Matt Trzcinski | Showbiz Cheat Sheet Writer

1 Mariah Carey Christmas Song Upset the Original Singer

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 04:55:06 +0000

More than any other pop star of the last 30 years, Mariah Carey has become synonymous with Christmas songs. She once did her own version of the best Yuletide song of the 1960s. The singer of the original tune didn’t have a favorable view of Carey’s cover at first.

1 singer felt like Mariah Carey was stealing her Christmas song

Darlene Love is the sort of singer who you’ve heard — even if you don’t know her by name. She sang the lead vocals on The Crystals’ hit songs “He’s a Rebel” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love.” She was also one of the backup singers in Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special. Today, she is most known for her classic Christmas tune “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” a seasonal favorite produced by the legendary Phil Spector.

During an interview with Burklee Online, Love was asked to name her favorite cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” “I think it’s actually Mariah Carey because it sounds just like my version,” she revealed. “It really does. I don’t mean that she sounds like me, I was saying that it sounds my version, and her version sounds almost just alike. Matter of fact, it sounds so much alike, her fans think she is the original recorder of that song.”

Initially, Love was not a fan of the cover. “When I heard that, I went, ‘Oh, come on, Mariah, you got your own Christmas song,'” she recalled. “Let me have mine.” Love was likely referring to Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which appeared on Merry Christmas, the same album as Carey’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

Darlene Love discussed the impact of her signature song

Love discussed the impact of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” “That song means something to everybody that hears it,” she said. “So you get really joyful when you’re singing it also.

“You would have thought it was Christmas in that recording studio ’cause every time we would finish doing one of the songs, everybody would be on a high,” the singer added. “‘Wow, that was great,’ and when we got ready to do ‘Christmas Baby,’ well, you want to talk about joy, joy, joy and then think about that that song was recorded over 50 years ago.”

How Darlene Love’s ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ compared to Mariah Carey’s

Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” was first released in 1963. It peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2018. So far, the track has spent 22 weeks on the chart.

Carey’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” gets played on the radio each December, but it has not charted on the Billboard Hot 100 so far. The tune appeared on the album Merry Christmas. That record reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 128 weeks. It’s the second biggest album of Carey’s career after Music Box. In fact, Merry Christmas was so popular it spawned a sequel called Merry Christmas II You. The record climbed to No. 4 and charted for 15 weeks.

Carey’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is great — but it will never live up to the perfection of the original.

The Best Christmas Song Was Written by a Murderer

Matthew Trzcinski — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 04:32:13 +0000

A lot of beautiful classic rock songs have disturbing backstories. For example, the best Christmas song of all time was written by a murderer. That hasn’t stopped the song from becoming a hit on the charts recently.

1 Christmas song was written by the most important producer of the 1960s

One of the most important musicians of the rock ‘n’ roll era was Phil Spector. In the early 1960s, he made a name for himself producing girl group songs like The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and The Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron.” He was known for productions that were so layered you could not pick out any individual instruments. This is known as the “Wall of Sound” technique. After girl groups went out of style, Spector went on to produce classic albums like The Beatles’ Let It Be, George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and John Lennon’s Imagine. His musical legacy cannot be overstated.

One of his best works wasn’t performed by a Beatle or a girl group. In 1963, he produced Darlene Love’s single “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” The song has a beautiful melody, a soaring vocal performance, and a moving emotional core. It’s a great song and it clearly inspired Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

However, Spector had a dark side. The Encyclopedia Britannica says he was charged with the 2003 murder of movie star Lana Clarkson. In 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. His death in 2021 inspired both praise and scorn.

Darlene Love speaks out on ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’

During an interview with Burklee Online, Love discussed her signature track — which Spector wrote with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. “When I first heard it, we were recording the Christmas album, and then Ellie and Jeff had written this song,” she said. “They were a little leery of putting out a brand new Christmas song. It wasn’t like ‘Marshmallow World’ or ‘Silent Night’ or any of those. This was brand spanking new, and I was like, I don’t know about doing a song that’s not already Christmas. But Phil was determined. He said, ‘It’s a great song, you’ve got to hear it.’ They actually played the song for me over the phone.”

