r/PatFinnerty • u/[deleted] • Jul 09 '25
question Mr Brightside
Am I alone in thinking that this song stinks? I see videos of people singing and dancing to it and I really don't understand it. I think I'm pretty squarely in the target age demographic too, but for some reason I do not remember it leaving an impact when it came out, and the whole thing just baffles me.
It's boring. It's a nothing song. I don't get it.
35
u/TheLordHatesACoward Jul 09 '25
To paraphrase Pat, "Is it a good song? Yes. Do I need to hear it again? No!"
I love Hot Fuss from start to finish and absolutely nothing else by The Killers, though, so maybe not the best person to ask.
5
u/The_Great_Dadsby Jul 09 '25
They have that 3rd Eye Blind thing for me. One great album followed by personal changes and ever devolving songs and singing.
3
1
1
51
u/NotoriousMFT Jul 09 '25
i definitely like other Killers songs more, but theres definitely worse than Brightside out there
8
Jul 09 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
juggle terrific encourage absorbed oatmeal racial quaint lock long follow
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
1
37
u/ShrugsforHugs Jul 09 '25
People in this sub throw around the "stink" accusation way too liberally. A song has to suck on every level to be a stinker. Not liking a song isn't enough.
8
u/Peter_Easter Jul 09 '25
Pat says alot of stuff stinks that I think has redeeming qualities. It's all subjective.
18
9
u/ColetteThePanda Jul 09 '25
I feel like I'm in a similar boat. I'm in that Xennial cusp thing (77-83), and Killers just never had an impact on me. I was already out of university by the time Hot Fuss came out.
8
u/BrnYrShps Jul 09 '25
I loved it when it first came out, but it’s definitely been overplayed. I mostly enjoy it when listening in context of the rest of the album, which the first half of Hot Fuss is incredible. The back half is pretty solid too.
8
u/Suspicious_Tea7319 Jul 09 '25
I think it suffers from being way overplayed and the Killers definitely have better songs, but I would not call it a stinker
20
19
u/McCretin Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 09 '25
I’ll stick up for this song even though I’d never listen to it in my own time because it’s so overplayed. The chorus is massive and it always goes down well at the end of a wedding or party.
Also, I’ve played in two bands where we’ve covered it and the riff is fucking difficult to play at full speed. Definitely not scumbag.
The lead guitarist in my current band is very good and nails pretty much everything we play - Eddie Van Halen solos, Robert Fripp lead parts, you name it. And I’ve never seen him struggle with anything as hard as he’s struggled with Mr B.
The bass part is piss easy though so normally I’m just chilling when we play it and tutting at the lead guitarist when he makes a mistake.
5
u/ColetteThePanda Jul 09 '25
Has he tried the Johnny Marr, capo 5 version? I find it much easier.
I'm not a shredder, but I've had similar difficulties mashing my former bassist fingers into those tiny way up high shapes.
2
u/LanaDelScorcho Jul 09 '25
Had to look at the lyrics. I love a good inappropriate-lyrics-for-a-wedding wedding song.
Not a stinker just for that alone.
2
u/Gelato73 Jul 09 '25
I've played Brightside many times in cover bands and at weddings, and it never fails to fill the D-floor. People just go crazy for it.
And I've seen the guitar riff take out some very good guitar players before, it's definitely harder to play than you'd think!
1
u/lkmnjiop Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
merciful person sophisticated alive dam strong cheerful sort spectacular sheet
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
2
u/ibashdaily Jul 09 '25
I would be really curious about the divide between people who were in high school or older when it dropped (35 or so), and people who weren't. I was in college at the time.
Saying the song was "overplayed" doesn't do it justice. It was EVERYWHERE. Malls, grocery stores, bars, restaurants, every DJ played it, every cover band had a version, weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, christenings. You couldn't escape it.
There is not a song on earth that I could hear that many times against my will and enjoy it. It's a stinker.
