there's a couple of the upper harmonics from the original bassline still hanging out in there. (The bass itself is the stem there, to try to drown out those harmonics with correct ones.) I could've done it all with stems but I thought it was important to get it as close to the original mix as possible, and with studio stems you don't necessarily get that. Hopefully the slight timbral dissonance isn't too distracting. 7) It also isn't as clear that it works because I couldn't use more than four bars without getting a copyright claim so it's a little out of context, but nothing I can do about that. It's more clear that it's better if you can hear the full 8 bars, but I don't wanna get into that fight with the rights-holders. You can hear a version of it that's the full 8 bars here: on.soundcloud.com/gAf4U although I made that one to test the hypothesis before realizing my stems didn't quite match the original mix, so the synth is quieter there. Still, I think the premise holds. (That link also has the same mix playing the original bassline for comparison.) 8) While it's true that Keuning wrote the guitar part before Stoermer joined the band (Flowers has talked about receiving a tape with some ideas on it that included this song when he joined, and he joined before Stoermer did.) I don't actually know that Stoermer wrote his own bass part for the prechorus. The walkdown might've been Keuning's idea, which is why I offered it as just one possible explanation, not a definite fact. 9) Another way in which the chorus progression is weird is that it keeps changing chord types. It starts on a modal dyad, moves to a power chord, then suddenly it's a 7th chord. That would be very confusing as pure harmonic material, but makes a lot more sense when viewed through the lens of voiceleading. 10) Did I purposefully avoid mentioning Hey Ya in the ending bit about party songs with gloomy lyrics just so everyone would leave comments about Hey Ya, driving up engagement? I dunno. Did it work?
Apparently, the 2nd verse being a repeat is just because he didn't have time (or headspace) to write something different. He said so in an NME article he wrote in 2013.
I didn't notice the lack of Hey Ya in the ending bit, because I was surprised that there wasn't a single mention of Davd Bowie's song 'Queen Bitch'. (A lot of people have said elements of the lyrics and phrasing are similar, and I have to agree, though I wouldn't go as far as to call it a rip-off like some would. Homages happen.)
> Yeah, I'm kinda flagrantly abusing tremolo notation in the bass part, but in my defense it seemed easier than writing a bunch of 8th notes, so who's to say if it's actually incorrect? I do this all the time when writing charts for myself, sometimes I don't even bother with the tremolo. If it's obvious to the ear that the part is just driving eighth notes I don't feel the need to notate that, I just need to know the notes.
Imagine being that girl this song is about, every bar you go into for the rest of your life every party you go to and there is a solid chance you're going to hear this
@@titaniadioxide6133 same! I love the change up though and the fact that leads into a whole other "rhyme scheme". I always enjoyed that part musically anyway so I legit never noticed the rhyme that could've been.
My favourite part of the song is the second go of "and I've been doing just fine". The jump up in pitch for that second "just" has _so much_ sarcasm and resentment in it. True catharsis moment.
I always imagined this song would be great to cover with the first half being more monotone style of singing and the second go round keep that sarcastic energy through it, then the 'I never's following the same
@@samstits8982 She Will Be Loved by Maroon Five is about a woman with the wrong man, and how she only needs to turn to the singer to comfort her when things get out of hand. And yet THAT is also a wedding song. Don't these people listen to the lyrics? (Yeah, Didn't notice it because I don't go to a lot of weddings. Hey! I'm a hermit. Only realized it seeing Adam Levine talk about the song. He doesn't get it, either.)
@@MeloniousThunk Stalker songs also have a tendency to be badly misread as romantic and see frequent play at weddings (see “Every Breath You Take” by the Police, “Crash Into Me” by Dave Matthews, etc.)
I went and did a search for the song, heard a bit of it. I had never heard this song before. That may be a result of the facts that I have not watched a broadcast TV channel in 5-6 years, don't go to clubs/bars/etc., and only listen to NPR on the radio. For music, my tastes are mostly stuck back in the end of the last century, concentrating on Pink Floyd, Rush, ELP, and Van Halen (to name a few examples).
I saw The Killers live during Breaking the Mirage, and Mr Brightside was of course the last song played. At first, the band played the music to the song, except Brandon stayed quiet. He allowed the crowd to sing the lyrics to the song while the band played, afterwards allowing Brandon to play the song as normal. Singing Mr. Brightside in a chorus of a thousand voices was something absolutely magical and I need to experience it again.
You should go to a University of Michigan football game then lol. About halfway through the third quarter, during every single home game, Mr. Brightside comes on and everyone sings along with it. At the chorus the music turns off and it's just 100,000 football fans scream/singing Mr. Brightside, until the music comes on again to match up with the last line of the chorus. It's awesome
I can’t stand it when I go to a concert and the artist points the mic at the audience and lets them sing. Bruh, I didn’t pay my hard earned cash and drag my lazy butt all the way here to listen to a bunch of off-key teens scream your song. I can do that myself thank you very much. Sorry, just being honest 😂
@@400_billion_suns theres a difference between the singer doing it frequently through out the concert and doing it when they become tired at the end of the concert
@@logang.daitch8786Very minor nitpick on the timing of the song from a season ticket holder: it is played during the quarter break between the third and fourth quarters. TV usually misses it live, because they have commercials to run during that stoppage of play, but sometimes they'll run one less commercial and come back to the tail end of the song, or occasionally they may "tape delay" it and run it about two minutes after it happened live as a sort of intro to the fourth quarter. That said, your description of the electricity in the atmosphere when they play it is spot-on. One of the few proper points of comparison I can come up with is the top of the ninth inning in Game 6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series, with the Chicago Cubs leading the series 3-2 and the game 5-0 and needing to put out just three more Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to their first World Series in 71 years. I wasn't in Wrigley Field that night, but let me tell you, the whole city of Chicago was buzzing that night. "Mr. Brightside" at Michigan Stadium compares quite well.
I’m kinda convinced musical genius just happens and we retroactively apply analysis to make brilliance make sense because the thought of someone planning this out to me seems somehow less likely
That tends to be how art, especially an expressive art, goes. The artist more often thinks/does "this makes me feel this way" or "this will make them feel this way" or "this just sounds good". You can have a session with your band putting something together where one guy plays a riff, the next guy adds something onto it, someone else suggests a change, and the whole group just works together to make art.
Well, considering how fast songs are sometimes pit together, it would be insane to suggest this much analytical thought goes into the production of every part Paul McCartney and John Lennon said they could sit down in a studio with George and Ringo and put out a song in an hour.
No shit, Sherlock. Analysis is applied to find out why it sounds so good. It doesn’t imply that the artist was cognizant of every step during the creation of the song. Music and art in general is mostly intuitive.
I never noticed the "bed -> head, sick-> ...." leading rhyme thing because I've been listening to this song since before I knew about the birds and bees and it was always"just how the song goes ╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)╭" in my head lol!
Interesting take on "Mr. Brightside" meaning he's choosing to look past the events and move on. In my head, I think of it ironically. Everything his ex and the new guy are doing is "all in his head", and he replays scenarios of them together over and over, torturing himself with those thoughts. He's not looking on the brightside, he's very much stuck in the darkside. And that's how my life was when my ex got together with my best friend months after breaking up. Constantly making up scenarios of how intimate they were being whenever I wasn't around. I connected with this song on SUCH a significant level at that point in my life.
I had a similar take although mine was more: he walked into a bar, saw his gf chatting to a guy and all of this went through his head in an instant. The confusion, hurt and anger flash through his mind. And then he takes a breath and calms down and realises it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. He’s admonishing himself for overreacting and sarcastically calling himself “Mr Brightside” because of how quickly his brain went to the worst case scenario.
wow! it was almost the same for me, except that me, my ex and the best friend were all really good friends, and they didnt even wait more than 3 weeks after me and my ex broke up to start dating. and they told me only a full month later lmao. i dont talk to them anymore :)
@@t1lt252525 I agree totally that he’s using “Mr. Brightside” as sarcasm and irony, and the guitar part that moves us into the outro echoes the most famous melody ever, Ode to Joy, again, sarcastically.
@@jannecapelle_art Good! I stayed friends with them cuz, high school, can't avoid them lol. Lost contact after graduation, then she ended up cheating on him after 4 years together. He and I are still good friends, and now we have an eternal bond of sharing an ex lmao
This is one of those songs that I’ve listened to literally countless times and yet every time I hear it I’m overwhelmed with just how incredibly good it is.
@@srhegartyI thinks it’s more of a feeling that resonates with some people that have felt this emotion and are just prone to feeling it, but idk that’s my interpretation of y people prefer certain songs or genres over others
It works as a time machine for Australian people. Just a tiny snippet and suddenly I'm back in 2017 and it's September and Richmond's just won the Grand Final and Jack Riewoldt's performing it onstage with the Killers to celebrate and everyone is losing their minds
8:20 I want to add: something that he manages to do by cutting the rhyme short and dragging you to the next verse here is to replicate the feeling of forcibly dragging your thoughts away from something that's too painful to engage with yet. It thoroughly captures that feeling of "I can't stop thinking abou-NO NOT THAT. Think about anything but that."
I spent 10 years playing in a wedding band and we would give the couple a list of songs we knew and the only song picked for every wedding we played at was I Will Survive. The upbeat music and the feeling that song gives you, just like Mr Brightside does, is the reason why no one cares that the lyrics are about the dark side of relationships or the ending of such.
Another possibility I thought of (and I'm not wedded to this idea) is that people go through things like this before they find "the one." Perhaps finding the person who they are marrying made it possible to become Mr. Brightside.
@@rmdodsonbills I bet you’re right for at least some people. Those of us who listen and dissect lyrics see why the song is “right.” Those who listen but don’t dissect see why the song is “wrong.” Those who like a good beat and a lively chorus, really don’t listen and/or don’t care.
I've always seen the phrase "I'm Mr. Brightside" not as "I'm Mr. Brightside, so I'll be okay" but "I'm Mr. Brightside, so I _have_ to be okay even though I'm definitely _not_ okay." It's a very sardonic emotion there, especially given the subject matter of the song. It's this toxic idea that it doesn't matter how you feel; if you're a man and a woman doesn't like you back, you have no right to feel upset about it, even if she's cheating on you right in front of your face.
i posit there is a missed extra bit of genius here, in those lines. the 1st "cus im mr brightside" seems to be about the past, and how he mistakingly was forcing himself to ignore red flags and the cruel looming covered reality about to come crashing down on him eventually. the final "cus im mr bright side" which is enunciated and toned completely differently at the end of the song, seems to be more about his coming to terms with reality, forced to face it, and forced to move on from it lest being caged in that misery, a more resigned statement. so contrast the first brightside as bliss in denial and savouring the moment looking positively at the past hoping for a nice future subconsciently expecting it dark, with the last brightside as accepting the hurt of the present looking at an overall better long term future with the potential for an actual true good relationship but faced with a miserable short term future living in the misery cage until finally overcome.
This song is definitively not about closure. It’s about unresolved tension experienced by an author overcome with jealousy. Calling himself “Mr. Brightside” is an ironic comment showing that he has to put up a facade to hide his true hurt. He is in turmoil over something that he should be able to walk away from (he saw his now ex cheating, which should prompt him to just leave her behind) but he can’t let it go. His bright, sunny disposition is a front for the darkness he is experiencing in his mind, and in this situation he doesn’t have an outlet for it - it’s literally consuming him. His paralyzed moment of realization is washed away by an overwhelming sense of hurt and frustration that he can’t help but view ironically, almost in a cavalier tone like “oh Mondays am I right?” But it’s not “Mondays,” it’s him coping ineffectively with being cheated on. It’s a sucky place to be.
I think i lean pretty hard into that take too but i think the fact your saw it differently IS why the song ended up so popular its written and played in a way that it tells its own story but also allows you to fill it in with your own feelings and responses while always seeming correct if that made any sense
What I'd say is that it is still about closure, in a sense that it's the thing the speaker lacks yet wants to have in his life. So in a spectrum both you and 12tone got the point. Yet I don't think Mr. Brightside is an ironic term here; the whole song is about revealing his bare emotions, so there's no reason for him to be suddenly ironic in the end. I think calling himself Mr. Brightside is a declarement of what he's going to be, despite his current mental breakdown, which is closer to what 12tone interpreted the song in the video.