Love recalled that the tune was originally sketchy. “From New York. It wasn’t nothin’ on it, it was just a demo,” he said. “Ellie singing and Jeff playing. So it was a demo, so you really couldn’t feel what it was all about. But once I heard the song, I said, ‘Wow, this is great.’ I thought from the time I heard it, and I really heard it good before I recorded it. I thought it was going to be a great song.”

The song became more relevant in recent years

The dark truth behind “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” hasn’t stopped it from being popular. In 2018, 55 years after its release, the track peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 staying on the chart for 22 weeks. It’s the most popular song of Love’s career.

“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” appeared on the album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records, which has been rereleased under the name A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. That album includes many versions of Christmas standards that still regularly appear on the radio, such as The Ronettes’ “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and The Crystals’ “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Spector has a great musical legacy — but his personal life was heinous.

Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Was Originally a Rock Song

Matthew Trzcinski — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 04:06:46 +0000

Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most famous Christmas pop song. It was originally a rock song. Here’s a look at how the track came to be.

Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ was inspired by a ‘boogie woogie’

Carey gets a lot of credit for her amazing vocals. She deserves to get more credit for her songwriting. She co-wrote the vast majority of her hits, including awesome tunes like “Hero,” “Touch My Body,” and “Obsessed.” Carey wrote “All I Want for Christmas Is You” with help from Walter Afanasieff. He also penned other hits with Carey like “Butterfly” and “Dreamlover.”

During a 2014 interview with Billboard, Afanasieff discussed writing with the pop star. “It was always the same sort of system with us,” he said. We would write the nucleus of the song, the melody primary music, and then some of the words were there as we finished writing it. I started playing some rock ‘n’ roll piano and started boogie woogie-ing my left hand, and that inspired Mariah to come up with the melodic [Sings.] ‘I don’t want a lot for Christmas.'”

Mariah Carey’s co-writer called the song ‘formulaic’

Apparently, the original version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was a rock song. “And then we started singing and playing around with this rock ‘n’ roll boogie song, which immediately came out to be the nucleus of what would end up being ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,'” he said. “That one went very quickly.

“It was an easier song to write than some of the other ones,” he added. “It was very formulaic, not a lot of chord changes. I tried to make it a little more unique, putting in some special chords that you really don’t hear a lot of, which made it unique and special.”

‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ has been No. 1 for 14 weeks so far

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” became one of the biggest hits of all time. So far, the tune has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, lasting on the chart for 66 weeks. It’s the most popular song of Carey’s career in the United States. For some time now, it recharts every Christmas season. It’ll probably hit No. 1 again before the year is out.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” appeared on the album Merry Christmas. That record peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 127 weeks. The record was big enough to inspire a sequel called Merry Christmas II You. That album is largely comprised of new material, but it includes a redux of Carey’s signature hit called “All I Want For Christmas Is You — Extra Festive.” Who knows what makes it “extra festive.” All that matters is that people will want to hear “All I Want for Christmas Is You” until the human race destroys itself.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a classic song — and it wouldn’t be the same without the influence of classic rock.

Pete Seeger Wrote Classic Rock’s Most Ironic Song

Matthew Trzcinski — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 03:02:49 +0000

Some classic rock songs are more ironic than they might initially appear. For example, a Pete Seeger song seems to undermine Seeger’s stated ideology. Interestingly, the tune might be more associated with a different artist even though Seeger wrote it.

Pete Seeger wrote a song that quotes King Solomon

Seeger’s most famous composition is “Turn! Turn! Turn!” While Seeger penned the track, the cover by The Byrds is far more famous than the original That’s not too surprising, as many hit songs from the 1960s were covers. For example, The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” were both recordings of songs by less famous artists.

What makes “Turn! Turn! Turn!” different from most hits is that it was based on a passage from the Bible. Specifically, the track is derived from the Book of Ecclesiastes, a book of the Old Testament that is traditionally attributed to King Solomon. The Bible’s influence on literature cannot be overstated, but “Turn! Turn! Turn!” is one of the only examples of the Bible influencing the pop charts.

And yet, this feels a little ironic. Seeger was one of the only American celebrities to espouse communism. Communism has been trying to undermine, if not destroy, religion for a long time. It’s odd that a communist would write a song based on the most popular religious text in the history of humanity.

