Why is Mr. Brightside so popular?
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
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Mr. Brightside by The Killers is an absolute party staple, but what makes this song so popular. Let's take a look at the finger-stretching guitar riff, the monotonous melody and the unusually unresolved ending to work out what makes this song such a singalong classic.
SOURCES:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainm...
www.officialcharts.com/songs/...
• The Killers on how Bri...
• Brandon Flowers Talks ...
MusicWeek - The songwriting secrets of The Killers' Mr Brightside: www.musicweek.com/interviews/...
The outro music to this video is my track "Clap" which you can hear in full on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0wKKJ...
And, an extra special thanks goes to Chase Heeler, Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
0:00 Introduction
0:42 the guitar riff
2:00 the monotone verse
4:00 Pre-chorus
4:20 Chorus & Post-chorus
5:00 HDpiano
5:35 Structure & Build Up
6:40 Unresolved ending
6:55 why is it so popular?
8:22 Patreon
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📌 the Killers’ guitarist is “DAVE” Keuning, not “DAN”. Sorry for any confusion 😅
him having the same name as you makes it funnier
@@AttentionAttention88 on multiple occasions during my life people have called me “Dan” or “Daniel”… I can’t believe I’ve now done it to somebody else! I’ve brought shame on my kind 🙃
@@DavidBennettPiano Don't be so hard on yourself, Dan.
@@DavidBennettPiano Ah Dannit
Don't get hung up on it, Mr Bennet. Tomorrow is another Dave and you will have forgotten all about it..
I have a theory that the intro and first verse are intentionally designed to give people enough time to get to the dancefloor.
You may be on to something there.
An reverse of the old "don't bore us, straight to the chorus","Give it time for them to get in line" perhaps?
I've heard the same theory for Take Me Out with its relatively long building intro
That has been given as a bonus when it comes to the Nutbush dance in Australia. There's a lengthy intro for that too.
kind of the same to somebody told me, very clear call intro that is just long enough
So basically the band was formed to play this song into eternity.
He knew what he was doing lol
It started out with a riff, how did it end up like this.
It was only a riff, it was only a riff
Their new work is so bad
@@christianstupak2580Good one!
When you consider what this song is actually about, I find it REALLY weird that it's played at so many weddings.
ikr
i found it weird as well
it's almost like lyrics don't matter here
Same with "Every Step You Take" by The Police.
Same with Good Riddance at graduations. People latch onto a couple lyrics and don’t think too much about the rest lol
Most songs have questionable lyrics lol
I’ve actually banned it from my upcoming wedding. Always hated this song 🫠😂
I remember seeing a comment on reddit years ago. It said the reason why the song repeats its verse is because "drunk people only remember the forst verse"
With how popular of a song this is in uk bars to this day, yep is checks out.
I'm not sure I really agree with that. I was a student before The Killers, when James' "Sit Down" was pretty much the end-of-the-night standard. Everybody knew the words no matter how pissed they were.
when they are drunk, they definitely say "forst"
Bohemian rhapsody
Props to the drummer. He gives the song a massive energy boost and it wouldn't be as great with a more relaxed or restrained beat.
For an interesting view, the Drumeo channel did a session where they played a Mr. Brightside drumless track for Dirk VerBeuren (the drummer for Megadeath…who claimed he never heard the song), and had him come up with his own drum part after one listen.
I thought his take was really cool, but it was a completely different take (half-time on the verses), and really shows how the original drums make the song.
@@melrupinski88 He lied. Everybody has heard this song
@@sinatra222 He’s from Belgium, the song was only popular in the US, Canada, and Britain (it didn’t even chart in Belgium or France). It’s definitely possible to have never heard the song, or only have heard it in the background while not paying attention.
Alex melton covered this song with half-time drums, it's different but still good
Unusually, The Killers are an American band who sound British.
bro this is not remotely unusual
@@ReganAtSea Same with vice-versa!
Like LCD Soundsystem
What sounds British about it?
You mean like Blondie.
Really surprised you don't mention how the melody finally hits by the second part of chorus with the lyrics "But it's just the price I pay/destiny is calling me" creating SO.VERY.MUCH awaited resolution from the monotone of the vers and "duotone" of the prechorus and beginning of the chorus! That's quite extreme to keep the listener "underfed" for such a portion of the song.
same reason everyone loves the second "just fine" in verse 2
Agreed. I think David underplays how relatable and well-crafted the lyrics are.
I love that part myself! It almost feels like a new section of the song. Think Froot by MARINA.