Yes, it's about being overcome with jealousy and the pain it causes, but it's ultimately about how you move past that pain. The first use of Mr. Brightside is ironic/sarcastic as you say, but the final use of it is sincere. The solution is in the lines: "But it's just the price I pay/Destiny is calling me". The pain he's experienced throughout the song is the worst possible outcome of falling in love, but the thing that lets him accept it is realizing that even pain of such intensity is a price worth paying in order to fulfill a 'destiny' of finding a love that lasts, and that destiny is still calling to him. In this realization, his "eager eyes" are re-opened to resume looking for that destiny. In the end, he IS Mr. Brightside, because he's realized that the bright side of romantic failure is that it's merely a step along the road to eventual romantic success.
“It’s just the price I pay; destiny is calling me”. It’s clear to me that he is outside of himself and sees how his emotional state is the price of greater things to come. He also says near the start “I gotta be down because I want it all”. To me this suggests that he accepts the hurt as inevitable because we wants the girl but he needs the future; he can’t have both, so he has to be “down”. Which is very sincere and doesn’t come off as a facade. Mr. Bright means to me as literally looking on the bright-side, the destiny that calls you forward no matter who has abandoned you.
As a song writer and someone who “plays at” bass, I think that walk up at the end bass line serves a very important purpose. Its the collective breath that the song takes preparing us for one of the most succinct lyrics in the song “and I just can’t look its killing me and taking control.” It also creates a sense of hope for a split second before landing right where it started again. The bass is the soul of any song, and Mr. Bright side is all about wanting to move on but not being able to. So in my opinion that cycle of spiraling deeper and deeper, and at your lowest moments being able to climb up just a little, only to fall right back into that same spiral again is exactly what the song needed. Just like with the vocals the next line provides resolution for the previous line.
I love that you put way more thought into the structure of this song than the band probably did. Having played in many original bands over the years, the process is more organic than thought out. Band members are usually fluent in the language of rock and choices just come out of everyone’s influences and experiences and what sounds “cool”; not a lot of “thought” going on.
I was looking for this. I LOVE analysis videos like this, but it’s more likely that the band made their choices on what you mentioned. Influences and what sounds “cool” or simply something they stumbled upon while messing around.
while this is obviously true and sometimes hindsight analysis quite misses the point by idolizing the artists and processes as well as the works... people seem to also miss the point that genius doesn't necessarily come in just the theoretical form. often, quite often, the artists dont realize what they are doing in theory, and think it just works and is just cool, but they can tell intuitively in practice the action and consequence of their specific choice. in more clear terms, artist may not realize choice x makes y impact logically and with music theory backing it, but they can *feel* it does so, and therefore move to use it. this is actually the most common thing in most of the arts and subgenres. the exceptions being the overly complex and worked on niches like jazz and other extremely technical and theory heavy art styles across art mediums. intuition is just such an underrated human value. and for good reason, if we just start attributing skill to intution, we bar the way for working hard and learning and just admit some are born with divine blessings while others dont. which in general is a despised feeling for obvious reasons. most creators dont want to face a reality where they cannot reach heights just cus they were born that way, most ppl want to be able to achieve heights in some possible way, no matter how inviable it is. even then, no matter how talented the person is, they still have to work hard if they want to truly squeeze some juice from it. especially in the flooded competitive world of today, with public attention that moves on faster than light and is more whimsical than a baby kitty
Intuition is fed by the music the band members listened to. The language they think about music in (whether it's deliberately thought out or not) influences their decisions. Hindsight analysis shouldn't be thought about as a way a musician created the thing, it's about explaining WHY a thing matters and feels so much the same to so many people listening- what are the connections/similarities to the languages of music in all of our heads
I think the fact that the first and second verse are the same is one of the factors that contribute to Mr. Brightside being such a popular party song. You only need to memorize 1 verse, 1 prechorus and 1 chorus to sing along. Much easier than most songs.
Hey! There’s the comment I was hoping to see. It’s also a reason why it’s a good song to sing if you’re doing karaoke in front of people you barely know: They will surely sing along with you.
It is called out in the "repeat stuff" song but you're absolutely right. Being able to pick the lyrics up quickly makes a song more likely to be enjoyed in pop culture
Who memorizes lyrics to a song? I mean, is it a conscious choice you make? If I enjoy a song, somehow, I just recall the lyrics. I've never spent a single moment trying to memorize the lyrics to a song. I ether know them or I dont. If I don't know them, it's not like I don't want a song played at a party. Maybe Karoke...
@@TheBlackSpastic Good on you for being able to understand lyrics to songs on the first try. Sometimes the audio production makes it difficult for me to understand song lyrics; therefore, if it's a song I know I might want to sing along with, I'll look up the lyrics.
@@TheBlackSpastic i only do that for hip hop. But I also just have an auditory processing issue cuz of my adhd and it can make lyrics unintelligible unless I'm focusing on the lyrics. Even for something as clarion clear as Taylor swift.
now THAT’S a part of it i never even thought about until now. you want so badly for it to be brought back to the D# root note, for another chord and another cymbal crash to give some closure to the pain, but it just… doesn’t come. hell, now that i think about it, that HAD to be intentional. an unhappy relationship, especially one with an unhappy ending (or god forbid, one-sided love) is something that doesn’t easily fall away. the wounds fester and stay swollen for a long time. and there’s nothing you can do to make them heal quicker except to rip the bandages off and… heal them yourself. so why WOULD they end the song on a triumphant note? why would they pretend that the pain can just… go away, that things could just become fine and happy again? the trailing harmony ALMOST bringing the song back to center while leaving you expecting is almost poetic in the way it mirrors the emotions of the song. after all of the catharsis, all of the hurt being dredged up to the surface, you’re still not back to baseline. fuck, man. what a fantastically composed song.
I remember Somebody Told Me coming out first, but it is possible that this song had the "soft release" first in which it was not successful, only to have the re-release after the success of Somebody.
12:32 "One of the most fundamental pillars of my approach to analysis is to assume that every element of a song positively contributes to the overall experience." I see you, fellow worker! 💪❤
I might've missed it but I feel like that 2nd verse "and I'm doing JUST fine" supports your reading of the same thoughts changing into a feeling of anger. I've always known this song's subject, but I never really thought about the "pacing" and anxiety in the composition that much, or at least not as consciously. Listening to it now, I can almost hear him having trouble breathing, in the midst of a panic, through the first verse, and the kind of slowed down dissociative spiral in the prechorus. I always enjoy hearing you explain "interpretation" though "mechanics" -- feeling through function.
IKR? The first verse sounds like he's flabbergasted to me, like he couldn't believe what he's seeing, while the second verse sounds like he's already able to process what he saw, and is now mad angry and sad about it. The second "and I'm doing JUST fine" always sounds sarcastic to me.
you say the rhyme scheme on "my stomach is sick, but she's touching his CHEST" is unexpected I straight up didnt know what you meant because the song is so deeply ingrained in me as is, that my brain doesn't expect any other word
Oh, man. I teach literature and poetry, and automatically analyze EVERYTHING. The first time I heard this song I totally anticipated the other word. I kinda had to laugh at myself for the clever way they pulled the rug out from under my expectations.
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I saw this video shortly after it was released. I didn't know it at the time, but it kicked off a very music-oriented year of UA-cam algorithm for me, and I finally caved and bought a keyboard. I never knew how much joy it would bring me. I don't think it would have happened without this video, so I want to thank you for your work. You've significantly affected my life for the better ❤
Mr. Brightside and Somebody That I Used To Know.........both kinda fascinate me. They're both *_relatively_* conventional "modern rock" songs....with all the throat clearing those terms imply...etc etc. But....they were both *_HUUUUGE_* singles. So huge....they're STILL charting. How? What is it about those songs? What perfect magic made that possible? It's fascinating to ponder.... It's part of what I love about music itself. All sorts of people try to engineer this kind of thing....and 99.99% of the time....they fail. But when it happens....it's all so obvious and meant to be. It had to happen. Lots to think about....
It seems to me that people are at least somewhat conscious that Somebody That I Used to Know is not a positive, upbeat story. I’ve seen many people try to break down the story (sometimes in pretty ludicrous ways) because of this. Maybe also because Gotye seemed to come out of nowhere in my part of the world. (If I recall he was quite well-known elsewhere.) Anyway, it seems to me that for these two, especially, it’s the layering of party rock / power ballad with sad (Gotye) or downright depressing (Killers) lyrics over top. There’s a magic to it that you just can’t mass-manufacture. As a much milder fun-but-sad song says: Sad Songs Say So Much 😔😉
I always felt it’s because it has something for everyone who looks into it. Those who are looking for a good fun time hear the melody and the pop-ness of it. But those who are bleeding and in pain feel the lyrics like a hot iron in our hearts forcing catharsis or reminding us we arent alone. Releasing tension weve been holding onto, or torturing anyone in denial ect. (Yes i am projecting thank you for noticing
The lyrics are the entire reason I'll always love this song, it just taps into an extremely primal feeling of betrayal, dread, regret, shame, all of those things all into one that no other song has ever touched for me. The tone is smiley and upbeat, because that's all you can do when you're stuck in that cycle; Nobody else gives a fuck how you're feeling. Everyone is worried about themselves, which is completely fair. But you just want to scream and shout at the world because of your agony... but you can't. So you slap a smile on and just keep on drowning in your own head. Love it.
@justvibing4796 The vocals are always the best part for me. The vocals during the verses sound like he's retelling the betrayal and himself witnessing it to a friend, all while trying to fight off a panic attack/breakdown and forcing himself to just keep talking, gritting his teeth and choking back tears.
At about 16:20, you talk about the shift in pulse by adding the third note to the triad filling out the rest of the chord... I digress. I've been watching your videos for what feels like forever, and this is the first time I've left a comment on any of your videos. I absolutely love your work. In a nutshell, I'm a guitarist who never paid attention to any theory behind my guitar. Given I have a musical background, (keys for as long as I can remember, alto/tenor/baritone saxophone throughout school, guitar, bass guitar, violin, I have a drum set behind me in my basement.... *shrugs*) there's a barrier between my guitar and my knowledge I'm finally currently working on. You're videos are an amazing addition to my current exploration of how theory is incorporated into some of the music I've listened to. Bringing the knowledge I have locked in my brain I'm currently unpacking from concert and marching band and incorporating it into music that is more relevant to me... Thank you so much for the content you provide. I've been a silent fan of yours for years. With that being said, it's about time I reach out to you and say you're shit is awesome! Thank you! ...While you're talking about the shift in pulse, you draw a diagram of a 5-speed manual transmission. Being a stick driver, it kind of "icked" me. Why did you only draw a 5-speed? You're missing a gear.... Any car worthy of having a manual transmission has six speeds... What kind of car do you drive? Are you part of the three pedal club? I understand my comment is extremely irrelevant to the point behind you're music, but I wanted to casually poke fun at it while introducing myself to the comment section of your videos. Cheers!
One technical note: the vocal in the first verse doesn't actually sit on Db the whole time (which would be difficult to sing and sound really weird). It moves between Db and C relatively often. It's easy to miss because the C comes on the unaccented syllables. That said, your main point still stands.
Yeah I was gonna say he definitely isn't singing the exact same note. Whether it's a C or just a flat Db there's definitely some movement in the pitch. I always interpreted it as a way to simulate his voice cracking as if he's barely keeping it together.
Yeah, in his defense it's pretty ease to miss because it's a lot of very fast step-wise movement between just the two notes so pairing it with the drums makes it easy to assume or at least feel that they're the same.
To me it feels less like a C-D♭ than that on the longer notes he’s actually going to the effort to find the pitch on the longer notes. There’s a lot of ambiguity between singing and yelling the main melody(?) in the verse.
I am 50 years old and I LOVE this song. During the early to mid 2000’s people my age at the time were stuck in the 90s or raging about kids in tight pants and I just absolutely adored the music out at the time. Looking back, this was one of rock and roll’s finest time period. Everything from folky, lo fi indie to hard crashing garage bands to fusions of electronic music and it was all fresh and exciting. Man… what a pleasure to immerse yourself in music at such a time
The early 2000s was such a vivid time for punk and alternative rock music just like late 70s and early 80s was for metal. The late 2000s to early 2010s was good for rap and edm but ever since 2015, the overall quality of music has declined.