Pete Seeger had his own definition of God

However, Seeger was a bit of an unconventional communist. During a 2006 interview with Beliefnet, Seeger said that he once identified as an atheist, but now he simply had a different definition of God than most people. Seeger professed to believe God is everything. While he doesn’t use the term, Seeger seemed to be describing a form of pantheism.

Seeger also joined a Unitarian Universalist Church just so he could use their rehearsal space. He didn’t see that as slimy. Ultimately, the folk singer had a good relationship with the Unitarian Universalist Church. That’s not too surprising, as the Unitarian Universalist Church is very progressive and welcomes people of all religions and none.

How the song was written

Seeger discussed how he came to write a song based on the Bible. “I was leafing through it when I came on that poem. I just leafed through it by chance,” he said. “Maybe God led me to it. Who knows?”

Seeger read the Bible regularly but not reverently. “I leaf through it quite often — if only to shake my head in disgust,” he revealed. “I quote Leviticus to people who think that every word in the Bible is absolutely gospel and you need to obey every word. In Leviticus, it says you must kill a bull if you’re going to really love God. And you must kill it in a certain way, or else you will be killed.”

Seeger was asked if he had a favorite song. “At one time I have a favorite song, the one I’m singing,” he explained. “But I find myself as an old man singing ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ more than I ever did because it does have so many meanings for me.”

Regardless of its origins, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” is a beautiful musical interpretation of a Bible passage.

Paul McCartney Said ‘Magic’ Made Him Write The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’

Matthew Trzcinski — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Paul McCartney has given fans insight into how he wrote many of his most famous songs. He said he wrote The Beatles’ “Yesterday” because of magic and a dream. The cute Beatle felt the tune could not be explained in purely natural terms.

Paul McCartney had no idea how he came up with the tune for The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’

The Beatles wrote many songs that were innovative and inspired new genres of music. “Yesterday,” on the other hand, was pretty old-fashioned. It could have been a hit for Frank Sinatra in the 1940s or Elvis Presley in the 1950s — or for Michael Steven Bublé or Meghan Trainor today. It’s beloved not because it was novel but because it was such a well-written example of a traditional pop ballad.

During a 2011 interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul discussed the origin of “Yesterday.” “‘Yesterday’ came to me in a dream, but at this time it wasn’t just my mom saying a phrase,” he said. “This was a whole tune that was in my head. I had no idea where it came from.

“Best I can think is that my computer [in my head] through the years loaded all these things and finally printed out this song in a dream kind of thing,” the “Silly Love Songs” singer said. “I have to believe that that’s magical. I have no other rational explanation for it.”

Was is the most magical song by The Beatles?

It’s interesting that Paul said there was “magic” behind “Yesterday.” In 1967, The Beatles embraced a psychedelic sound and look with the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The record had a surrealist aesthetic, which fits with pop culture portrayals of magic. The band’s following record was called Magical Mystery Tour. The title track of that record might be the only Beatles song that’s directly about magic — unless you count George Harrison’s explorations of Eastern spirituality on songs like “Within You Without You” and “The Inner Light.”

With that in mind, it’s unusual that Paul connects “Yesterday” to magic. It doesn’t feel like a supernatural song. It’s just a phenomenally well-written pop ballad. Maybe that’s as magical as it needs to be. The song was special enough that an infinite number of famous musicians decided to cover it.

Why John Lennon didn’t agree with the lyrics of ‘Yesterday’

“Yesterday” is one of the most famous songs that Paul wrote. In a 1980 interview from the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John said he didn’t share the sentiment behind the song. “I never went to high school reunions,” the “Imagine” singer said. “My thing is, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ That’s my attitude toward life.

“So I don’t have any romanticism about any part of my past,” he added. “I think of it only inasmuch as it gave me pleasure or helped me grow psychologically. That is the only thing that interests me about yesterday. I don’t believe in yesterday [chuckles], by the way. You know I don’t believe in yesterday. I am only interested in what I am doing now.”

Magic helped Paul write “Yesterday” — and it wasn’t the sort of magic that John could have captured.

How Drugs Inspired The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’

Matthew Trzcinski — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 04:58:49 +0000

Many classic rock songs are about drugs. The Beatles’ “Let It Be” seems more innocuous than most drug songs. Paul McCartney discussed how substances influenced the track.