@@alexkunce2002 I'll take Froot over Mr. Brightside any day, Marina slays
I read "under-fed" as "un-derfed" initially and I was like "Is that some obscure musical term I don't understand?"
It was very fun hearing you talk in depth about the British national anthem.
Which is ironic since The Killers are from Las Vegas.
I absolutely hate this song I'm so sick of hearing it and it would still be a better national anthem for the UK 🤣
What about Rule Britannia? Imo it also slaps, just in a different way
It's got a rhythm anyone can dance to and has shoutable lyrics anyone can sing to.
The 16 note hihats give this song so much energy .
Disco drums go hard
Props to Ronnie!
It’s interesting that The Killers were formed to play this song because it was not their first hit. I specifically remember “Somebody Told Me,” which has a similarly staccato and monotone vocal melody, was the first song they had on MTV and the radio back in the day.
They are from the same album, but the demo for Mr. Brightside was the first thing they recorded as a band 2 years before their debut album release
The song is pure emotion. Anybody who has ever felt forlorn, melancholy, betrayed, depressed, or just reflective can connect and be "in tune" with the vibe, with everything. And the fact that it doesn't resolve urges you to replay it again.
I remember the first time I ever heard/saw this song. I was just caught watching it play on a small television screen at a Journey's shoe store at the mall when I was shopping with my family. Thought the outfits were silly but I stood there watching, and then it didn't matter. I was in the zone. Don't think I saw the entirety though
You can even cycle between all of them. I have a huge nostalgia and yearning for a happier and simpler time because this song reminds me of a very happy period of growing up. It's incredible! Absolutely love it!
It's appropriate that a song about being cheated on, that makes you feel sick, doesn't resolve and ends on discontent.
Whenever this question is asked I always think of this comment I saw once on an article. The headline was something like "Why has Mr Brightside spent 7 years in the top 100 charts?" and the first comment just said "Because it fuckin' slaps. Next question?"
It took off so well in the UK because the verse is a basically a football chant
Soccer
@@Ottophil i hardly knew 'er
@@Ottophil There is football, American football and Bastardised English for football.
Association Football => Assoc. Football => Soccer
@@andersjjensen bastardised by British school children, but okay, slag 'em I guess
I think another thing that deserves mention is the cultural aspect of the subject matter of the song, and how it syncs perfectly with the rhythm and pacing of the music. Unrequited, unfulfilled love is an absolutely universal phenomenon. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has been in a situation at some point in their lives where they see someone that they yearn for in the arms of someone else.
The monotone of the first verse, the fast-paced drum beats. Is it the music? Or the rapid beating of a heart, and a mind that is stuck, REALLY stuck on one thing...
Absolutely agree the lyrics are super tight and personal enough to hit you emotionally but universal enough to be relatable to pretty much anyone
On top of that, the lyrics also work on the basis of jealousy. So either unrequited love or being cheated on and seeing it happen with the cheating party blissfully unaware they've been caught. All those emotions are so universal that you won't find anyone singing along who isn't getting a great deal of catharsis from it
yes, the song feels entirely like a nervous breakdown in the best way possible. like, it's insane how well they capture what it feels like.
Sounds like a song that would play at the end of music
I cracked up🤣
@@AnnabellaInMyMind it was meant to be movie, but since this is funnier why not.
@@TheStickCollectorno no no, you're still right. If music had to finish, this is probably where it ends. I think we could all be happy with that!
I feel like songs that dont resolve at the end are great for concerts. The rockus applause acts as the resolution not the song itself. Also its probably easier to segway into another song when the last one doesnt feel so FINAL.
@battleframestudios8989 - You mean "segue". It would be a Health And Safety violation for band-members to ride around on Segways with their guitars' cords still connected and threatening to trip them if they go too far, and them not having any hands free for the steering-post.
@@topherthe11th23🤓🤓
@@topherthe11th23 "BUT I DON'T SPEAK ITALIAN!🤌🤌"
@@battleframestudios8989 Sambucco tescamona frescatini!
"rockus" :-D
It’s also a great way to check if your guitars intonation is way off above the 12th fret lol
7:52 I experienced this at a Bob Segar concert back on his "Like A Rock" tour. He started the first line of "Turn The Page" and I didn't hear him again until the song was over. The entire audience drowned him and his band out for the rest of the song. It was ethereal.
I remember that happening when I saw Nine Inch Nails play Hurt, and Trent gave a (not so serious) speech about how we paid good money to attend the concert just to drown out the music.