I always felt there was something special about this song with how much I kept listening to it and to how much it has resonated with so many people. You were able to break everything down so thoughtfully about the song's genius structure and how it builds that tension and anxiety that The Killers wants us to hear. This is such an amazing breakdown, kudos!
This is the first one of your vids I have seen and it is PHENOMENAL! the amount of work and in depth breakdown of the instruments tones and music is insane.
im surprised you didn’t mention the “ode to joy” thing - the guitar part in the chorus isnt quite an adaptation of the entire melody but it hits the important notes at the right times, only with the last 3 notes split up into 3 quarter note stabs. I really think this is an interpolation that was meant. It has that sarcastic, angry, tears-down-your-face “BUT ILL BE FINE” kinda vibe , it’s like an angry stomp through ode to joy.
I heard Brandon say in a talk that the second verse was not finished when they were recording. Apparently the band liked it better that way and I think that fits
This is such a fantastic way of teaching. The visuals being drawn grabs the attention of the viewer, the drawings themselves tangentially correlate with what's being said, and the actual pacing of the editing to match the concise words and teachings keep everything with a steady and consistent flow to the new information. All of this accumulates to entertain the brains of many viewers. This is the first video I'm ever watching of this channel, and I can tell that this script writing, drawing style, and vocal delivery has been practiced for a very long time to create such an experience. An example: as I listen, I watch the hand see and guess what will be drawn, and the new information I'm hearing comes in as the hand leaves view. Exposing the image and associating it with the new info is like creating visual bullet points that sticks, no matter what I could be focusing on while its being taught.
4:00 the guitar keeps repeating the high notes - over and over again, as if they are trying to keep making something function (AKA trying to stay "bright"). While this is happening, the bass notes are playing the "reality" - they are sinking. Opposite emotions create a fighting sensation of an emotional battle. Positive thoughts vs the reality of a difficult situation. Well done. I would like to request your analysis of Interpol "Try it on".
That "boring poetry" line hit me so good. I got kicked out of a critics group for saying "poems shouldn't rhyme isn't a critisism it's an opinion" to one of the main people there, and then when I called them elitist for thinking they're a better artist just because they paid to go school I was perma banned. I stand by my words, and you've helped me stand by that even more. You're such a good critic and analyst here, very informative and interesting, and those lil drawings are great. I think i found my new favourite music analyst!
Poetry should absolutely rhyme, i get that rhymes aren't always the focal point of poetry but I hate when people think dissonance can just be thrown into any random section on a whim, being too loose with rhyme schemes threatens to dismantle poetry into basically just an open ended writing peice. It's like taking the drums out of rap songs or randomly using them, it just upsets the flow and foundation of the structure that sits on top. I just personally feel like lack of focus on rhymes is a lazy way to justify not making sure to consistently keep up with a rhyme scheme. You don't need to sacrifice rhymes to keep substance, you can do both simultaneously if you expend the effort and time it takes
This was so good. I have nearly 0 music theory knowledge ( learned to read sheet music at a young age and have played a few instruments, poorly) and even I was able to appreciate what they did with this song thanks to your ability to make the information accessible.
this analysis got me a little teary eyed lol i think this was a huge influence on the "happy beats sad words" movement in the music industry and The Killers did a really excellent job of making a song that matched all the feeling of an experience
8:52 this transition from 1/8ths to 1/4 and 1/2 notes feels like an audio Dolly Zoom. A the feeling of your stomach bottoming out like the drop of a roller coaster
Everytime I watch one of your videos I need to re-listen to the song to notice all the things you point out. No matter how much I have heard the song before!
Another argument why Fair Use in copyright is so important. Fair Use can drive even more demand of the original content, where as outright theft doesn't.
No matter how ‘overplayed’ the song is, it still means a lot to me. I was a huge Killers fan from when Hot Fuss came out. A few years later I got to grips with the songs meaning (at least to myself), my gf at the time also liked the Killers, we saw them together multiple times over the years. But then she was flirting with another guy, the one I was told not to worry about, that digressed into cheating. I saw all the fears and paranoia Flowers described played out at justified. I even played the song on holiday at an open mic just to get out my system that I knew it was going on. I came out of that relationship with my self-confidence shattered, or when I had it it was fuelled by alcohol, constantly questioning what I did. I spiralled during and after, but my friends and this song helped me through at the time to see the bright side.
Must be a regional "overplayed" song, because I'm from Belgium and I have hardly heard it, ever. That, and the fact that I'm getting old and the music I mostly listen to is even older.
I've been there brother. It can be the worst feeling that anyone has gone through. I hope you found your peace and that everything is going well with you nowadays. It took me some substances and self correcting (not easy at all) but after multiple attempts on my life, I realized after the last attempt that there had to be something to live for. Even if I haven't found it yet
Your approach to dissecting & understanding songs leaves me to reflect how sad my knowledge of music theory is, but it is all worth it when I see you draw a TARDIS when you express the need for more time!!
😂 to the TARDIS reference, but also, I find it hilarious how much I hated music theory as a young student. My grandmother pushed it so hard that I unconsciously pushed back. If there’s a heaven they watch from them grandma is both amused and vindicated by my love of this channel and others with a similar focus on theory.
@@eiPderF I've written many songs with practically no grasp of music theory and I've found that it is simply just another unlock of ability. You can still write music without that knowledge based upon feel, how things sound to you, etc. And then I know someone who does have an extensive knowledge of theory, and he uses it against itself to write some of the most demented music I've heard, it is brilliant.
I went through some major heartbreak around the time this song came out and it helped me process it. The "it's all in my head" part hit extra hard, since the person who'd hurt me used that phrase as his go-to gaslighting idiom. Couldn't help but sing it with raging, bitter sarcasm. Luckily, things have gotten better and I'm able to enjoy it with a sense of celebration because I lived through something awful. A great song. Thank you for covering it!
I saw The Killers in Louisville back in '04. It was my first concert and I fell madly in love. And while I have a hard time listening to this song in particular (I was, myself, Mr. Brightside at the time), but it still has such a strong nostalgic feeling for me. Sam's Town best album, btw.
the thing you said at the end about anxiety and excitement and how basically people can confuse those two emotions in music really made me think of songs like pumped up kicks by foster the people and jeremy by pearl jam, pumped up kicks has a very strange tone and a very catchy beat but is an ultimately dark song, while Jeremy is a very intense song that almost sounds angry when the feeling is more disturbed at the actions the song talks about, the first song being a school shooting, and the second being a suicide at school.
Damn it took this analysis to get me to realize all the feelings I've been experiencing. I knew I related to this song but not on this level. First video I've seen from you and all I can say is... Thank you.
I didn't hear this song until I was in college, around 2014 when a friend showed me "Mile(y) High Club" by Super Mash Bros. Pairing this with other popular radio music of the time like "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk ft. Pharell and "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Mr. Brightside" was... uniquely somber, despite being upbeat. Definitely memorable for sure. Great analysis!
you mentioned a sense of movement while nothing is moving, i think that perfectly fits the scenario in the song, everything feels still like you're frozen in time yet moving a million miles per hour when you've just been hit with something so traumatic
It seems beautiful and discordant, which is lovely in its unexpectedness, combined with easily understood lyrics. There's a lot of reasons it's so popular.
I never listened to the song thoroughly enough to really notice everything going on in the lyrics, so thanks for that. I had a very emotional response to this video because of it. And I agree with you about the second verse and how it's the same events with a different story. Also, it's very real to go through the *same* story of the events multiple times before you can get to the next part, so even without the emotional change I still wouldn't describe it as lazy. I have a whole new appreciation of this song now. Thank you!
I’ve always seen it as completely deliberate. So many songs play with the chorus in a similar way. But we don’t treat a word-for-word chorus repetition as lazy, whether it’s identical or tweaked. This takes it further. He takes all the same words but gives them such a more complete yet somehow still unresolved feel
I think there's something else as well that perhaps isn't touched on. The analysis of the vocals is in terms of the feeling of what it feels like to listen to them, what moods the musical choices invoke, and I wouldn't want to argue with any of it. But that single note vocal, and the avoidance of hitting the downbeat with the stress in the lyrics does something else I think: while he is singing it, it gives it a narrative feel (perhaps you might call it chanting, somewhere in the middle of talking and singing). This, to me, spotlights the lyrics and together with the identical second verse does something else really important that's nothing to do with how it is to listen to it: it makes it good to sing! The spotlight on the lyrics, the narrative feel, the single-note melody and the repeated verse makes it something that clubs full of drunk people will unashamedly and enthusiastically chant along with at the top of their lungs! Without that, I think it would still have been a popular song, but I don't think it would have become such an iconic and beloved favourite. It's not just a great song to listen to, it's perfect at inviting you to join in!
really enjoy this analysis. one thing, idk if “subvert expectations” in terms of “touching his, chest” illustrates the totality of what going on. its not JUST a switch of whats expected, it still fits, it simply goes down another line that makes sense, just not the first that might come to mind. it still feels like it makes rhythmic and structural sense and is cohesive rather then a full break. its not so much flipping things over as skewing them in a way that catches your attention as a new development, which I think is a large part of the charm. its like a road that merges with another instead of taking the highway.
Ah, yes, my favorite rhyme: "sick" and "chest". That's definitely a rhyme. There's no other word that fits better and is usually the main deal breaker in a hetrosexual relationship ended by cheating. There's definitely no other word... like "di-
So, apparently, I'm your Mom, because I didn't know this song at all. I hope you've been eating well, and going to bed at a reasonable hour, because if you don't have your health you haven't got anything. Can I expect a grandchild soon? I don't want to rush you, it's just that time goes by faster than you realize. I'm so proud of you, honey, you're so clever.
Great analysis. This song still hurts my soul so much, having been cheated on. I don't know why but this song, of all the songs about cheaters, this one manages to bring up all of those memories and feelings so easily. For anyone who's been cheated on, don't give up. There are still good people out there and you will find them. It may take you 5 years or even longer to find the right person but it will be worth the wait and you are not alone in going through this. Also, if you have cheated or are thinking a out cheating, know that there is basically nothing more harmful you can do to someones soul and psyche. Avoid it at all costs.
My theory regarding that sudden walk-up in the bassline before the prechorus is this: The bass has been following along in the background, though even then it seems to stray and be…elusive. I view that sudden walk-up to be a literal representation of “those problems in the background that you choose to ignore suddenly turn around and creep up on you just before reality hits.” I dunno, maybe getting a bit too literal with my interpretation, but considering the subject matter of this song, I feel like that moment hits way harder and makes more sense when viewed through that lens. 😅❤️
I remember when I first heard this song. That guitar bit at the start hooked me. After looping the song on UA-cam, I decided to go get the CD from some store several blocks away. Kudos on your presentation. I like how you showed how the parts work together. I'm not a musician so I ignored the details but there was enough for me to understand.
This is legitimately the most engaging and informative musical breakdown I’ve ever seen. Imo Mr Brightside is the perfect example of the principle ‘less is more’ in music.
As I don’t usually listen to lyrics that often, I was completely weirded out as to why I was continuously feeling anxious when listening to this song, especially because of the context it is usually played in (ie. parties, suggesting excitement and fun). But as soon as I read the lyrics, I understood the emotional context from which the song was made from and why I experienced those dissonant emotions. Watching this analysis video was really cool to try dig into the structure and understand the song more in-depth
Yes! I think that particular choice builds a chord that's very bittersweet. I think 12tone would have appreciated it through a different angle if they actually made a harmonic analysis of the overall chords in that parts. The one bar they didn't like results in a very Romantic, almost Debussy-esque transition
The bass would be wrong without it, imo. As a guitar player, this was one of the first albums that made me really appreciate bass. That part is everything to that moment in the song.
I have considered Mr. Brightside to be my favorite song ever since it's release and have yet to find a song that tops it. I always thought it was for the perfect jealous narrative in the lyrics, but this just opened my eyes to a much deeper level of why this song works and is incredible and I thank you for that.
Just stumbled on this teardown today and I have to profess that I am not someone who hears lyrics, let alone musical text/subtext - your narration is nothing short of eye-opening. Thank you - subbed!!!!