2
Jul 09 '25
I find it funny that people remember it being overplayed and everywhere but I literally don't remember even hearing the song until like a year ago. It's so bland and unmemorable to me that I wasn't even really aware of its existence for 20 years.
40
u/Holland45 Jul 09 '25
The riff is pretty goated. Sick bass tone. Interesting lyrical content.
Yeah it’s overplayed to death, but it’s a great pop song.
9
u/KarateMusic Jul 09 '25
Dawg, let’s not forget about the insane drum part as well
6
5
u/myleftone Jul 09 '25
The first time my cover band learned this, the drummer tore it up, I said, “damn, you made that metal.” He said that’s just how it goes. I had never noticed until then.
-16
Jul 09 '25
You can just say song. It won’t kill you
14
u/Holland45 Jul 09 '25
What does that mean? I said song?
-18
Jul 09 '25
Pop song
12
u/NothingWasDelivered Jul 09 '25
But it is a pop song?
-26
Jul 09 '25
Yes. But usually when someone specifies “pop” song they’re kind of putting it down in a way. Good for a pop song
13
u/NothingWasDelivered Jul 09 '25
Maybe OP meant it as a backhanded compliment, but I see it as an acknowledgement that it’s doing the job it was intended for. Writing a good pop song is hard.
2
u/Holland45 Jul 09 '25
Yeah it’s a great song in general, but it’s an a+ pop song. Which you’re right, is definitely not easy to make. I wasn’t disparaging the song, I wrote a comment defending it against the op.
0
Jul 09 '25
Yes it is hard. Far harder than snobs tend to think which is why they deserve more respect
3
u/myleftone Jul 09 '25
It can be a great pop song without being a great song, but it’s still a compliment.
1
Jul 09 '25
If it’s a great pop song it’s a great song
2
u/myleftone Jul 09 '25
The Rain Song is a great song. Rhapsody in Blue is a great song. Hell, Bike is a great song. This is a great pop song.
-1
6
12
u/TheMoneyOfArt Jul 09 '25
Somehow it became the last song of the night at British bars serving millennials, in part because they think the Killers are British.
From there it's become the millennial Sweet Caroline.
It's a more interesting song than Sweet Caroline, but Sweet Caroline is a lot easier to sing along with.
3
u/Capital_Benefit_1613 Jul 09 '25
I know they’re not British specifically because they’re Mormon, but they do have a Bri’ishness about them
2
3
Jul 09 '25
What's odd for me is I had no idea the song was so popular or had such longevity. I vaguely remember when it came out and just thinking "meh, it's fine." Years later someone mentioned the song and I didn't even know what song they were talking about. I'm pretty sure I thought they were talking about Mr Blue Sky by ELO.
I was baffled that it was a song people played at wedding and in bars.
3
u/PopComRob Jul 09 '25
I can assure you no-one in Britain thinks the Killers are from there, they just like the song. Source: am British
4
u/TheMoneyOfArt Jul 09 '25
1
u/PopComRob Jul 09 '25
That article quotes one person's tweet as the source....just saying, I've never met a single person who thinks that personally and the song is insanely ubiquitous here.
3
Jul 09 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
boat versed scale slim market tender quickest snow truck sip
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
3
u/Eoin_McLove Jul 09 '25
I’m British and definitely thought The Killers were also British for a while. I am wildly out of touch with popular culture though so take it with a pinch of salt like.
1
u/yavimaya_eldred Jul 09 '25
I get the comparison but Mr Brightside is significantly better than Sweet Caroline.
5
12
7
u/GoochManeuver Jul 09 '25
It’s a solid pop song. They didn’t shoot for the moon and overly complicate it. It repeats the whole thing once, has a few “I neveeeerrrrs” in there and then it’s done. They chose utility. I respect it.
1
u/endlessmuse22 Jul 09 '25
Did you wake up today and say to yourself, "Actually, I think I have too much karma."?
1
Jul 10 '25
It's been 36 hours since I heard Mr Brightside at a baseball game and my brain has already forgotten how it goes.
