2B —Thursday, March 8, 2018
b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Coming out of our cage: Fifteen years later, the
‘Mr. Brightside’ phenomenon persists on campuses

As I walked toward the
Greenwood block party last
September, just as it seemed
like it was about over, a familiar
sound caught my ear. Amid the
echoes of jubilant laughter and
delirious chatter, I heard the
unmistakable opening notes
of “Mr. Brightside,” the debut
single from Las Vegas quartet
The Killers. The cluster of
students streaming out of the
neighborhood
belted
every
single lyric, word for word, in
nearly immaculate unison. It
was mesmerizing, to say the
least, though not unexpected.
Since I entered college, “Mr.
Brightside”
was
considered
the go-to anthem catered for
every and any kind of social
gathering. There are other
iconic party jams that remain
staples within college party
culture — Fountains of Wayne’s
“Stacy’s Mom,” Bowling for
Soup’s “1985” and R. Kelly’s
“Ignition (Remix)” are some
well-known favorites. But no
matter the venue or the time
of day, “Mr. Brightside” is
incomparable in how easily it
can provoke a crowd of people
to practically lose their shit and
maintain that level of insanity
throughout its duration.
While “Mr. Brightside” has
been in existence since the
early 2000s, its timelessness
has
transformed
it
into
a
fascinating
and
somewhat
confounding phenomenon. A
theatrical, triumphant anthem
about unrequited love is now
considered by many young
people to be a millennial classic.
In addition to being a musical
marvel, “Mr. Brightside” has
woven its way into other realms
of pop culture, most notably
on Twitter as a series of viral
memes. It was featured in a
scene from the 2006 rom-com
“The Holiday,” where Cameron
Diaz (“The Mask”) screams
the lyrics to forget about her
boyfriend’s infidelity, as well
as
a
memorable
sequence
from the second season of
“The O.C.,” where three of the
show’s central couples confront
one another at a rock concert
—
The
Killers
themselves
make
an
appearance.
The
band continues to perform the
song on tour, unabashedly and
vigorously so, still capturing
the hearts of their devoted fans,
including “Hamilton” creator
Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Considering
the
social,
cultural and sonic factors at
play in the song’s runaway
success, I decided to investigate
what makes “Mr. Brightside”
one of the most memorable
and perennial tracks of the
21st century and what its
significance might say about
the people who cherish it the
most.
“How did it end up like
this?”: A brief history of “Mr.
Brightside.”
The magnitude of the song’s
appeal can be traced all the way
back to its beginning. In late
2001, The Killers’s frontman
Brandon
Flowers
co-wrote
the
song
with
the
band’s
lead guitarist Dave Keuning.
Inspired by a real-life situation
in which Flowers discovered
his then-girlfriend had cheated
on
him,
“Mr.
Brightside”
follows a jealous guy and his
attempt
to
reconcile
with
knowing his lover has left him
for another man. Flowers and
Keuning performed the song
for the first time at an open mic
night in Las Vegas’s Cafe Roma,
a performance that Flowers
described as “terrible” and
“awful” in a 2005 Rolling Stone
interview. Still, that didn’t stop
the two from recording the
song’s demo in 2002 (which
was much grainier and more
distorted than the original),

and signing with UK indie label
Lizard King Records. Initially,
The
Killers
achieved
more
success in the United Kingdom,
similar to how Jimi Hendrix
found his commercial niche in
England with his band’s 1967
debut Are You Experienced.
Once
the
song
was