I've never in my life heard someone explain music before the way you did. I'm absolutely amazed. And to have used a song that resonates so deeply with me...I just never had the words, but I do now. Thank you SO much. I had no idea about how amazing the technical side of songs could be. You have blown my mind. LOL💕💕💕💕✌✌🙏🙏
While I've heard this song plenty of times, I hadn't realized that it has so much depth to it. That's why I love this channel, diving deep on easy to miss parts of music. Another channel I watch for this reason is Knox Hill, breaking down lyricism and rhythmic choices in rap. I appreciate both of your channels for this reason.
Haven’t heard this song in a minute and damn it hits hard right now. Beautiful written. The way the music is so reflective of what the song is about is just amazing
It's one of the songs that came out in my teen years that just really stuck with me. I had lots of insecurities around romance and jealousy so the self torture he's going through in the song struck a cord and actually helped me realize how much I was harming myself by obsessing over what is over, and coming to terms with not "owning" my exes. Dumb teen brain, y'know. Also it just sounds amazing, like it's playing through the filter of a memory is the best I can describe it.
Mr Brightside will always have a special place in my heart. 27 yrs old, single and living in Venice Beach when this album dropped. A girl I was on a date with played the CD for me. We only got 3 songs in (I think Brightside is track 2?) and I knew I was gonna buy it. I was able to catch them playing a weekend show at The Troubadour in Hollywood before Mr Brightside single came out and totally blew the band up. Hot Fuss became the soundtrack for my summer 2004 which was easily one of the best summers of my life.
I find it fascinating that, to me, his voice is completely rhythmic, but not percussive, you could play that on a snare, but it wouldn't feel the same.
i think it's because he's not completely doing staccato. you could very well speak or rap the verses, but he full-on sings them in a way that implies there is _supposed_ to be a melody there.
We left ACL early one night because we had a long walk to the car down some not so great areas in the dark. Paid off as we sat in someone's family's driveway right when we got back and got to hear this whole song echo from a couple miles out. Was an unexpected gift to enjoy live but "by ourselves"
The bass riff in the prechorus is absolutely the focus of that bit, the synth part is barely noticeable. But I think it changes the 3rd time to do that tritone again, like in the verse, going Db-C-Gb.
I’ve always liked this song, but he’s definitely given me respect for songs I didn’t like or that were so overplayed that I actively had begun to hate.
The intro to this video was a bit perplexing to me, because while I had of course heard of this song and was vaguely aware of some of the lyrics, I've somehow managed to avoid actually hearing the song (as far as I can recall) for the last decade-and-a-bit. Part of it might be that I just don't listen to the radio much, but I'm still surprised that such an apparently hugely popular song managed to completely pass me by. (I think I might've also been confusing it with ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky", a _very_ different song.)
Oh, I saw the title and the song started going off in my head. It pops up way too much in automated song lists and UA-cam recommendations. Not that I don't like it, but it's almost getting the "Overplayed Nickelback" vibe at times.
When I watched the video, my stream buffer ran into a hiccup about a minute before the end, and I heard "when a song gives you closure, it-" and playback paused for buffering long enough that I thought you were ending on a bit to demonstrate a lack of closure and I thought it was hilarious. Edit: I think the video overall is great and it helped me realize how much I love this song, but I just had to share my anecdote
Once you hear this song you can't unhear it .. i have found it during covid times and after that i am listening it through many sources.. its such a timeless masterpiece .
It’s been in the UK charts for so long because we all sing and we love mush pit jumping about while dancing before calming down and singing, then back off jumping about. This song does this brilliantly.
This song is popular at weddings for the same reason songs like Every Breath You Take are: because most of the people who claim they care about lyrics don't actually listen to them. As someone who listens to a lot of music in different languages, including languages I don't speak, I'm always irritated when people complain that "you can't understand what they're saying!" when I know that they don't understand lyrics written in their native language.
Or perhaps people just like those songs because it feels right. If every wedding playlist was pedantically censored to feature only socially sanctioned sentiments it would be pretty bloody tedious. Weddings are a rare occasion that brings together a whole mess of people from family and extended social circles. They are messy and complicated and so is love which is at the root of it all. Songs that cover the gamut of the human condition and the complex emotions people often feel at these celebrations in an easily digestible pop format, are danceable and known to everyone? It just works.
Fair, although an interpretation of the lyrics of Every Breath you Take as romantic rather than stalkery at least sort of makes sense, even if it's not a very good interpretation or the one intended by the author. You can still look at the lyrics and come to that conclusion. Mr. Brightside only makes sense that way if you don't listen to the lyrics at all.
There are Cure songs I've listened to for years and years and just never gotten that they were about a certain thing, somehow, but other people were immediately like "oh yeah, that's about BDSM", whereas with Depeche Mode I'm far more likely to be able to link those things. Sometimes we can love a song, know the lyrics by heart, and still not tear them to pieces looking for every metaphor. Not everyone wants to spend a large amount of time analyzing every song. That's why I enjoy listening to other people breaking them down.
I know one couple who used it, but the song had true meaning. They first met platonically when both were dating other people. Their attraction and chemistry was palpable, but they were mature enough not to act on it. Three or four years later they found each other again, this time they were both single. Two years later they were married.
At 0:45 I learned that I'm apparently I'm 12tone's mom now, cause I recognize that "Mr Brightside" is a song title, and don't know anything else about it. Guess I'll see how much of the rest makes sense.
What's your age? I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the 20-30 year olds in the English speaking world know this song by heart, but I'm curious if relevance falls off harder for people younger than that vs people older than that
Chart-wise, it's less impressive to know this song in the UK spent just 1 week in the top 10 (at #10) and only 6 weeks in the top 40. Musically, Hot Fuss is a cohesive bittersweet nostalgic album. This song leads directly into Smile Like You Mean It for instance. All These Things That I've Done and When You Were Young follow similar themes. Personally, it has become a bittersweet nostalgia for me as it was released at a bad but significant time in my life which I now look back on with fondness and sadness when I listen to this album. It was too new to have that effect at the time.
This is so, so, so brilliant. I think most people had same/similar interpretation of the lyrics but these illustrations and the musical notations are just fantastic. Just stumbled onto this today and subbed. See you have Floyd in your back catalogue, excellent. Ever come across any The Kinks. Cannot imagine how long each one of these takes to prepare, taking into account time, illustrations, script and immense brainpower etc. Just totally f.brilliant. Kudos to you Sir🎩. As we say in England chapeau😂
Two points that were missed which I would like to either add to or bring up: The rythmic flopping within the chorus is rhythmic chiasmus. The "diad thing" is actually taken from a well-known classical piece of music. Those being said, I'm glad to be part of the club that did notice the intended rhyme many, many years ago!!! Great video. Cheers!
Some additional thoughts/corrections:
1) To be clear, when I say I question XFM's methodology in declaring Mr. Brightside the #1 song of all time, that's not because I think some other song deserves it more. I mostly just don't think you can rank music like that.
2) Yeah, I'm kinda flagrantly abusing tremolo notation in the bass part, but in my defense it seemed easier than writing a bunch of 8th notes, so who's to say if it's actually incorrect?
3) Also, am I using the term "upper structure" correctly? Not really! But it's the best and clearest way to describe the thing I wanted to describe, so jazz nerds can deal with it.
4) Technically the second phrase of the verse is also a quatrain, it's just only gone one rhyme through it. Actually, technically, all four phrases are quatrains, just with couplet-style end rhymes. Huh, these thoughts/corrections all seem to be about me misusing technical terminology this episode, don't they? Weird. Not gonna reflect too much on that.
5) In the prechorus, the upper structure of the 2nd chord is actually slightly different, in that he plays an Ab on the D string as opposed to leaving it open, (it's tuned down a half-step, so it rings as Db) but it's such a buried note that I don't think it has any real impact on the harmonic structure of the section.
6) In the modified bass demo, the moved walk-down sounds a little extra dissonant because I made the rest of the track with stem separations, not the actual stems, so there's a couple of the upper harmonics from the original bassline still hanging out in there. (The bass itself is the stem there, to try to drown out those harmonics with correct ones.) I could've done it all with stems but I thought it was important to get it as close to the original mix as possible, and with studio stems you don't necessarily get that. Hopefully the slight timbral dissonance isn't too distracting.
7) It also isn't as clear that it works because I couldn't use more than four bars without getting a copyright claim so it's a little out of context, but nothing I can do about that. It's more clear that it's better if you can hear the full 8 bars, but I don't wanna get into that fight with the rights-holders. You can hear a version of it that's the full 8 bars here: on.soundcloud.com/gAf4U although I made that one to test the hypothesis before realizing my stems didn't quite match the original mix, so the synth is quieter there. Still, I think the premise holds. (That link also has the same mix playing the original bassline for comparison.)
8) While it's true that Keuning wrote the guitar part before Stoermer joined the band (Flowers has talked about receiving a tape with some ideas on it that included this song when he joined, and he joined before Stoermer did.) I don't actually know that Stoermer wrote his own bass part for the prechorus. The walkdown might've been Keuning's idea, which is why I offered it as just one possible explanation, not a definite fact.
9) Another way in which the chorus progression is weird is that it keeps changing chord types. It starts on a modal dyad, moves to a power chord, then suddenly it's a 7th chord. That would be very confusing as pure harmonic material, but makes a lot more sense when viewed through the lens of voiceleading.
10) Did I purposefully avoid mentioning Hey Ya in the ending bit about party songs with gloomy lyrics just so everyone would leave comments about Hey Ya, driving up engagement? I dunno. Did it work?
Apparently, the 2nd verse being a repeat is just because he didn't have time (or headspace) to write something different. He said so in an NME article he wrote in 2013.
I didn't notice the lack of Hey Ya in the ending bit, because I was surprised that there wasn't a single mention of Davd Bowie's song 'Queen Bitch'. (A lot of people have said elements of the lyrics and phrasing are similar, and I have to agree, though I wouldn't go as far as to call it a rip-off like some would. Homages happen.)
Responding to number 10...you do realize this means you gotta analyze Hey Ya at some point, right?
> Yeah, I'm kinda flagrantly abusing tremolo notation in the bass part, but in my defense it seemed easier than writing a bunch of 8th notes, so who's to say if it's actually incorrect?
I do this all the time when writing charts for myself, sometimes I don't even bother with the tremolo. If it's obvious to the ear that the part is just driving eighth notes I don't feel the need to notate that, I just need to know the notes.
I'm neither a fan of the song (never heard it before) nor am I your mother.
I'm a fan of your breakdowns of music theory.
Imagine being that girl this song is about, every bar you go into for the rest of your life every party you go to and there is a solid chance you're going to hear this
Every time you turn on a car radio, go shopping at the mall
G o o d
Good, cheaters get that they deserve.
5:58 Ok…. But I was today years old when I realized the rhyme scheme was… highly sus
@@titaniadioxide6133 same! I love the change up though and the fact that leads into a whole other "rhyme scheme". I always enjoyed that part musically anyway so I legit never noticed the rhyme that could've been.
My favourite part of the song is the second go of "and I've been doing just fine". The jump up in pitch for that second "just" has _so much_ sarcasm and resentment in it. True catharsis moment.
I just realized that I didn't know he was being sarcastic. I am really autistic huh
I always imagined this song would be great to cover with the first half being more monotone style of singing and the second go round keep that sarcastic energy through it, then the 'I never's following the same
I was thinking the same! I guess it doesn't add much to his analysis, but I wanted to hear his comments about it.
@@Asarrrrrr I never noticed the rhyme scheme leading you to think he was gonna say dick if that makes you feel any better
@@poopsmithjones1 Same. When he started talking about it, my jaw hit the floor. I never caught that.
I worked weddings for 3 years and this song is covered in nearly every one of them. Didn't really know it was quite this massive though
Isn’t it about infidelity lol
Haha yea I worked weddings in college and was always amazed at some of the themes of super popular songs. I’m looking at you, Semi-Charmed Life!
@@samstits8982 She Will Be Loved by Maroon Five is about a woman with the wrong man, and how she only needs to turn to the singer to comfort her when things get out of hand. And yet THAT is also a wedding song. Don't these people listen to the lyrics? (Yeah, Didn't notice it because I don't go to a lot of weddings. Hey! I'm a hermit. Only realized it seeing Adam Levine talk about the song. He doesn't get it, either.)