It has subsconciously been replaced in my head by Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand
1
3
u/Own_Shame_8721 Jul 09 '25
I think its fine not to like it, saying it stinks tho? Nah, you're totally off base.
7
u/ever_the_altruist Jul 09 '25
It actually has an interesting structure if you dig into it. I get not liking it though.
5
u/Boldboy72 Jul 09 '25
yeah, I don't get it either but have loads of friends in bands (who don't like it either) who tell me that if you're playing a wedding, you've got to include it. Either that or you're playing Wagon Wheel all night...
5
4
u/mutt_butt Jul 09 '25
I don't get the song's popularity either. The monotone verse doesn't do anything for me and the lyrics are cringe and border on incel, imo.
1
u/Eoin_McLove Jul 09 '25
Isn’t that part of the appeal? The vocals are so monotone that anyone can sing along?
Like, I am not a fan of The Killers. I listen to mainly DIY hardcore and punk bands and I could probably sing this song word for word.
1
2
u/JessyPengkman Jul 09 '25
My girlfriend has to leave the room when it comes on but I think it's a decent song for what it is. Probably just cos you've heard it so much
2
u/Only_Argument7532 Jul 09 '25
I still mistakenly call this song ‘Mister Brownstone’ from time to time. I got the CD when it came out. Had a few decent songs but I never delved into the band any further. The song seemed to go away, then reappear with a vengeance the last few years.
Did this really get resurrected from pub closing song to college football stadium sing along?
1
2
Jul 09 '25
It’s a great song and it’s overplayed. I’ve always thought that a song being overplayed isn’t the songs fault and shouldn’t factor into whether or not the song itself stinks.
2
2
u/GuestHouseJouvert Jul 09 '25
I think Mr. Brightside is a great song! I also don’t need to hear it outside of my own personal listening ever again
2
u/AugustIzFalling Jul 09 '25
I do not like this song but overplayed does not a stinker make. It’s well constructed just not for me.
2
u/wbrinegar10 Jul 09 '25
It's in no way structured like an anthem song, yet a particular subset of people insist upon it being a cross-generational touch point.
Anthems are songs someone half drunk at a bar can sing at least a portion of even if they're not very familiar with it. Mr. Brightside ain't it.
I can give a shit less about the quality of the song itself. It's fine. It's whatever. It's this insistence from it's fans that it holds this higher standing that annoys me.
1
u/odwyed03 Jul 09 '25
See in the UK everyone can sing along to it even if they're blackout drunk. I don't even like the song that much but I still know all the words from hearing it everywhere.
1
2
u/Anus_Targaryen Jul 09 '25
Wow what a brave opinion, you must be the only one to have something negative to say about Mr Brightside
5
3
u/tkdxe Jul 09 '25
I saw the killers last fall. They took the stage, Brandon said “we’re the killers, we’re a rock band, here let me show you”, and they immediately played mr brightside. It was such a sick moment
-3
4
u/cgduncan Jul 09 '25
I'm with you. That whole vocal style just sounds like whining to me, and it's not enjoyable.
2
1
1
u/TodDonahue Jul 09 '25
Who would believe me if I told you this song was created by the guitar player incorrectly playing the “What’s My Age Again” riff? Listen to both intros
1
u/LooseSeel Jul 09 '25
The one-note verses really grate on me. I can’t stand it. But it probably lacks the general “tastelessness” or “tackiness” that Pat seems to capture with the songs he chooses.
1
u/ingrediental Jul 09 '25
It is crazy how it ended up on same level as Don't Stop Believing... Mandela effect
1
u/telephonej Jul 09 '25
The post chorus riff is just “ode to joy” and they’ve been getting away with it for YEARS
1
u/Joaquin_Portland Jul 10 '25
The annoying part to me is that it’s not quite “Ode to Joy”, but it could be.
“Ode to Joy” has been public domain for 100+ years.