re-recorded
and
re-released
on the band’s 2004 debut Hot
Fuss, “Mr. Brightside” finally
found its calling in the United
States. The song climbed to
number 10 on the U.S. Billboard
charts and became the ninth
most
downloaded
song
on
iTunes in 2005. The Killers had
officially been propelled into
the mainstream limelight. To
this day, the song continues to
be a chart topper; according to
Noisey, it spent 35 consecutive
weeks on the U.K. Billboard
Charts between July 2016 and
Mar. 2017, reaching its peak
in three years at number 49 in
Jan. 2017.
The fact “Mr. Brightside”
has endured years later and
resonated with music listeners
on
an
international
scale
remains a captivating enigma.
Much like how the protagonist
of the song prevails against the
pain and suffering from losing
his girlfriend, “Mr. Brightside”
seems
to
have
prevailed
against its tumultuous start
as well. Perhaps the song has
maintained its success because
of its unrelenting optimism, its
ingenuity for its time or, most
likely, the universal appeal
of the underdog story at its
center. Perhaps it’s all those
things, but it’s worth noting
“Mr. Brightside” would not be
nearly as massive without the
unforgettable lyrics and the
propulsive beat that drive it.
“Gotta
gotta
be
down
because I want it all”: The
lyrics and sound of “Mr.
Brightside.”
To further understand the
song’s spellbinding allure, I
spoke with Ryan Bodiford,
a University professor who
teaches Introduction to Popular
Music
this
semester
and
specializes in musicology, a field
that explores the relationships
between music and its social
significance. Though the song
has a relatively conventional
structure, Bodiford contends
its attractiveness lies within
the setup and payoff of its
sound.
“The
whole
tune
is
based
around
a
build-up
of
momentum,”
Bodiford
said.
“That
bridge
section
is
gaining
momentum,
the
melody
increases
in
pitch.
The harmonies of the tune
are building a certain tension
that is released in this massive
payout of the chorus.”
He also remarks the song
draws on familiar styles, like
British rock, pop and new
wave music. This makes sense,
especially because at the time of
the song’s release, The Killers’s
competition — The Strokes,
Interpol,
LCD
Soundsystem
and
Yeah
Yeah
Yeahs
—
incorporated those genres as
well as part of the growing
NYC rock revival scene. But
“Mr. Brightside” stands out
not just for the texture of its
production, but for the wistful
feelings it elicits.
Jeff
Peretz,
an
assistant
arts professor at the New York
University Clive Davis Institute
of Recorded Music, spoke about
the song’s nostalgia and how its
themes on paranoia, heartbreak
and jealousy can translate into
such a satisfying emotional
release.
“I think (“Mr. Brightside”w)
gives permission to explore
those kind of feelings,” Peretz
said.
“We
all
go
through
something similar and to be
able to shout it out at a party
out loud has got to be cathartic.
It gives people a chance to
celebrate that they’ve been
through this.”
It’s no wonder, then, why “Mr.
Brightside” is considered such
a desirable tune among college
students.
The
combination
of Flowers’s lyrical wordplay
(“Jealousy, turning saints into
the sea / Swimming through
sick lullabies, choking on your
alibis”) with the invigorating,
major-key rhythm, comprised
of fiery synths and booming,
majestic guitar riffs, empowers
and reassures its audience to
remain optimistic even in the
face of rejection, something that
most young people arguably
experience on a weekly basis.