Voice as a rhythm instrument
Rhythm is a dancer
@@EchoMountain47Rhythm is *dancer*
I watched 12tone's video on this ages ago and he didn't mention Ode to Joy. I thought I was crazy. I'm glad you noted it. I always thought it directly quoted or even sampled OtJ, but that's because I've probably never heard it sober. I may be frequently drunk and factually mistaken, but nice to know I'm not delusional.
Rick Beato also did a video on it. It feels very weird for David Bennett to cover this after so many have.
Because it’s a great song!! But it’s kinda weird that it became a UK national anthem even tho the Killers are very much from Las Vegas, USA lol
The killers take huge inspiration from British rock bands like the smiths
Don't know this song and I am at a wedding every Saturday for work.
@@laartwork No worries, took me quite some time to get familiair with those complex melody lines as well.
The sound of their music is very British
I'd argue that the first and second verses aren't the same. The first time he's "doing just fine" and the second he's "doing JUST fine". 😂
Anyway I don't care if it makes me basic, I love this song and I will die on this hill. I love it, the way the line between the verse and pre-chorus subverts your expectations ("But she's touch his... chest now" -- chest is NOT the word you thought was coming next) and how the verse does have that monotone sound like he's narrating in disbelief and then the prechorus and chorus, realization hits and emotions swell. Like you know when you see on TV or in a movie, a character watching something happen, going "no.. no.. no... NO!" Like that. Am I reading too much into it? God I hope so.
Videos like this are why I love your channel so much. Simple, yet exciting and masterfully put together.
Just like Mr. Brightside!
Glad you like them!😀
I also think the themes in the lyrics make the song relatable to everyone, so it feels "personal"
Great, now I want to listen to Mr. Brightside again, thanks.
What a wonderful breakdown. I was lucky enough to be at uni in 2004/5/6 and the Hot Fuss album was being played everywhere. Listening to Mr Brightside is like a time machine for me now and I try to avoid it as it stirs up too many emotions I don't really want to feel.
Congrats on the 1m subs btw 👏
It's not just about the music, it's also about the lyrics man this song hits so damn hard
Speaking of repeating lyrics: Nirvana did something similar, often they would have the first and 3rd verse be the same. So you would have a solo, and then you got to go back to the first verse, really cementing the lyrics in your head.
Guitarists know how hard this song is to play perfectly. There’s that monster five fret stretch.
It revolves to Smile like you mean it. 😊
revolves?
@@TheMotiveDJ 😆 darn typos *resolves
Because it's a f@©king fantastic piece of music.
This song came out when I was 17. And this is first I've ever heard of it.
How is it even possible?
I was about the same age back then and I also never heard the song before. To be honest, I don't get its appeal. Sounds pretty bland.
this is absolutely crazy, you’re either not british or you’ve never left your home
I’m a bit jealous 😏
@koiloylo Actually, my ancestors fought a war so that they could stop being British, so I guess that explains it.
what an incredible and highly analytical video. more of these please
Thanks 😊
I saw the Killers way back in I think 2004 or 2005, whenever their first album dropped, and I knew Brightside was a banger but I had no idea it was going to stay this huge for so long. what an absolute bop!
A shout out to the bass and how hard it drives the song and adds to the melody
Great storytelling in this video
Thank you!
The vocals could be placed on top of Underworld's 'Born Slippy' and no one would ever know.
Dude, you took the words out my mouth 😂
And I'd wager the Killers were conscious of this. They have a more recent song called "Spirit" which sounds very reminiscent of Born Slippy.
I had that song in mind for why it might be so continuously popular in Britain lol
@@Shroomdiffnuclear It must have been while you were kissing me!
I did a quick mashup to demonstrate the alignment of the two songs ua-cam.com/video/B-kZ1iMZtg8/v-deo.html
At EDC 2024 in Vegas they played Mr. Brightside about 5 times and it was all different DJs and mixes. That was just the stages I saw. I heard it twice just last night there.
Always impecable videos. Great work. It's always nice to come back to some music analysis.
David, your videos are a Masterclass in how to teach music. the killers found the perfect formula and so have you. Thank you.