@@MeloniousThunk Stalker songs also have a tendency to be badly misread as romantic and see frequent play at weddings (see “Every Breath You Take” by the Police, “Crash Into Me” by Dave Matthews, etc.)
I went and did a search for the song, heard a bit of it.
I had never heard this song before.
That may be a result of the facts that I have not watched a broadcast TV channel in 5-6 years, don't go to clubs/bars/etc., and only listen to NPR on the radio.
For music, my tastes are mostly stuck back in the end of the last century, concentrating on Pink Floyd, Rush, ELP, and Van Halen (to name a few examples).
I saw The Killers live during Breaking the Mirage, and Mr Brightside was of course the last song played. At first, the band played the music to the song, except Brandon stayed quiet. He allowed the crowd to sing the lyrics to the song while the band played, afterwards allowing Brandon to play the song as normal. Singing Mr. Brightside in a chorus of a thousand voices was something absolutely magical and I need to experience it again.
You should go to a University of Michigan football game then lol. About halfway through the third quarter, during every single home game, Mr. Brightside comes on and everyone sings along with it. At the chorus the music turns off and it's just 100,000 football fans scream/singing Mr. Brightside, until the music comes on again to match up with the last line of the chorus. It's awesome
I can’t stand it when I go to a concert and the artist points the mic at the audience and lets them sing. Bruh, I didn’t pay my hard earned cash and drag my lazy butt all the way here to listen to a bunch of off-key teens scream your song. I can do that myself thank you very much. Sorry, just being honest 😂
@@400_billion_suns theres a difference between the singer doing it frequently through out the concert and doing it when they become tired at the end of the concert
Every Billy Joel concert and Piano Man :)
@@logang.daitch8786Very minor nitpick on the timing of the song from a season ticket holder: it is played during the quarter break between the third and fourth quarters. TV usually misses it live, because they have commercials to run during that stoppage of play, but sometimes they'll run one less commercial and come back to the tail end of the song, or occasionally they may "tape delay" it and run it about two minutes after it happened live as a sort of intro to the fourth quarter.
That said, your description of the electricity in the atmosphere when they play it is spot-on. One of the few proper points of comparison I can come up with is the top of the ninth inning in Game 6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series, with the Chicago Cubs leading the series 3-2 and the game 5-0 and needing to put out just three more Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to their first World Series in 71 years. I wasn't in Wrigley Field that night, but let me tell you, the whole city of Chicago was buzzing that night. "Mr. Brightside" at Michigan Stadium compares quite well.
I’m kinda convinced musical genius just happens and we retroactively apply analysis to make brilliance make sense because the thought of someone planning this out to me seems somehow less likely
im convinced that happens more times than the artists mathematically engineering songs like, well, this.
I honestly agree with you. Every time I watch these break down videos, I always wonder how much of it was intended that way lol
That tends to be how art, especially an expressive art, goes. The artist more often thinks/does "this makes me feel this way" or "this will make them feel this way" or "this just sounds good".
You can have a session with your band putting something together where one guy plays a riff, the next guy adds something onto it, someone else suggests a change, and the whole group just works together to make art.
Well, considering how fast songs are sometimes pit together, it would be insane to suggest this much analytical thought goes into the production of every part
Paul McCartney and John Lennon said they could sit down in a studio with George and Ringo and put out a song in an hour.
No shit, Sherlock. Analysis is applied to find out why it sounds so good. It doesn’t imply that the artist was cognizant of every step during the creation of the song. Music and art in general is mostly intuitive.
I never noticed the "bed -> head, sick-> ...." leading rhyme thing because I've been listening to this song since before I knew about the birds and bees and it was always"just how the song goes ╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)╭" in my head lol!
Me too! The lyrics have been ingrained in me since I was innocent, I never analyzed them deeper than what they were lol
I just never actually thought about the rhyme scheme before...
That's amazing to me because that specific wordplay is the only notable thing I remember about this song....
Exactly what I came to the comments to find 😂 glad I'm not the only one!
Same thing here.
Interesting take on "Mr. Brightside" meaning he's choosing to look past the events and move on. In my head, I think of it ironically. Everything his ex and the new guy are doing is "all in his head", and he replays scenarios of them together over and over, torturing himself with those thoughts. He's not looking on the brightside, he's very much stuck in the darkside.
And that's how my life was when my ex got together with my best friend months after breaking up. Constantly making up scenarios of how intimate they were being whenever I wasn't around. I connected with this song on SUCH a significant level at that point in my life.
I had a similar take although mine was more: he walked into a bar, saw his gf chatting to a guy and all of this went through his head in an instant. The confusion, hurt and anger flash through his mind. And then he takes a breath and calms down and realises it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. He’s admonishing himself for overreacting and sarcastically calling himself “Mr Brightside” because of how quickly his brain went to the worst case scenario.
wow! it was almost the same for me, except that me, my ex and the best friend were all really good friends, and they didnt even wait more than 3 weeks after me and my ex broke up to start dating. and they told me only a full month later lmao. i dont talk to them anymore :)
@@t1lt252525 I agree totally that he’s using “Mr. Brightside” as sarcasm and irony, and the guitar part that moves us into the outro echoes the most famous melody ever, Ode to Joy, again, sarcastically.
@@jannecapelle_art Good! I stayed friends with them cuz, high school, can't avoid them lol. Lost contact after graduation, then she ended up cheating on him after 4 years together. He and I are still good friends, and now we have an eternal bond of sharing an ex lmao
@@t1lt252525 That's how I've always took it as well... an innocent conversation blown out of proportion by jealousy run amok in his head.
This is one of those songs that I’ve listened to literally countless times and yet every time I hear it I’m overwhelmed with just how incredibly good it is.
I will never ever understand this opinion. It is shockingly average.
It's shite
Probably should get your hearing checked.
@@srhegartyyou will be shocked, that there is this thing called musical preferences
@@srhegartyI thinks it’s more of a feeling that resonates with some people that have felt this emotion and are just prone to feeling it, but idk that’s my interpretation of y people prefer certain songs or genres over others
This song activates British people like sleeper agents. Just the first few chords made me feel like I’m in the inbetweeners
It works as a time machine for Australian people. Just a tiny snippet and suddenly I'm back in 2017 and it's September and Richmond's just won the Grand Final and Jack Riewoldt's performing it onstage with the Killers to celebrate and everyone is losing their minds
LOL Fr my mom partied with it and I fell asleep under a coat with it
I’m not even British, and I still think this is an absolute banger
The Killers are an American band, curious why this song resonates with British people specifically
@@steff4413 I guess they just have good taste 🤷🏼♂️ Personally I’m glad they’ve kept it alive as a near day-one American fan.
8:20 I want to add: something that he manages to do by cutting the rhyme short and dragging you to the next verse here is to replicate the feeling of forcibly dragging your thoughts away from something that's too painful to engage with yet. It thoroughly captures that feeling of "I can't stop thinking abou-NO NOT THAT. Think about anything but that."
❤
I spent 10 years playing in a wedding band and we would give the couple a list of songs we knew and the only song picked for every wedding we played at was I Will Survive. The upbeat music and the feeling that song gives you, just like Mr Brightside does, is the reason why no one cares that the lyrics are about the dark side of relationships or the ending of such.
Outkast said it best in "Hey Ya" when they sang "You don't hear me, y'all just wanna dance"
Another possibility I thought of (and I'm not wedded to this idea) is that people go through things like this before they find "the one." Perhaps finding the person who they are marrying made it possible to become Mr. Brightside.
@@rmdodsonbills I bet you’re right for at least some people. Those of us who listen and dissect lyrics see why the song is “right.” Those who listen but don’t dissect see why the song is “wrong.” Those who like a good beat and a lively chorus, really don’t listen and/or don’t care.
"I'll Be Watching You" is another ironic choice many couples make.
and yourw a musician??? The Key to Brightside is it's darkness. Dont fear the reaper..same thing..1000 other examples
I've always seen the phrase "I'm Mr. Brightside" not as "I'm Mr. Brightside, so I'll be okay" but "I'm Mr. Brightside, so I _have_ to be okay even though I'm definitely _not_ okay." It's a very sardonic emotion there, especially given the subject matter of the song. It's this toxic idea that it doesn't matter how you feel; if you're a man and a woman doesn't like you back, you have no right to feel upset about it, even if she's cheating on you right in front of your face.
i posit there is a missed extra bit of genius here, in those lines. the 1st "cus im mr brightside" seems to be about the past, and how he mistakingly was forcing himself to ignore red flags and the cruel looming covered reality about to come crashing down on him eventually. the final "cus im mr bright side" which is enunciated and toned completely differently at the end of the song, seems to be more about his coming to terms with reality, forced to face it, and forced to move on from it lest being caged in that misery, a more resigned statement.
so contrast the first brightside as bliss in denial and savouring the moment looking positively at the past hoping for a nice future subconsciently expecting it dark, with the last brightside as accepting the hurt of the present looking at an overall better long term future with the potential for an actual true good relationship but faced with a miserable short term future living in the misery cage until finally overcome.
yeah like “Gotta, *gotta* be down, because I want it all” (to be okay with any and everything she does, because he has her on a pedestal)
I like to think that it means that he will have to keep continuing on with life as if nothing happened.
Its feels like a traumatic dissociation masked as optimism. Coping mechanisms are wild
I totally agree with your interpretation. The bitterness in his voice when he sings this line means it can’t be anything else imo.
This song is definitively not about closure. It’s about unresolved tension experienced by an author overcome with jealousy. Calling himself “Mr. Brightside” is an ironic comment showing that he has to put up a facade to hide his true hurt. He is in turmoil over something that he should be able to walk away from (he saw his now ex cheating, which should prompt him to just leave her behind) but he can’t let it go. His bright, sunny disposition is a front for the darkness he is experiencing in his mind, and in this situation he doesn’t have an outlet for it - it’s literally consuming him. His paralyzed moment of realization is washed away by an overwhelming sense of hurt and frustration that he can’t help but view ironically, almost in a cavalier tone like “oh Mondays am I right?” But it’s not “Mondays,” it’s him coping ineffectively with being cheated on. It’s a sucky place to be.
I think i lean pretty hard into that take too but i think the fact your saw it differently IS why the song ended up so popular its written and played in a way that it tells its own story but also allows you to fill it in with your own feelings and responses while always seeming correct if that made any sense
What I'd say is that it is still about closure, in a sense that it's the thing the speaker lacks yet wants to have in his life. So in a spectrum both you and 12tone got the point.
Yet I don't think Mr. Brightside is an ironic term here; the whole song is about revealing his bare emotions, so there's no reason for him to be suddenly ironic in the end. I think calling himself Mr. Brightside is a declarement of what he's going to be, despite his current mental breakdown, which is closer to what 12tone interpreted the song in the video.
Yes, it's about being overcome with jealousy and the pain it causes, but it's ultimately about how you move past that pain. The first use of Mr. Brightside is ironic/sarcastic as you say, but the final use of it is sincere.
The solution is in the lines:
"But it's just the price I pay/Destiny is calling me".
The pain he's experienced throughout the song is the worst possible outcome of falling in love, but the thing that lets him accept it is realizing that even pain of such intensity is a price worth paying in order to fulfill a 'destiny' of finding a love that lasts, and that destiny is still calling to him.
In this realization, his "eager eyes" are re-opened to resume looking for that destiny.
In the end, he IS Mr. Brightside, because he's realized that the bright side of romantic failure is that it's merely a step along the road to eventual romantic success.
yeah this analysis is balls
“It’s just the price I pay; destiny is calling me”.
It’s clear to me that he is outside of himself and sees how his emotional state is the price of greater things to come.
He also says near the start “I gotta be down because I want it all”. To me this suggests that he accepts the hurt as inevitable because we wants the girl but he needs the future; he can’t have both, so he has to be “down”. Which is very sincere and doesn’t come off as a facade. Mr. Bright means to me as literally looking on the bright-side, the destiny that calls you forward no matter who has abandoned you.
As a song writer and someone who “plays at” bass, I think that walk up at the end bass line serves a very important purpose. Its the collective breath that the song takes preparing us for one of the most succinct lyrics in the song “and I just can’t look its killing me and taking control.”