Paul McCartney said he wrote The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ when people were ‘overdoing’ drugs

Drugs had a massive influence on the counterculture of the 1960s. If you weren’t doing drugs in 1966 or 1967, you weren’t cool. The Beatles were no exception to this rule. Because they embraced psychedelia, they became associated with LSD. Fans interpreted many Fab Four songs as being about drugs, whether that was the band’s intention or not. Some of The Beatles’ songs that supposedly include drug references include “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”

During a 2011 interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul discussed the origin of “Let It Be.” “‘Let It Be’ happened during a time when there was kind of a lot going on,” Paul said. “I think people were overdoing the use of substances. We certainly were.

“It was kind of common,” he added. “It was the fashion. And anyone who remembers that time will know that. And I think I was getting, like, a little bit over the top with the whole thing — getting pretty tired and pretty wasted. And I went to bed one night and had a kind of restless night.”

The dream that inspired 1 of The Beatles’ biggest songs

Paul’s restless night led to a fateful dream. “But I had a dream where my mother, who had been dead at that point for about 10 years, came to me in the dream and it was as if she could see that I was troubled,” he recalled. “And she sort of said to me, she said, ‘Let it be.’ And I remember quite clearly her saying, ‘Let it be,’ and ‘It’s going to be OK. Don’t worry.’ You know, ‘Let it be.'”

The tune was about Paul’s mother, Mary McCartney. Despite that, many people misunderstood it as being about the Virgin Mary, whom some Christians refer to as “Mother Mary.” Paul doesn’t have any issue with people who want to interpret “Let It Be” as a Marian hymn.

John Lennon said ‘Let It Be’ was a rewrite of a Simon & Garfunkel song

John Lennon had something different to say about the writing of “Let It Be.” During a 1980 interview found in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John said Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” inspired “Let It Be.” He could not prove that. The two hits have some obvious similarities, as they both mimic the sounds of gospel music without promoting a Christian message.

While “Let It Be” is one of The Beatles’ most famous songs, John felt that track was Paul’s alone and that it had nothing to do with the band as a whole. The “Imagine” singer said “Let It Be” could have been a track by Paul McCartney & Wings. Sadly, Paul McCartney & Wings never produced a song as beloved as “Let It Be.”

“Let It Be” is perfect and it wouldn’t be the same without drugs.

Why People Misinterpret The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ as a Christian Song

Matthew Trzcinski — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 04:00:18 +0000

The Beatles were supposedly “more popular than Jesus,” and yet their song “Let It Be” took on a religious significance to many people. That was never what the song was supposed to be. The tune became a massive hit in the United States. Years after its release, even John Lennon himself bemoaned that the track was too popular for its own good.

Paul McCartney revealed who The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ is actually about

There’s a great tradition of pop songs that sound like gospel music without being religious per se. These tracks include Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and Kesha’s “Praying.” The Beatles might have written the most famous pseudo-gospel song of all time: “Let It Be.”

It’s easy to mistake “Let It Be” for a Christian tune, considering it has a gospel soundscape. Furthermore, the tack mentions someone called “Mother Mary.” Some Christians refer to the Virgin Mary as “Mother Mary.” During a 2011 interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul said the tune was actually about his mother, Mary McCartney. Despite this, Paul’s words have not stopped some Christians from using “Let It Be” as a hymn.

Does it make sense to use a Beatles song for religious purposes?

So, is it wrong that people have recontextualized “Let It Be?” It all depends on your religious views. Some might see the Christian use of “Let It Be” as a positive form of reclamation. Others might feel that there’s something off about Christians using a song from a band that sometimes had an antagonistic attitude towards their faith.

What we cannot deny is that any controversies surrounding The Beatles and religion couldn’t stop them from producing hit after hit. “Let It Be” became a massive success in the United States. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, lasting on the chart for 14 weeks. It was the Fab Four’s penultimate No. 1 single, with the last being “The Long and Winding Road”/” For You Blue.” “Let It Be” became part of the album of the same name. The album Let It Be hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks. It lasted on the chart for 79 weeks.

John Lennon felt ‘Let It Be’ was 1 of the Fab Four songs that got too much attention

During a 1980 interview found in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the “Imagine” singer seemed to say that “Let It Be” had become overexposed. “Well, I heard some Beatles stuff on the radio the other day and I heard ‘Green Onion’ — no, ‘Glass Onion’ —I don’t even know my own songs!” he recalled. “I listened to it because it was a rare track. It’s a song they usually don’t play.