There's a pub in my home city (Perth, Australia) that hosts a regularly scheduled event whet they just play Mr Brightside over and over again all night
I’ve visited Perth a lot. How have I not heard of this 😂
@TheJayson8899 it was a recurring event advised on Facebook. I did a bit of googling and it looks like they don't do it anymore
Great analysis. Great tune. I'm in a happy mood now. Thanks from Argentina 🇦🇷
My first exposure to the killers and Mr. brightside was on my mom's iPod in 2004, when she downloaded the Hot Fuss album. I've always loved that entire album. Between that, Mr. Brightside being such a bar favorite song, and with my favorite college football team, Michigan, riding high with this song for the past 3 years, has made me absolutely insufferable to the rest of my friends when there's Touch Tunes at whatever bar we go to.
i love how this channel has the answear to all my questions
Somehow this song doesn't get old, just so well crafted. Great use of tension-release, perfectly executed melodic simplicity to go along with a relatively unique and complex sounding guitar part, and an overall melancholic and relatable sentiment.
I think its popularity in the UK far eclipses the popularity here in the US, but everyone still knows it. It's a classic of that era and one of those songs that sticks with you. I remember the first time I heard it, how old I was, and what I was going through at the time.
I think the Britpop melancholic sentiment and chant-like quality of the verse are obvious reasons it is so popular in the UK. When I first heard it, I thought the Killers were British!
Everyone in Britain knows the song. Everyone in a British club instantly all know the lyrics, and most can completely relate to the lyrics of young love/jealousy/uncertainty and so everyone sings along in unison
I don’t. Barely ever listened to it and avoid it at all costs. 😊
@@ShiningHourPop but you will know by pure osmosis and just by being the pub when it came on, such is the universal and everlasting nature of the song
Ever noticed that the Killers song “Somebody Told Me” ‘s chorus has the same progression as Fame. I just sing “Fame! I’m gonna live forever” when I hear it.
I love how the one note melody brilliantly changes into a two note melody and finally builds to the climactic three note melody when the song's almost over.
OMG! One of my favorite songs of all time😃 Like first, then start watching video😁
That was smart ending the video on how the song ends up uniting the whole crowd as they sing while the band stops and all you hear is the fading out voices of the audience singing together in unison.
It's popular because everyone has a little snigger when the song gets to "and she's touching his...". Brandon Flowers said in an interview that he's indebted to Benny Hill for that line.
I listen to it a lot and im not even from UK. Then again I listen to a lot of their song in general. great timeless band
I knew this song from a Warrior Cats AMV and even thought I didn't know anything about Warrior Cats, it really made me feel the emotions!
Reminds me a bit of an old school literal drinking song from here - "Bliss" by Th' Dudes, starts out with a recognisable guitar riff which brings that familiar feeling and then has a very "we all yell along" section. The most popular pub/wedding/group sing along songs seem to have that everyone can just yell-sing along to (even if it is just Yaaaah Yah Yah Yah Yah in this case)
I do also like the "implied word" lyrics of Mr. Brightside, as someone who enjoys word play it's fun to see that used well in a song.
I would say the "chanting" aspect also plays a part in how emotional or memorable a song is. Chanting something at a fast rate like that makes it hard to breathe properly, which puts the brain into a more excited state.
Someone should do a performance where they weave in and out of this song and "If You Know What I Mean" by Neil Diamond.
I love this channel!
Thanks 😊
Thank you.
If I watch a music video before just hearing a song, the two become inextricably linked for me. Which means there is power in the visual. This is a great video. Great videos make for popular songs, IMHO (ask me about Fortnight).
Another reason is that its lyrics tap into an indescribable mix of emotion we've all felt:
They don't love me, they love that person over there! They suck. The person they love sucks. I suck. Goddammit!
Clicked on this just for the "how did it end up like this" in the thumbnail dont disappoint
U of M uses this for sporting events. Most notably football. You now have a stadium of 100K+ fans singing this.
The University of Mainrylassachigasotippissouritana?
I just ended 2 shows with that song this weekend alone.
Thanks for the video. Good call on showing it's played as if in the key of D at 0:42 -- the guitar strings are tuned down a semitone -- so playing a D *sounds like* Db -- which is why it's not really at odds with the Db key 2:17 🙂
I ask myself this question every time I hear the damn song.
Most popular indie single ever! Good choice David, about time.
David Bennett out here promoting sponors for learning piano like they aren't an amazing teacher in their own right (but seriously, you taught me how to play piano and because of you I started doing lessons and it's going really well so far so thanks for that even though you don't know me)
congrats on 1m subs
Fantastic video! Why is it so much more popular in the UK than in the US?