It also creates a sense of hope for a split second before landing right where it started again. The bass is the soul of any song, and Mr. Bright side is all about wanting to move on but not being able to. So in my opinion that cycle of spiraling deeper and deeper, and at your lowest moments being able to climb up just a little, only to fall right back into that same spiral again is exactly what the song needed. Just like with the vocals the next line provides resolution for the previous line.
The best songs have killer bass.
I love that you put way more thought into the structure of this song than the band probably did. Having played in many original bands over the years, the process is more organic than thought out. Band members are usually fluent in the language of rock and choices just come out of everyone’s influences and experiences and what sounds “cool”; not a lot of “thought” going on.
I was looking for this. I LOVE analysis videos like this, but it’s more likely that the band made their choices on what you mentioned. Influences and what sounds “cool” or simply something they stumbled upon while messing around.
while this is obviously true and sometimes hindsight analysis quite misses the point by idolizing the artists and processes as well as the works... people seem to also miss the point that genius doesn't necessarily come in just the theoretical form. often, quite often, the artists dont realize what they are doing in theory, and think it just works and is just cool, but they can tell intuitively in practice the action and consequence of their specific choice.
in more clear terms, artist may not realize choice x makes y impact logically and with music theory backing it, but they can *feel* it does so, and therefore move to use it. this is actually the most common thing in most of the arts and subgenres. the exceptions being the overly complex and worked on niches like jazz and other extremely technical and theory heavy art styles across art mediums.
intuition is just such an underrated human value. and for good reason, if we just start attributing skill to intution, we bar the way for working hard and learning and just admit some are born with divine blessings while others dont. which in general is a despised feeling for obvious reasons. most creators dont want to face a reality where they cannot reach heights just cus they were born that way, most ppl want to be able to achieve heights in some possible way, no matter how inviable it is.
even then, no matter how talented the person is, they still have to work hard if they want to truly squeeze some juice from it. especially in the flooded competitive world of today, with public attention that moves on faster than light and is more whimsical than a baby kitty
Intuition is fed by the music the band members listened to. The language they think about music in (whether it's deliberately thought out or not) influences their decisions. Hindsight analysis shouldn't be thought about as a way a musician created the thing, it's about explaining WHY a thing matters and feels so much the same to so many people listening- what are the connections/similarities to the languages of music in all of our heads
I think the fact that the first and second verse are the same is one of the factors that contribute to Mr. Brightside being such a popular party song.
You only need to memorize 1 verse, 1 prechorus and 1 chorus to sing along. Much easier than most songs.
Hey! There’s the comment I was hoping to see. It’s also a reason why it’s a good song to sing if you’re doing karaoke in front of people you barely know: They will surely sing along with you.
It is called out in the "repeat stuff" song but you're absolutely right. Being able to pick the lyrics up quickly makes a song more likely to be enjoyed in pop culture
Who memorizes lyrics to a song? I mean, is it a conscious choice you make? If I enjoy a song, somehow, I just recall the lyrics. I've never spent a single moment trying to memorize the lyrics to a song.
I ether know them or I dont.
If I don't know them, it's not like I don't want a song played at a party. Maybe Karoke...
@@TheBlackSpastic Good on you for being able to understand lyrics to songs on the first try. Sometimes the audio production makes it difficult for me to understand song lyrics; therefore, if it's a song I know I might want to sing along with, I'll look up the lyrics.
@@TheBlackSpastic i only do that for hip hop. But I also just have an auditory processing issue cuz of my adhd and it can make lyrics unintelligible unless I'm focusing on the lyrics. Even for something as clarion clear as Taylor swift.
I think that last note deserves a lot of credit for the song's success. There are few songs that end feeling so desperate to play another.
I love the fact that in the album, the last note immediately segues into Smile like you mean it.
now THAT’S a part of it i never even thought about until now. you want so badly for it to be brought back to the D# root note, for another chord and another cymbal crash to give some closure to the pain, but it just… doesn’t come.
hell, now that i think about it, that HAD to be intentional. an unhappy relationship, especially one with an unhappy ending (or god forbid, one-sided love) is something that doesn’t easily fall away. the wounds fester and stay swollen for a long time. and there’s nothing you can do to make them heal quicker except to rip the bandages off and… heal them yourself.
so why WOULD they end the song on a triumphant note? why would they pretend that the pain can just… go away, that things could just become fine and happy again?
the trailing harmony ALMOST bringing the song back to center while leaving you expecting is almost poetic in the way it mirrors the emotions of the song. after all of the catharsis, all of the hurt being dredged up to the surface, you’re still not back to baseline.
fuck, man. what a fantastically composed song.
Their debut song spent 7+ years in the top singles? Good to know that after coming out of their cage they've been doing just fine :33
I remember Somebody Told Me coming out first, but it is possible that this song had the "soft release" first in which it was not successful, only to have the re-release after the success of Somebody.
Take my like and get out
@@eboethrasher that's exactly what happened
Take my like also!
@@Chris_Cross r/angryupvote
12:32 "One of the most fundamental pillars of my approach to analysis is to assume that every element of a song positively contributes to the overall experience." I see you, fellow worker! 💪❤
was scrolling the comments looking for someone else that noticed that ✊
This whole video is a masterpiece, but I'm most impressed with how you're able to write and draw left-handed with a Sharpie without smudging
You gotta WARN somebody before you throw Photograph as an example
I can just imagine 12-tone giggling to himself as he put that in the script.
The new rick roll 😂
I grimaced at that moment too.
@@nachshonrorick nickelback-roll….no….chad-roll…we just got chad-rolled
If it was Def Leppard’s “Photograph,” I would’ve had no problem with it. 😊
I might've missed it but I feel like that 2nd verse "and I'm doing JUST fine" supports your reading of the same thoughts changing into a feeling of anger.
I've always known this song's subject, but I never really thought about the "pacing" and anxiety in the composition that much, or at least not as consciously. Listening to it now, I can almost hear him having trouble breathing, in the midst of a panic, through the first verse, and the kind of slowed down dissociative spiral in the prechorus.
I always enjoy hearing you explain "interpretation" though "mechanics" -- feeling through function.
That second "just fine" always stood out to me, it sounds like it's doubled like the "gotta gotta be down" is in the first verse
IKR? The first verse sounds like he's flabbergasted to me, like he couldn't believe what he's seeing, while the second verse sounds like he's already able to process what he saw, and is now mad angry and sad about it. The second "and I'm doing JUST fine" always sounds sarcastic to me.
you say the rhyme scheme on "my stomach is sick, but she's touching his CHEST" is unexpected I straight up didnt know what you meant because the song is so deeply ingrained in me as is, that my brain doesn't expect any other word
listened to this song since i wss a kid and felt the same 💀💀 i simply didn’t have the brain to even think of that rhyme and never did since
Chest now into dress now was satisfying enough that I never questioned it... that and the first time I heard this song was when I was 4 so...
Oh, man. I teach literature and poetry, and automatically analyze EVERYTHING. The first time I heard this song I totally anticipated the other word. I kinda had to laugh at myself for the clever way they pulled the rug out from under my expectations.
Even after his explanation I didn’t get it, but now I do. Thank you
@@MikaelaKMajorHistoryhe drew a mushroom and everything. 😂
10:42 i love how the best thing you could think of for "empty" was the knight. amazing.
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I saw this video shortly after it was released. I didn't know it at the time, but it kicked off a very music-oriented year of UA-cam algorithm for me, and I finally caved and bought a keyboard. I never knew how much joy it would bring me.
I don't think it would have happened without this video, so I want to thank you for your work. You've significantly affected my life for the better ❤
“The song starts like this” *my brain flashing back to a time when it could produce its own serotonin*
😂😂🫂
Mr. Brightside and Somebody That I Used To Know.........both kinda fascinate me.
They're both *_relatively_* conventional "modern rock" songs....with all the throat clearing those terms imply...etc etc.
But....they were both *_HUUUUGE_* singles. So huge....they're STILL charting. How?
What is it about those songs? What perfect magic made that possible? It's fascinating to ponder.... It's part of what I love about music itself. All sorts of people try to engineer this kind of thing....and 99.99% of the time....they fail.
But when it happens....it's all so obvious and meant to be. It had to happen.
Lots to think about....
It seems to me that people are at least somewhat conscious that Somebody That I Used to Know is not a positive, upbeat story. I’ve seen many people try to break down the story (sometimes in pretty ludicrous ways) because of this. Maybe also because Gotye seemed to come out of nowhere in my part of the world. (If I recall he was quite well-known elsewhere.)
Anyway, it seems to me that for these two, especially, it’s the layering of party rock / power ballad with sad (Gotye) or downright depressing (Killers) lyrics over top. There’s a magic to it that you just can’t mass-manufacture.
As a much milder fun-but-sad song says: Sad Songs Say So Much 😔😉
I always felt it’s because it has something for everyone who looks into it. Those who are looking for a good fun time hear the melody and the pop-ness of it. But those who are bleeding and in pain feel the lyrics like a hot iron in our hearts forcing catharsis or reminding us we arent alone. Releasing tension weve been holding onto, or torturing anyone in denial ect. (Yes i am projecting thank you for noticing
…………………. You really love ur periods huh mate? I Suppose it adds dramatic affect
@@UnknownSlayze heh... Yeah, I def overuse them. I kinda use them in place of commas, at least when writing online. But yeah I can overdo it lol
@@avedic lol I’m just teasing. Peace and love
The lyrics are the entire reason I'll always love this song, it just taps into an extremely primal feeling of betrayal, dread, regret, shame, all of those things all into one that no other song has ever touched for me. The tone is smiley and upbeat, because that's all you can do when you're stuck in that cycle; Nobody else gives a fuck how you're feeling. Everyone is worried about themselves, which is completely fair. But you just want to scream and shout at the world because of your agony... but you can't. So you slap a smile on and just keep on drowning in your own head. Love it.
I like how similar “I’m Mr Brightside” sounds to “I missed the bright side.”
It rips me to shreds whenever I get on a Mr Brightside binge. I don't even know why I do it. It soothes me and kills me at the same time.
@@andoletubeI have a love/hate relationship with the song
@justvibing4796 The vocals are always the best part for me. The vocals during the verses sound like he's retelling the betrayal and himself witnessing it to a friend, all while trying to fight off a panic attack/breakdown and forcing himself to just keep talking, gritting his teeth and choking back tears.
At about 16:20, you talk about the shift in pulse by adding the third note to the triad filling out the rest of the chord...
I digress. I've been watching your videos for what feels like forever, and this is the first time I've left a comment on any of your videos. I absolutely love your work. In a nutshell, I'm a guitarist who never paid attention to any theory behind my guitar. Given I have a musical background, (keys for as long as I can remember, alto/tenor/baritone saxophone throughout school, guitar, bass guitar, violin, I have a drum set behind me in my basement.... *shrugs*) there's a barrier between my guitar and my knowledge I'm finally currently working on. You're videos are an amazing addition to my current exploration of how theory is incorporated into some of the music I've listened to. Bringing the knowledge I have locked in my brain I'm currently unpacking from concert and marching band and incorporating it into music that is more relevant to me... Thank you so much for the content you provide. I've been a silent fan of yours for years. With that being said, it's about time I reach out to you and say you're shit is awesome! Thank you!
...While you're talking about the shift in pulse, you draw a diagram of a 5-speed manual transmission. Being a stick driver, it kind of "icked" me. Why did you only draw a 5-speed? You're missing a gear.... Any car worthy of having a manual transmission has six speeds... What kind of car do you drive? Are you part of the three pedal club? I understand my comment is extremely irrelevant to the point behind you're music, but I wanted to casually poke fun at it while introducing myself to the comment section of your videos. Cheers!
The bass line in the pre-chorus gives it a Lydian feel and I think it's completely essential to building the tension
One technical note: the vocal in the first verse doesn't actually sit on Db the whole time (which would be difficult to sing and sound really weird). It moves between Db and C relatively often. It's easy to miss because the C comes on the unaccented syllables. That said, your main point still stands.
Yeah I was gonna say he definitely isn't singing the exact same note. Whether it's a C or just a flat Db there's definitely some movement in the pitch. I always interpreted it as a way to simulate his voice cracking as if he's barely keeping it together.
Yeah, in his defense it's pretty ease to miss because it's a lot of very fast step-wise movement between just the two notes so pairing it with the drums makes it easy to assume or at least feel that they're the same.
