The Killers – Hot Fuss

When I first heard the song Somebody Told Me, the bubblegum angst anthem with the chorus “somebody told me you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend I had in February of last year…” caught my ears. Not because the line spoke volumes of the current dating scene. Nor was it that because it was on MTV, that I thought it was another cookie cutter crap band.

No, it was different. It was (quality) bass heavy. It had (quality) synth sound effects. It was good. So I bought the album, which was odd for me since it was and still is on the Billboard Top 40. I’ve never owned something that was currently on the Top 40. But these guys deserve to be there, shunning the crap that surrounds them.

The Killers sound has an epic quality to it. I can’t exactly put my finger on how that is, but it just is. The melodies with their rolling guitars and drum beats and ever present keyboard action, invoke neatness and emotion. And as for the content, yes, it’s mostly bubblegum angst… but it’s got wit to it and isn’t the run of the mill garbage.

Verdict

Listening to Hot Fuss it like listening to a throwback to the 80′s synth-alternative movement (The Jam, The Cure, etc.); which as you should know by now is a good thing. But like I said, it’s different. The Killers is one of those bands that needs not to be forgotten about and has to produce more stuff so that music as a whole doesn’t pack it in.

Headphonability/Travelicity - Plug it into your ears and go man go.

Replayability - Despite the above praise, I wouldn’t choose Hot Fuss for constant rotation. It will wear thin on your nerves, especially with the video for Mr. Brightside airing on every other music network 3 times an hour. Come on VJs and DJs, don’t over saturate us just yet, they’ve got so much more to do before we burn them like Disco.

Douglas Adams’ Starship Titanic

Breakdown and Blerontinians

Welcome to the planet of Blerontis where the Greatest Mind in the Universe has just created the greatest luxury starship ever. All it took was a lifetime of work and collapsing the economy of a neighboring planet of craftsmen. Or at least it would if certain people didn’t decide to cut corners ultimately leading to Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure, or in short it disappeared. Unfortunately it turned up on Earth and three people engage in an adventure that aneurisms are made of.

Rantings and Ratings

Humor is nothing new to either Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) or Terry Jones (Monty Python, et. al.) and this book collaboration is proof of that. There is scarcely a point in the book where one does not laugh or find something intensely humorous and that includes the beginning where the narrator is forced to start over again over an issue of fish paste sandwiches. All in all, the entertainment value is classic, and earns itself a fitting 6 out of 6