Coming back a few days later to say I have had the urge to listen to Mr brightside every few hours every day since I watched this video. What have you done to me
At Reading recently they played the whole thing twice so that the crowd could sing it by themselves first, and then they did it again actually performing it - it was pretty magical to be honest
I've often asked myself why certain songs are so popular that many people just can't avoid liking it. So I'm happy you made a video about that! Other examples I ask myself this question about are:
Psy - Gangnam Style
Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
It would be great if you analyse one of those songs!
GO BLUE!
12Tone did a pretty great video going into more detail about this tune.
I'm from pPoland, been to many weddings, never heard this song. but I kinda like it.
His isolated vocal sounds *exactly* like the vocal on Born Slippy.
In other words, an absolute banger
For my money, it's the instruments that make this more than the vocals. The pre-chorus chord progression and instrumentation hugely adds so much tonthe emotion and build up to the song, it's one of my favourite riffs/progressions in a song ever.
There's probably an element of the sum of its parts here, where any change to any part of the song and it wouldn't be as big as it is.
At 6:40 I don't agree with your resolved ending. In my mind it'd be the 3 chords as normal, but then (a bar later) has a bar of Db major.
No, the Db should come on beat 4 of the next-to-last measure.
@@markadurham64ok, that too. I was just letting chord 3 ring out longer, slowing down, before the resolution.
!!!! this
Although I’m not a particular fan of the band I think that the Killers show great song writing all across their catalogue. Most of their songs really stand the test of time and are rememberable.
Vocals Always reminded me of Born sleepy by Underworld
Guitar Lessons 336 cameo. Great channel.
I just wonder, you can analyse what time signature is happening in my "it take ten frets to tango" in my Vilko play YT video. thank you I possible learned some about.. musik
Keep this kind of videos for more popular songs.
Huh?
@@DavidBennettPiano I want to say that the series "Why is so popular?" is very interesting
I was largely unaware of it then I went to a local festival a couple of years ago where the bands played inside a large marquee. The audience was pretty apathetic. A Killers tribute started playing and about three songs in did Mr Brightside, dozens of people came into the marquee and danced to it, going absolutely bonkers. After the song finished they all went away again and were apathetic for everything else. In hours of music that day Mr Brightside got a bigger reaction than anything else including songs by the headlining act who were a reasonably well known (I’ll say ‘heritage’) pop act.
Baffling to me.
IQ is decreasing by age.
Interesting how you think about what it should be like if it would resolve at the end. The more fullfilling variant for me would be to keep what is now tge last bar and add a full bar of the tonic/one-chord. So you'd get both a half bar of an "enveloping" five-chord, and the resolution. The half-bar of the five-chord builds the tension/expectation for the resolution.
Thats how I've always "heard it inside my head". A not played last bar.
And that's brilliant, BTW! Unfullfilled song about unfulfilled love.
Hi David been enjoying your videos. You touch on something in passing - that Mr Brightside is very popular in the UK. I’m sure it is also so in the US but perhaps to a lesser degree.
Would love to hear your take in a video on why American bands like The Killers, Kings Of Leon, We Are Scientists find wide scale popularity in the UK but not as much, or even at all in the US. Have also learnt of the same with Wheatus though their popularity was more general abroad (not UK specific) vs US. I’m wondering if there is a “UK sound”? For one rock in the US can tend towards being more aggressive, heavy vs the UK (I suppose Song 2 speaks to this)
1:05 Nice Carl Brown cameo.
Gawd knows! 😊
Let's not forget that the music video borrowed heavily from the esthetics of then quite popular and new "Moulin Rouge" movie. It helped the storytelling aspect of the song, giving it extra context.
Dave Keuning looks like Ray Davies of the Kinks.
Brilliant analysis David.
Perhaps we need you to analyse the winning song at the Eurovision song contest and help write a winning tune?
I know there would be the urge for Europe to give UK 'nil points' but if we have a decent tune, earworm melodies, chant back lyrics then we might stand a chance.
I know there is the politics but looking at the last 3/4 years the winning songs have all had the above in their makeup.
Have you ever done any analysis on Eurovision?
The last “build up” is where everyone catches their breath and get ready to repeat “I never”
The killers have some pretty awesome songs that always stood out among a radio full of Coldplay and nickleback, somebody told me, seemed like rave music done by guitars instead of computers
What makes this great is that the second verse is the same as the first, except that "just fine" is replaced by "Just Fine!"
There was a trend, around the 2000 if I remember correctly, of ending songs on the 5th (some of them in the 4th). Could you talk about it?
One of my favorite parts of Bryant Denny Stadium in football season is Mr. Brightside sung by 100,000 people.
The ending resolves itself if you play it on repeat.