To me it feels less like a C-D♭ than that on the longer notes he’s actually going to the effort to find the pitch on the longer notes. There’s a lot of ambiguity between singing and yelling the main melody(?) in the verse.
@@SomethingWellesianDb Db Db Db C Db is how most lines of the song go -sincerely perfect pitch gang
Microtones though
All the little geeky references in your drawing make my little nerd heart so happy. Also, the clever way you link things delights me every time.
birb
The super smash bros really surprised me
I am 50 years old and I LOVE this song. During the early to mid 2000’s people my age at the time were stuck in the 90s or raging about kids in tight pants and I just absolutely adored the music out at the time. Looking back, this was one of rock and roll’s finest time period. Everything from folky, lo fi indie to hard crashing garage bands to fusions of electronic music and it was all fresh and exciting. Man… what a pleasure to immerse yourself in music at such a time
Thank you for describing the 00‘s so well ❤
The early 2000s was such a vivid time for punk and alternative rock music just like late 70s and early 80s was for metal. The late 2000s to early 2010s was good for rap and edm but ever since 2015, the overall quality of music has declined.
I am 60 yrs old and LOVE this song.
@@margiesoapyhairbillian4754 62 and same!
I always felt there was something special about this song with how much I kept listening to it and to how much it has resonated with so many people. You were able to break everything down so thoughtfully about the song's genius structure and how it builds that tension and anxiety that The Killers wants us to hear. This is such an amazing breakdown, kudos!
This is the first one of your vids I have seen and it is PHENOMENAL! the amount of work and in depth breakdown of the instruments tones and music is insane.
im surprised you didn’t mention the “ode to joy” thing - the guitar part in the chorus isnt quite an adaptation of the entire melody but it hits the important notes at the right times, only with the last 3 notes split up into 3 quarter note stabs. I really think this is an interpolation that was meant. It has that sarcastic, angry, tears-down-your-face “BUT ILL BE FINE” kinda vibe , it’s like an angry stomp through ode to joy.
Whoa, I just left a comment about it, I thought I was going mad and nobody else hears it!
Yup. I can't not hear this
I couldn't remember the name of it, but I recognized it and it was driving me insane, so thank you! Lol
Hey, I just commented on this for Rick Beato’s take on this song. I’ve been singing to it in German since it came out 20 years ago!
Yeah, that part has always made me think of "Ode to Joy", and I have always assumed they did that on purpose.
I heard Brandon say in a talk that the second verse was not finished when they were recording. Apparently the band liked it better that way and I think that fits
I mean, Violent Femmes "Kiss Off" - "Third Verse, same as the first" - I guess that alone makes it ok to call out your own repetition of verses, hah.
This is such a fantastic way of teaching. The visuals being drawn grabs the attention of the viewer, the drawings themselves tangentially correlate with what's being said, and the actual pacing of the editing to match the concise words and teachings keep everything with a steady and consistent flow to the new information. All of this accumulates to entertain the brains of many viewers. This is the first video I'm ever watching of this channel, and I can tell that this script writing, drawing style, and vocal delivery has been practiced for a very long time to create such an experience.
An example: as I listen, I watch the hand see and guess what will be drawn, and the new information I'm hearing comes in as the hand leaves view. Exposing the image and associating it with the new info is like creating visual bullet points that sticks, no matter what I could be focusing on while its being taught.
4:00 the guitar keeps repeating the high notes - over and over again, as if they are trying to keep making something function (AKA trying to stay "bright"). While this is happening, the bass notes are playing the "reality" - they are sinking. Opposite emotions create a fighting sensation of an emotional battle. Positive thoughts vs the reality of a difficult situation.
Well done. I would like to request your analysis of Interpol "Try it on".
The catharsis from happy melodies and sad lyrics will never not slap
That "boring poetry" line hit me so good. I got kicked out of a critics group for saying "poems shouldn't rhyme isn't a critisism it's an opinion" to one of the main people there, and then when I called them elitist for thinking they're a better artist just because they paid to go school I was perma banned. I stand by my words, and you've helped me stand by that even more. You're such a good critic and analyst here, very informative and interesting, and those lil drawings are great. I think i found my new favourite music analyst!
good take
Paintings should use paint.
@LLlap for real, like, tools not rules, literally high school art class shit
Poetry should absolutely rhyme, i get that rhymes aren't always the focal point of poetry but I hate when people think dissonance can just be thrown into any random section on a whim, being too loose with rhyme schemes threatens to dismantle poetry into basically just an open ended writing peice. It's like taking the drums out of rap songs or randomly using them, it just upsets the flow and foundation of the structure that sits on top. I just personally feel like lack of focus on rhymes is a lazy way to justify not making sure to consistently keep up with a rhyme scheme. You don't need to sacrifice rhymes to keep substance, you can do both simultaneously if you expend the effort and time it takes
Every club and party you go to in the UK. If you stay long enough you will hear Mr brightside.
This was so good. I have nearly 0 music theory knowledge ( learned to read sheet music at a young age and have played a few instruments, poorly) and even I was able to appreciate what they did with this song thanks to your ability to make the information accessible.
this analysis got me a little teary eyed lol i think this was a huge influence on the "happy beats sad words" movement in the music industry and The Killers did a really excellent job of making a song that matched all the feeling of an experience
8:52 this transition from 1/8ths to 1/4 and 1/2 notes feels like an audio Dolly Zoom. A the feeling of your stomach bottoming out like the drop of a roller coaster
That's the best description of that kind of progression that I've ever seen.
Whoooooaaaaa. That is the weirdest almost synesthesia-like connection I've heard and it is absolutely perfect.
Fellow Gentleraptor avatar
Yooooo and auditorial dolly zoom that’s the best metaphor I’ve ever heard
Everytime I watch one of your videos I need to re-listen to the song to notice all the things you point out. No matter how much I have heard the song before!
Another argument why Fair Use in copyright is so important. Fair Use can drive even more demand of the original content, where as outright theft doesn't.
No matter how ‘overplayed’ the song is, it still means a lot to me. I was a huge Killers fan from when Hot Fuss came out. A few years later I got to grips with the songs meaning (at least to myself), my gf at the time also liked the Killers, we saw them together multiple times over the years.
But then she was flirting with another guy, the one I was told not to worry about, that digressed into cheating. I saw all the fears and paranoia Flowers described played out at justified. I even played the song on holiday at an open mic just to get out my system that I knew it was going on.
I came out of that relationship with my self-confidence shattered, or when I had it it was fuelled by alcohol, constantly questioning what I did. I spiralled during and after, but my friends and this song helped me through at the time to see the bright side.
Was hot fuss their debut?
Must be a regional "overplayed" song, because I'm from Belgium and I have hardly heard it, ever.
That, and the fact that I'm getting old and the music I mostly listen to is even older.
Glad you got through it dude, heartbreak and betrayal is no joke
I've been there brother. It can be the worst feeling that anyone has gone through. I hope you found your peace and that everything is going well with you nowadays. It took me some substances and self correcting (not easy at all) but after multiple attempts on my life, I realized after the last attempt that there had to be something to live for. Even if I haven't found it yet
I think you mean that “progressed” into cheating…. You’re welcome
- grammar Nazi
Fascinating analysis, insights, musical knowledge and deconstruction of this great song. Give us more, from different iconic songs.
This is my first time watching this sort of content. I'm amazed. Thank you for the work you clearly had to put into this.
Your approach to dissecting & understanding songs leaves me to reflect how sad my knowledge of music theory is, but it is all worth it when I see you draw a TARDIS when you express the need for more time!!
😂 to the TARDIS reference, but also, I find it hilarious how much I hated music theory as a young student. My grandmother pushed it so hard that I unconsciously pushed back. If there’s a heaven they watch from them grandma is both amused and vindicated by my love of this channel and others with a similar focus on theory.
@@eiPderF I've written many songs with practically no grasp of music theory and I've found that it is simply just another unlock of ability. You can still write music without that knowledge based upon feel, how things sound to you, etc. And then I know someone who does have an extensive knowledge of theory, and he uses it against itself to write some of the most demented music I've heard, it is brilliant.
I went through some major heartbreak around the time this song came out and it helped me process it. The "it's all in my head" part hit extra hard, since the person who'd hurt me used that phrase as his go-to gaslighting idiom. Couldn't help but sing it with raging, bitter sarcasm.
Luckily, things have gotten better and I'm able to enjoy it with a sense of celebration because I lived through something awful. A great song. Thank you for covering it!
I saw The Killers in Louisville back in '04. It was my first concert and I fell madly in love. And while I have a hard time listening to this song in particular (I was, myself, Mr. Brightside at the time), but it still has such a strong nostalgic feeling for me. Sam's Town best album, btw.
Aren’t they so amazing live?! I’ve seen them close to 10 times and each time I sob hahaha
the thing you said at the end about anxiety and excitement and how basically people can confuse those two emotions in music really made me think of songs like pumped up kicks by foster the people and jeremy by pearl jam, pumped up kicks has a very strange tone and a very catchy beat but is an ultimately dark song, while Jeremy is a very intense song that almost sounds angry when the feeling is more disturbed at the actions the song talks about, the first song being a school shooting, and the second being a suicide at school.
Damn it took this analysis to get me to realize all the feelings I've been experiencing. I knew I related to this song but not on this level. First video I've seen from you and all I can say is... Thank you.
i think this is my favorite breakdown so far. i never really paid attention to the emotional power of mr brightside before, i love this
I didn't hear this song until I was in college, around 2014 when a friend showed me "Mile(y) High Club" by Super Mash Bros. Pairing this with other popular radio music of the time like "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk ft. Pharell and "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Mr. Brightside" was... uniquely somber, despite being upbeat. Definitely memorable for sure.
Great analysis!
I love Super Mash Bros.! Their mixes are so good!
I can’t tell if we have really similar interests or if you’re literally everywhere and that’s scary
Wait, aren't you that semi-regular siivagunner commenter? If so hi, weird seeing you here
Today was the first time i heard this song, and i'm almost 30 i listen to all kinds of music genres
@@vtc-ctv same here and I'm more than 20 years older!
you mentioned a sense of movement while nothing is moving, i think that perfectly fits the scenario in the song, everything feels still like you're frozen in time yet moving a million miles per hour when you've just been hit with something so traumatic
when you got to the last line of the chorus i had to let out an audible “OOOOOOooooooh”… what a great freaking analysis! thanks for sharing this!
It seems beautiful and discordant, which is lovely in its unexpectedness, combined with easily understood lyrics. There's a lot of reasons it's so popular.
I never listened to the song thoroughly enough to really notice everything going on in the lyrics, so thanks for that. I had a very emotional response to this video because of it. And I agree with you about the second verse and how it's the same events with a different story. Also, it's very real to go through the *same* story of the events multiple times before you can get to the next part, so even without the emotional change I still wouldn't describe it as lazy. I have a whole new appreciation of this song now. Thank you!
I’ve always seen it as completely deliberate. So many songs play with the chorus in a similar way. But we don’t treat a word-for-word chorus repetition as lazy, whether it’s identical or tweaked. This takes it further. He takes all the same words but gives them such a more complete yet somehow still unresolved feel
I think there's something else as well that perhaps isn't touched on. The analysis of the vocals is in terms of the feeling of what it feels like to listen to them, what moods the musical choices invoke, and I wouldn't want to argue with any of it. But that single note vocal, and the avoidance of hitting the downbeat with the stress in the lyrics does something else I think: while he is singing it, it gives it a narrative feel (perhaps you might call it chanting, somewhere in the middle of talking and singing). This, to me, spotlights the lyrics and together with the identical second verse does something else really important that's nothing to do with how it is to listen to it: it makes it good to sing! The spotlight on the lyrics, the narrative feel, the single-note melody and the repeated verse makes it something that clubs full of drunk people will unashamedly and enthusiastically chant along with at the top of their lungs!
Without that, I think it would still have been a popular song, but I don't think it would have become such an iconic and beloved favourite. It's not just a great song to listen to, it's perfect at inviting you to join in!
The whole album is a party album that's full of feeling and emotion imo
I agree, it’s a song you can shout while jumping up and down on a dance floor with your whole ass
mr. brightside and bohemian rhapsody I think are the best songs to get people to sing along to
@@tastefulsubstance Emo party album is a concept I want to get more into. You have my brain churning.