That being said, millennials
aren’t
the
only
ones
who
consider
“Mr.
Brightside”
a
masterful
earworm.
In
Mar. 2016, 45-year-old Brian
O’Sullivan
led
a
raucous,
emotional
rendition
of
the
song at an Irish pub in honor
of his best friend who had died
the previous week. The video
that captured the scene went
viral, even leading The Killers
to post about it on Twitter,
blessing O’Sullivan with their
seal of approval. In a way, this
kind of occurrence speaks to
the song’s remarkable ability
to transcend intergenerational
barriers. Everyone, no matter
what age, experiences some
form of heartbreak over losing
something or someone at some
point in life.
“People feel more open and
brave to express those kind of
things,” Peretz said. “Whereas
maybe they would be the kind
of things you would keep to
yourself if it wasn’t for a song
like this.”
The
song’s
distinctive
repetition also contributes to
its infectiousness. Elizabeth
Margulis, a music researcher
based at the University of
Arkansas,
discussed
the
cognitive
implications
of
repetition in pop music in a
recent Vox video. At one point in
the clip, Margulis deconstructs
this idea of a “speech to song
illusion.”
“You can take a little bit of
speech, repeat it a number of
times and for many people,
there’s
this
very
salient
transformation
where
what
initially
just
sounded
like
somebody talking to you sounds
like someone singing,” she said.
“Mr. Brightside” works in
a similar way; Flowers shouts
the first verse, pre-chorus and
chorus, then repeats them in the
song’s second half, and finally
ends by wailing “I never” four
times in a row. According to
the science behind the “speech
to song illusion,” the more the
lyrics are repeated, the catchier
the track is. It’s why, as Vox
contributor
Estelle
Caswell
remarks in the video, songs
like
Whitney
Houston’s
“I
Wanna Dance With Somebody,”
Beyoncé’s
“Formation”
and
Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”
have become such addictive
pop songs.
“Repetition
doesn’t
just
make the song memorable,”
Caldwell said when alluding to
“Formation,” “it reinforces its
central message.” The same can
be said about “Mr. Brightside”;
the song’s repetition supports
this idea that no matter how
difficult your circumstances
may be, everything will be
alright in the end.
“Destiny is calling me”:
The cultural impact of “Mr.
Brightside.”
Even with all this in mind, it’s
still difficult to ascertain just
how and why “Mr. Brightside”
has stayed so popular for so
long. Why haven’t, say, Hot
Fuss’s deep cuts “Smile Like
You Mean It” and “Somebody
Told Me” or “When You Were
Young”
from
2006’s
Sam’s
Town or “Human” from 2008’s
Day and Age achieved the same
level of playability? Why “Mr.
Brightside” specifically?
Some have theorized “Mr.
Brightside” has accumulated
so
much
commercial
and
cultural capital because our
parents played it for us when
we were younger. It’s entirely
probable that listening to “Mr.
Brightside”
could
be
some
unconscious form of reclaiming
that part of our childhood. And
if not reclaiming our childhood,
then maybe some type of
psychological liberation. Others
believe the song’s long-lasting
success is due to the trend of
post-ironic Spotify DJing, the
comfort of nostalgia or simply
because it’s a good song. One
might also think millennials
relate to the song’s themes of
infidelity and jealousy because
they are more prone to cheat
on
their
partners,
though
there exists evidence that both
supports and refutes this claim.
“Popularity is truly elusive,”
Bodiford
said.
“There
are

SAM ROSENBERG
Senior Arts Editor

things that nobody would’ve
expected to become massively
popular. In that case, you have
to look at social aspects. Is
it connected to a particular
moment in time?”
Considering the turbulent
social moment we’re currently
living
in,
“Mr.
Brightside”
can certainly be an antidote
to
the
unshakable
anxiety
that
pervades
youth
and
society at large today. By
recontextualizing it as a party
song, “Mr. Brightside” gives its
listeners the agency and control
that is so desperately needed
during these times. Though the
future remains unpredictable,
the song’s legacy will hopefully
stay intact.
“When the song first came
out, I was like, ‘This is kind of
cool.’ No one knew which one of

those bands from that era was
going to stick around,” Peretz
recalled. “But this summer, at
one of the festivals in the city
(the Global Citizen Festival),
they played the song and
everybody went nuts for it. I
remember being moved by how
much people appreciated that
song.”
“Youth is kind of inherently
optimistic,”
Bodiford
said.
“As you get older, you tend
to get more jaded. Having a
very uplifting theme that’s
connected to music that’s also
very optimistic and major-key
and life-affirming … it resonates
with a common outlook for a lot
of University students that are
getting ready to go out in the
world.”
During the annual Michigan
State University game last Oct.,

I witnessed this first-hand.
The Big House decided to play
“Mr.
Brightside”
for
more
than 100,000 people. Instead
of cutting off the song, as they
tend to do before the next
play of the football game, they
played it all the way through,
letting it reverberate into the
night as a horde of students
roared along to the words.
Again, it was a captivating
sight to see — the rainstorm
that suddenly washed over the
crowd made it feel all the more
epic — but it felt appropriate
in this context. Despite the
fact that Michigan was losing
against MSU, “Mr. Brightside”
pushed us away from the lure
of impending disappointment.
It opened up our eager eyes
and reminded us that we were
doing just fine.