“When a radio station has a Beatles weekend, they usually play the same ten songs — ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Help!’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Something,’ ‘Let It Be’ — you know, there’s all that wealth of material, but we hear only ten songs,” he added. “So the DJ says, ‘I want to thank John, Paul, George, and Ringo for not getting back together and spoiling a good thing.’ I thought it was a good sign. Maybe people are catching on.”

“Let It Be” is a great song even if it radio programmers play it on the oldies stations a little bit too much.

1 Fall Out Boy Seems to Have an LGBTQ Meaning

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:16:11 +0000

LGBTQ themes are more common in rock music than a lot of people seem to think. For example, Fall Out Boy’s “Thnks fr th Mmrs” appears to have a bisexual undercurrent. Pete Wentz had quite a bit to say about the song in question. He didn’t exactly deny LGBTQ interpretations of the song.

1 Fall Out Boy song seems to be about a man who has relationships with men and women

Every Fall Out Boy song is oblique. The band goes out of its way to use unusual metaphors. That means that Fall Out Boy songs tend to stand out but it can be difficult to parse out what they mean.

“Thnks fr the Mmrs” seems to be a song about casual sex. In the song, Pete Wentz brags about his sexual prowess to a woman. He also tells her “He tastes like you only sweeter.” For that reason, I interpret the track as being about someone who has had relationships with men and women.

What makes the song stand out

That makes “Thnks fr th Mmrs” unusual for multiple reasons. Aside from Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” very few pop hits from the late 2000s had overtly LGBTQ themes. On top of that, Fall Out Boy was part of the emo scene. Many of the men in that scene were considered androgynous, but few of them sang about male-male relationships.

Even to this day, that’s not a common subject in popular music. For example, Troye Sivan doesn’t have the same reach as Justin Bieber. Fall Out Boy deserve some credit for being progressive by putting out “Thnks fr th Mmrs” — and they haven’t received that credit yet.

Pete Wentz discussed the meaning of ‘Thnks fr th Mmrs’

During an interview with Genius, Wentz discussed the song’s theme. “To me, it’s the whole idea of FOMO [fear of missing out],” he said. “You know, when you’re not out, and you’re looking at people’s Instagram, and you’re like, ‘Aw man I should be there! That would be so amazing.’ And then you’re there, and it’s like kind of amazing. It looks more amazing on Instagram, though. I have that about literally everything I do. Like looking at Coachella? I’m like, ‘Coachella looks so amazing.’ But then I’m like, ‘Dude I’d be sitting in a hot dusty line, right now.'”

He revealed that the line “he tastes like you / only sweeter” was lifted from the film adaptation of the play Closer. “That film walks a really human line between the way romance and sex and all that exists,” he said. “In a way that you don’t always see in film. In that specific moment, I don’t really need to go into it, but it’s that thing where you’re really wanting somebody to tell you everything about a situation, and then they do, and you’re like, ‘I didn’t really actually want to know that much.'”

Wentz didn’t comment on whether or not the song is about a relationship is between two men. He didn’t exactly deny it either. As always, it’s up to fans to decide what they think of Wentz’s lyrics.

“Thnks fr th Mmrs” is one of Fall Out Boys’ most ambiguous singles and that’s what makes it so fascinating.

Why The Killers’ ‘Human’ Was So Controversial

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Some classic rock songs were controversial on purpose and others became controversial by accident. For example, Brandon Flowers revealed that an unusual line from The Killers’ “Human” had a line that was widely misunderstood. The track is a lot more moralistic than most dance tunes — which might have something to do with the band’s background.

Fans misheard a word from The Killers’ ‘Human’

“Human” includes the unusual line “Are we human or are we dancer?” According to a 2008 Gigwise article, Flowers discussed the lyrics with MTV News and how fans misheard “dancer” as “denser.” “I guess it bothers people that it’s not grammatically correct, but I think I’m allowed to do whatever I want,” Flowers said. “‘Denser?’ I hadn’t heard that one. I don’t like ‘denser.'”