@@eiPderF I wouldn't call it emo at all, but very pop punk indeed.
really enjoy this analysis.
one thing, idk if “subvert expectations” in terms of “touching his, chest” illustrates the totality of what going on. its not JUST a switch of whats expected, it still fits, it simply goes down another line that makes sense, just not the first that might come to mind. it still feels like it makes rhythmic and structural sense and is cohesive rather then a full break. its not so much flipping things over as skewing them in a way that catches your attention as a new development, which I think is a large part of the charm. its like a road that merges with another instead of taking the highway.
Ah, yes, my favorite rhyme: "sick" and "chest". That's definitely a rhyme. There's no other word that fits better and is usually the main deal breaker in a hetrosexual relationship ended by cheating. There's definitely no other word... like "di-
So, apparently, I'm your Mom, because I didn't know this song at all. I hope you've been eating well, and going to bed at a reasonable hour, because if you don't have your health you haven't got anything. Can I expect a grandchild soon? I don't want to rush you, it's just that time goes by faster than you realize. I'm so proud of you, honey, you're so clever.
i really like how you explain all this stuff. the bits that i do understand in this video gave me a whole new appreciation for this song.
Great analysis. This song still hurts my soul so much, having been cheated on. I don't know why but this song, of all the songs about cheaters, this one manages to bring up all of those memories and feelings so easily.
For anyone who's been cheated on, don't give up. There are still good people out there and you will find them. It may take you 5 years or even longer to find the right person but it will be worth the wait and you are not alone in going through this.
Also, if you have cheated or are thinking a out cheating, know that there is basically nothing more harmful you can do to someones soul and psyche. Avoid it at all costs.
What an amazing way to show how a song works
Haha, are you just discovering 12Tone? He’s been doing this for a while, I hope you enjoy the back catalog. :)
My theory regarding that sudden walk-up in the bassline before the prechorus is this:
The bass has been following along in the background, though even then it seems to stray and be…elusive. I view that sudden walk-up to be a literal representation of “those problems in the background that you choose to ignore suddenly turn around and creep up on you just before reality hits.”
I dunno, maybe getting a bit too literal with my interpretation, but considering the subject matter of this song, I feel like that moment hits way harder and makes more sense when viewed through that lens. 😅❤️
Nice perspective! 😊
I remember when I first heard this song.
That guitar bit at the start hooked me.
After looping the song on UA-cam, I decided to go get the CD from some store several blocks away.
Kudos on your presentation.
I like how you showed how the parts work together.
I'm not a musician so I ignored the details but there was enough for me to understand.
This is legitimately the most engaging and informative musical breakdown I’ve ever seen.
Imo Mr Brightside is the perfect example of the principle ‘less is more’ in music.
As I don’t usually listen to lyrics that often, I was completely weirded out as to why I was continuously feeling anxious when listening to this song, especially because of the context it is usually played in (ie. parties, suggesting excitement and fun). But as soon as I read the lyrics, I understood the emotional context from which the song was made from and why I experienced those dissonant emotions. Watching this analysis video was really cool to try dig into the structure and understand the song more in-depth
11:04 As a bass player the pre-chorus walk-down und walk-up is my favourite part of the song!
Yes! I think that particular choice builds a chord that's very bittersweet. I think 12tone would have appreciated it through a different angle if they actually made a harmonic analysis of the overall chords in that parts. The one bar they didn't like results in a very Romantic, almost Debussy-esque transition
The bass would be wrong without it, imo. As a guitar player, this was one of the first albums that made me really appreciate bass. That part is everything to that moment in the song.
I have considered Mr. Brightside to be my favorite song ever since it's release and have yet to find a song that tops it. I always thought it was for the perfect jealous narrative in the lyrics, but this just opened my eyes to a much deeper level of why this song works and is incredible and I thank you for that.
Open up your eager eyes
Just stumbled on this teardown today and I have to profess that I am not someone who hears lyrics, let alone musical text/subtext - your narration is nothing short of eye-opening. Thank you - subbed!!!!
I've never in my life heard someone explain music before the way you did. I'm absolutely amazed. And to have used a song that resonates so deeply with me...I just never had the words, but I do now. Thank you SO much. I had no idea about how amazing the technical side of songs could be. You have blown my mind. LOL💕💕💕💕✌✌🙏🙏
While I've heard this song plenty of times, I hadn't realized that it has so much depth to it. That's why I love this channel, diving deep on easy to miss parts of music.
Another channel I watch for this reason is Knox Hill, breaking down lyricism and rhythmic choices in rap. I appreciate both of your channels for this reason.
Haven’t heard this song in a minute and damn it hits hard right now. Beautiful written. The way the music is so reflective of what the song is about is just amazing
It's one of the songs that came out in my teen years that just really stuck with me. I had lots of insecurities around romance and jealousy so the self torture he's going through in the song struck a cord and actually helped me realize how much I was harming myself by obsessing over what is over, and coming to terms with not "owning" my exes. Dumb teen brain, y'know. Also it just sounds amazing, like it's playing through the filter of a memory is the best I can describe it.
This is what UA-cam is all about. This channel right here. Super informative and entertaining.
Bravo! 👏
Bro, that's insane!, those drawings take time, you are very talented, I enjoyed the video a lot, Thank you!
Mr Brightside will always have a special place in my heart. 27 yrs old, single and living in Venice Beach when this album dropped. A girl I was on a date with played the CD for me. We only got 3 songs in (I think Brightside is track 2?) and I knew I was gonna buy it. I was able to catch them playing a weekend show at The Troubadour in Hollywood before Mr Brightside single came out and totally blew the band up. Hot Fuss became the soundtrack for my summer 2004 which was easily one of the best summers of my life.
Clicked on this expecting Mr. Blue Sky, and now I want THAT video
Same here!
I find it fascinating that, to me, his voice is completely rhythmic, but not percussive, you could play that on a snare, but it wouldn't feel the same.
Would playing the snare part on the vocals make it precursive but not rhythmical?
@@OG_Mereles maybe, how’d you do that? Cough? Wheeze for the cymbal hits? Or just like vocal percussion like beatboxing?
i think it's because he's not completely doing staccato. you could very well speak or rap the verses, but he full-on sings them in a way that implies there is _supposed_ to be a melody there.
The mom shout-out in the beginning was so cute 😊
We left ACL early one night because we had a long walk to the car down some not so great areas in the dark. Paid off as we sat in someone's family's driveway right when we got back and got to hear this whole song echo from a couple miles out. Was an unexpected gift to enjoy live but "by ourselves"
Counter intuitively... and you draw the classic "which is longer line segment". You rock! I have to watch this again when I haven't taken a gummy.
The bass riff in the prechorus is absolutely the focus of that bit, the synth part is barely noticeable. But I think it changes the 3rd time to do that tritone again, like in the verse, going Db-C-Gb.
You actually deepen my appreciation and respect for songs I didn't even think I liked! 😮
I’ve always liked this song, but he’s definitely given me respect for songs I didn’t like or that were so overplayed that I actively had begun to hate.
I’ve been waiting for this for a while, I love this song and I love this channel (:
Thank you Nico Rosberg 👍
I didn't expect to see you here Nico Rosberg...
oh god, i just fell in love with this song all over again with your analysis
Well done! Loved the Triforce reference!
The intro to this video was a bit perplexing to me, because while I had of course heard of this song and was vaguely aware of some of the lyrics, I've somehow managed to avoid actually hearing the song (as far as I can recall) for the last decade-and-a-bit. Part of it might be that I just don't listen to the radio much, but I'm still surprised that such an apparently hugely popular song managed to completely pass me by. (I think I might've also been confusing it with ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky", a _very_ different song.)
I of course know the song, and immediately recognised the opening guitar tones, but I had no idea it was called Mr. Brightside.
Oh, I saw the title and the song started going off in my head. It pops up way too much in automated song lists and UA-cam recommendations. Not that I don't like it, but it's almost getting the "Overplayed Nickelback" vibe at times.
Same. I know The Killers, but none of their song names.Well, I know the song “All these things” because of an old HALO machines vid…
When I watched the video, my stream buffer ran into a hiccup about a minute before the end, and I heard "when a song gives you closure, it-" and playback paused for buffering long enough that I thought you were ending on a bit to demonstrate a lack of closure and I thought it was hilarious.
Edit: I think the video overall is great and it helped me realize how much I love this song, but I just had to share my anecdote
That would be both hilarious and cruel.
Once you hear this song you can't unhear it .. i have found it during covid times and after that i am listening it through many sources.. its such a timeless masterpiece .
It’s been in the UK charts for so long because we all sing and we love mush pit jumping about while dancing before calming down and singing, then back off jumping about. This song does this brilliantly.
This song is popular at weddings for the same reason songs like Every Breath You Take are: because most of the people who claim they care about lyrics don't actually listen to them. As someone who listens to a lot of music in different languages, including languages I don't speak, I'm always irritated when people complain that "you can't understand what they're saying!" when I know that they don't understand lyrics written in their native language.
Or perhaps people just like those songs because it feels right. If every wedding playlist was pedantically censored to feature only socially sanctioned sentiments it would be pretty bloody tedious. Weddings are a rare occasion that brings together a whole mess of people from family and extended social circles. They are messy and complicated and so is love which is at the root of it all. Songs that cover the gamut of the human condition and the complex emotions people often feel at these celebrations in an easily digestible pop format, are danceable and known to everyone? It just works.
Fair, although an interpretation of the lyrics of Every Breath you Take as romantic rather than stalkery at least sort of makes sense, even if it's not a very good interpretation or the one intended by the author. You can still look at the lyrics and come to that conclusion.
Mr. Brightside only makes sense that way if you don't listen to the lyrics at all.
André 3000 said it best in Hey Ya, “Ya’ll don’t want to hear me, ya’ll just want to dance”.
There are Cure songs I've listened to for years and years and just never gotten that they were about a certain thing, somehow, but other people were immediately like "oh yeah, that's about BDSM", whereas with Depeche Mode I'm far more likely to be able to link those things. Sometimes we can love a song, know the lyrics by heart, and still not tear them to pieces looking for every metaphor. Not everyone wants to spend a large amount of time analyzing every song. That's why I enjoy listening to other people breaking them down.
I know one couple who used it, but the song had true meaning. They first met platonically when both were dating other people. Their attraction and chemistry was palpable, but they were mature enough not to act on it. Three or four years later they found each other again, this time they were both single. Two years later they were married.
At 0:45 I learned that I'm apparently I'm 12tone's mom now, cause I recognize that "Mr Brightside" is a song title, and don't know anything else about it. Guess I'll see how much of the rest makes sense.
Really, I've heard people reference the name of this song but have never heard the song. Not even the chorus or riff or anything.
Same here. I know it’s almost a meme, but I guess… generation gap? I dunno.
So after watching the video, I believe I recognize the song from some David Bennet Piano videos, and the lyrics from pictures of crabs.
What's your age? I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the 20-30 year olds in the English speaking world know this song by heart, but I'm curious if relevance falls off harder for people younger than that vs people older than that
Chart-wise, it's less impressive to know this song in the UK spent just 1 week in the top 10 (at #10) and only 6 weeks in the top 40. Musically, Hot Fuss is a cohesive bittersweet nostalgic album. This song leads directly into Smile Like You Mean It for instance. All These Things That I've Done and When You Were Young follow similar themes. Personally, it has become a bittersweet nostalgia for me as it was released at a bad but significant time in my life which I now look back on with fondness and sadness when I listen to this album. It was too new to have that effect at the time.
This is so, so, so brilliant. I think most people had same/similar interpretation of the lyrics but these illustrations and the musical notations are just fantastic.
Just stumbled onto this today and subbed. See you have Floyd in your back catalogue, excellent. Ever come across any The Kinks.
Cannot imagine how long each one of these takes to prepare, taking into account time, illustrations, script and immense brainpower etc. Just totally f.brilliant.
Kudos to you Sir🎩. As we say in England chapeau😂
Two points that were missed which I would like to either add to or bring up:
The rythmic flopping within the chorus is rhythmic chiasmus.
The "diad thing" is actually taken from a well-known classical piece of music.
Those being said, I'm glad to be part of the club that did notice the intended rhyme many, many years ago!!! Great video. Cheers!