The magic community of
midnight film screenings

FILM NOTEBOOK

My first (and only) experience of
a midnight screening was for “The
Room” last fall at the Michigan
Theater in anticipation of the
release of “The Disaster Artist.”
“The Disaster Artist” adapts the
memoir by Greg Sestero and Tom
Bissell about their time on the set
of “The Room” at the mercy of the
eccentric Tommy Wiseau. As I
waited in the jam-packed theater
for the movie to begin, I could tell
right away that the atmosphere was
something extraordinary: Loud
recitations of notorious scenes
filled the room, several people tried
to sell me plastic spoons (since the
Friday-night crowd cleaned house
at the nearby Walgreens), the musty
scent of alcohol and marijuana
came from all directions. Usually,
only the bottom floor of the
main auditorium has customers,
consisting largely of senior citizens
and film students with plenty of
seats open. But that night, even the
balcony level sold out.
Once the film started, the noise
did not die down. Instead, people
shouted along to the dialogue and
chucked their precious plastic
spoons towards the front, inevitably
hitting a lot of heads. I started to
pick up on the bizarre traditions
that everyone bought into: If you
see a spoon in the movie, throw a
real one; if there’s an extended sex
scene, count the absurd number
of gyrations; or you yell, “Go! Go!
Go!” as the camera pans across
the Golden Gate Bridge — the list
goes on. At some point, people in
the back ran out of their arsenal of
plastic spoons and started racing
through the aisles and diving onto
the stage to retrieve more. All this
passion and frenzy and excitement
for truly the worst movie ever
made. In other words, a straight-up
phenomenon.
Midnight movies, synonymous
with cult films, began their
rise in popularity where most

would expect: New York City.
The
independent
film
scene
revolved mostly around certain
iconic, and now almost all closed,
arthouse theaters like the Elgin,
the Waverly and the St. Marks.
Selections often included cheap
B-movies,
corny
Westerns
or
sultry features that addressed
fetishes and other counterculture
topics. Most associate the Mexican

western “El Topo” as the first
midnight
movie,
played
back
in 1970 to crowded audiences.
From “El Topo,” the phenomenon
spread to embrace dark comedies,
politically-charged thrillers and,
oddly enough, a number of movies
that John Lennon of The Beatles
loved. However, like all trends, the
fascination shifted to something
else, except for one film which has
outlasted even the theater that
coaxed it to cult status: “The Rocky
Horror Picture Show.”
“The Rocky Horror Picture
Show” is the longest running
movie in history with a Cinderella
tale to accompany its cementation
in popular culture. What started
as a small theater production

transformed into an Hollywood
flop and, miraculously, re-emerged
as the symbol of fringe society.
Similar to “The Room,” audience
participation drives the showings
with traditions that force places
like the Michigan Theater to issue
a ban on rice, confetti, water guns,
candles, lighters, whole rolls of
toilet paper, prunes and hot dogs. At
locations that run the special every
week, some actors make a career
participating in Rocky Horror
shadowcasts. In fact, the state
of Mich. has three shadowcasts
that roam around performing for
riotous fans. As the 1975 motion
picture plays on a screen, actors
dressed as the characters dance
below and react to improved and
repeated-so-many-times-it’s-
scripted lines from the audience.
As film critic Roger Ebert wrote,
“‘THe Rocky Horror Picture Show’
is not so much a movie as more of a
long-running social phenomenon,”
since “the fans put on a better show
than anything on the screen.”
Like
all
counterculture,
midnight screenings have become
a rite of passage, no longer confined
to an unorthodox, marginalized
community. Just as aspects of
hippie
and
punk
subcultures
infiltrate our everyday lives, so do
references to cult films: Someone
humming
“The
Time
Warp,”
someone patting a puppy’s head
to say “Hi, doggy.” Who knows
what films decades later will
be staples of our culture? Great
movies nominated for Oscars and
Golden Globes fall to obscurity,
but somehow the red lips of “THe
Rocky Horror Picture Show” and
the bonkers accent of Johnny from
“The Room” will live on in grungy
corners of the country or the most
mainstream theaters. Midnight
movies have a timeless power
over audiences. They entrance us,
they push the envelope, they don’t
shy from a deeper truth, but most
importantly, they welcome. They
provide a feeling of camaraderie
and unity, and once you get a taste,
you’re already in too deep.

MEGHAN CHOU
Daily Arts Writer

Like all

counterculture,

midnight

screenings have

become a rite

of passage, no

longer confined

to an unorthodox,

marginalized

community

ISLAND RECORDS