Flowers hoped his music wasn’t getting too didactic. “I don’t want to be too much of a preacher,” the “Mr. Brightside” singer said. “I say that it’s a mild social statement, and that’s all I’m gonna say. We’re still trying to write the best pop songs we can write.”

A famous author inspired The Killers to write the song

During a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Flowers said “Human” wasn’t meant to be as divisive as it was. “I didn’t know the line ‘Are we human or are we dancer?’ was going to be so controversial!” he said, laughing. “I had seen a Hunter S. Thompson interview where he talks about America and says he fears that we’re raising a generation of dancers. And I adapted that, basically.

“The verse is about the decline in our values and our morals, but everyone just picked up on the chorus,” the “All These Things That I’ve Done” star added. “It just became a stumbling block for people, but it’s still a great song. I still love it.”

“Human” certainly sticks out for being one of the rare dance songs that is concerned with morality rather than dancing, finding love, or doing drugs. It replaces the hedonism of most dance music with a more plaintive tone. Flowers is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and many of The Killers’ songs have a Christian undercurrent. It’s easy to see “Human” as a Christian song about the supposed sinfulness of the modern world.

‘Human’ was a minor hit in the United States and a big hit in the United Kingdom

“Human” became a minor hit in the grand scheme of things but it was one of the biggest songs of The Killers’ career. The tune reached No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. The track was the lead single off of the album Day & Age. That record climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the Billboard 200 for 42 weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports that “Human” was more popular in the United Kingdom. There, “Human” reached No. 3 and charted for 55 weeks in total. Perhaps British audiences embraced the song because it was reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys and other new wave artists from the U.K. Meanwhile, Day & Age was No. 1 for one of its 70 weeks on the U.K. chart.

“Human” is one of the most memorable dance songs of the 2000s even if it has some oblique lyrics.

The Killers Revealed Why ‘When You Were Young’ Is Their Most Important Song

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Some classic rock songs become their band’s signature tracks. The lead singer of The Killers said “When You Were Young” might be the most important song of the band’s career. The tune in question has some ambiguous spiritual lyrics that make the song intriguing all these years later.

The Killers wrote ‘When You Were Young’ at an impasse

The Killers were part of the post-punk revival of the 2000s. With their first album, Hot Fuss, the band was slick and the timbre of Brandon Flower’s singing sounded more British than American. The Killers could have regurgitated their first album over and over. Instead, their sophomore record, Sam’s Town, was a heartland rock album that sounded like an arch Bruce Springsteen. The first single from that record was the dark, spiritual hard rock smash “When You Were Young.”

During a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Flowers discussed the impact of “When You Were Young.” “It was an important song for us, maybe the most important song, because a lot of bands come and go,” he said. “We knew that Hot Fuss put us all over the world and it was a great ride, but who knows what’s gonna happen next? So yeah, when we got back, we didn’t waste any time after the tour.”

What The Killers were saying with the song

Flowers said “When You Were Young” was a collaborative song. “When we got back together and started to sort of pursue this next chapter, it’s incredible — this was one of those moments when we were just all four of us were on the same page,” he recalled. “‘He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus / But he talks like a gentleman,’ that came instantly to me. I remember driving home, and this load just lifted off my shoulders. I knew everything was gonna be all right.”

The song’s line about Jesus is fascinating. One could interpret that line as being about someone consciously rejecting Christianity. On the other hand, it could be about someone who is falling for a man who is not as Christlike as he initially appeared. “When You Were Young” has the sort of ambiguity that lends itself to deep thought. Hopefully, the song’s shades of grey will help it to remain popular for years to come.

‘When You Were Young’ was almost a No. 1 hit

“When You Were Young” became The Killers’ highest-charting single besides “Mr. Brightside.” “When You Were Young” reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. The tune’s parent album, Sam’s Town, was the band’s highest-charting album. Sam’s Town peaked at No. 2 and remained on the chart for 42 weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports that “When You Were Young” was far more popular in the United Kingdom. There, the single reached No. 2 and charted for 20 weeks. Meanwhile, Sam’s Town hit No. 1 for three of its 126 weeks on the U.K. chart. It’s interesting that an album inspired by the sounds of the American heartland was so popular across the pond.

“When You Were Young” is a great song and it showed that The Killers were not a one-trick pony.