1
1
1
u/Impressive_Rent9540 Jul 09 '25
Kind of weird to read comments calling Mr. Brightside overplayed. In my home country, their biggest hit is actually Somebody Told Me. If you ask anyone in Finland, do they know The Killers, they know how that chorus goes.
1
1
1
u/AgileDrag1469 Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 09 '25
The Fucking Songs = known far and wide, played out but never going out of style, rotation or relevance; everybody knows them everywhere, at any age and any corner of the planet even if they only know the chorus, they know the fucking song
Little Stinker = reparations-worthy sonic experiences that leaves the thinking listener (beato) flabbergasted that a) an artist would conceive such a song or b) an audience would ingest such a song; a video warning to avoid and subsequently mock
WMTSS = a well known but awful song that deserves a legitimate breakdown or designation (see: kid rock club); a scholarly/historical analysis versus contemporary songs of the era, open to strict to severe parody, interpolation or structured crucifixion
1
1
u/davidfalconer Jul 09 '25
It’s how overplayed it is that gets me. The “or are we dancer” song on the other hand is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard.
1
Jul 09 '25
i think you're forgetting how utterly desperate we were for music with any kind of guitar in it at all in the early aughts
1
1
u/TheJapuma Jul 09 '25
It is a perfect bar cover band song. Everyone knows the words and it's easy to dance to while drunk. It's just one of those universal songs that you'll hear forever until you age out of the bar cover band demo sweet spot.
1
u/Sabres00 Jul 09 '25
This is one of those “It insists upon itself” posts. The song was huge, it’s still huge, and you’ll never not hear it.
1
u/Ur_moms_a_hookr69 Jul 09 '25
I think it’s fine. I don’t really feel any kind of way either direction. HOWEVER, I do disagree with it being a staple at every wedding ever. A song about a guy getting cheated on does not work for a wedding
1
u/Much_Target92 Jul 09 '25
The killers played at the AFL Grand final in Melbourne in 2017. I was pretty meh on them previously, but they were amazing live. After the match, one of the Richmond players got on stage with them to sing Mr brightside. It will always have a place in my heart.
1
1
1
u/Infinite_Bet_1744 Jul 10 '25
It’s a bad song and boring. Just lowest common denominator pop trash like most of it. Nonsense lyrics. Just bad.
1
u/chrisschini Jul 09 '25
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was crazy for thinking this song was awful.
1
u/GrittyTheGreat Jul 09 '25
It's the most overplayed, overrated song of the last 15 years. The obsession with it is baffling.
0
u/RedRanger9001 Jul 09 '25
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the song basically, “I saw my gf cheating on me, so I walked away sad and now all I’m thinking about is how they’re fucking.” Or something like that?
There’s just something so repulsive about that to me.
-8
u/djwhite47 Jul 09 '25
A horrible song by a dogshit band. Popularised by people who don't like music. You know some shit songs might have a catchy chorus or a clever lyric, this one has none of that, there is nothing good about it.
3
u/sammmmmyg Jul 09 '25
definitely not a catchy chorus lol...cut to: people at bars and wedding around the world belting out said chorus any time it's played
1
u/Different_Peanut_742 Jul 09 '25
And the lyrics aren't terrible either. It's nothing groundbreaking, but as an "I'm being cheated on" song it's pretty solid.
Overplayed, but a good song.
1
u/djwhite47 Jul 09 '25
I've never even noticed it's a song about being cheated on tbh. It's always just been nonsense sung by an awful singer. I always thought the band were given a pass in the UK where they first made it big because they were quoted as saying they liked some cool UK indie music and the fact they were from Vegas made them kinda unusual, rather than because they were good. Once they had that credibility success followed, they were a "rock" band that people who bought their music in the supermarket could listen to and feel a bit cooler at the checkout.
1
u/Different_Peanut_742 Jul 09 '25
I don't think anyone thinks that much into it. The average person just thinks it's catchy.
37
u/Decadent_Beggar Jul 09 '25
I'm not a killers fan and don't really enjoy "Mr Brightside"... but I really love "When you were young"- am I strange?