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Human (The Killers song)

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"Human"
Song
B-side"A Crippling Blow"

"Human" is a song by Las Vegas-based alternative rock rock band The Killers, and was released as the first single from the band's third studio album Day & Age.[1] The song was leaked onto YouTube on September 21, 2008, a day before it was scheduled to be played for the first time on Zane Lowe's evening show on BBC Radio 1. It began receiving airplay on September 22, 2008, with a digital release on September 30, 2008. It can now be streamed on the band's official website. The song is being released on a 7-inch picture disc throughout the world in various dates in November, with a B-side entitled "A Crippling Blow".

Track listings

  • iTunes Download
  1. "Human" - 4:07
  • Single
  1. "Human" - 5:03
  2. "A Crippling Blow" - 3:37
  • Promo CD
  1. "Human (Radio Edit)" – 4:05
  2. "Human (Ferry Corsten Radio Edit)" – 4:27
  3. "Human (Armin Van Buuren Radio Edit)" – 3:48
  4. "Human (Stuart Price Club Mix)" – 8:03
  5. "Human (Ferry Corsten Club Mix)" – 6:55
  6. "Human (Armin Van Buuren Club Mix)" – 8:12

Background

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine's Smoking Section, Brandon Flowers described "Human" as "like Johnny Cash meets the Pet Shop Boys". Flowers stated that the song was created with Stuart Price during their work with him on the Sawdust album, and has changed very little since then. He confessed to not putting it on Sawdust as "it was too good".

The cover art for the single is a portrait of the band's guitarist Dave Keuning, and is one of the four portraits drawn by Paul Normansell for the album.

Music video

The music video for "Human" was released in mid-October 2008 and directed by Daniel Drysdale. It features the band performing the song in Goblin Valley, Utah. The portraits of the band drawn for the album by Paul Normansell are shown in the video, such as when the band holds the portraits in front of their faces. Various animals are also shown throughout the video, such as a white tiger and a cougar. The video ends with the band watching the sun setting in the desert, which turns into the album cover, also drawn by Paul Normansell.

Reception

An interview in The Observer newspaper stated that the track "is a cross between New Order and Bruce Springsteen - that should please fans of 'Mr. Brightside'." Chris Williams of Billboard gave a positive review, echoing The Observer's description of "merging a Boss-like melody over a New Order-injected rave-up." He also praised the song for "stretching the soundscape of alternative rock, which has increasingly become difficult to differentiate between mainstream rock".[2] Music Radar complimented the song in their review of Day & Age, saying "A gentle, phased, clicky guitar riff opens this gorgeous nod to the gentle side of '80s new wave."[3]

Lyrical confusion

There has been considerable confusion and debate over the line "Are we human or are we dancer?" in the song's chorus.[4] Many have incorrectly heard "denser" instead of "dancer", a change which significantly alters the interpretation of the song's meaning. On the band's official website, the biography section states that Flowers is singing "Are we human, or are we dancer?" and also says that the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers.[5]

Entertainment Weekly's Pop Watch section called this line the "silliest lyrics of the week". They were puzzled by the interpretation, stating "most dancers are generally human".[6]

Chart performance

"Human" was the most added track on modern rock radio upon its release, already climbing into the top ten there after less than a week of airplay. It debuted at number 13 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart based on radio airplay alone, and has reached number six thus far.[7] It is the band's sixth top ten hit on the chart. The song debuted at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart week of October 18, 2008, giving The Killers their third top forty hit there. On the Canadian Hot 100, the song debuted in the top ten, at number nine. It debuted at number 34 on the New Zealand RIANZ chart,[8] and entered at number four on the Norway Top 20.[8] "Human" has also reached the top ten on the Irish Singles Chart and in Sweden, as well as number one in Norway.[8] Dutch trance DJ Ferry Corsten has produced a remix of this track for the dance market.

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canadian Hot 100 9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 32
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 39
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 6
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[9] 45
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 25
Dutch Top 40 22
Dutch Mega Top 50 6
German Singles Chart 10
Irish Singles Chart 5
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart 3
UK Singles Chart 3

References

  1. ^ "The Killers' new album details revealed - exclusive". NME. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  2. ^ "Human-The Killers". Billboard. 2008-10-04. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2008-10-04" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "The Killers:Day and Age". Music Radar. 2008-10-23. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2008-10-30" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Brandon Flowers Wound Up Over Misquoting of Killers' "Human"". Rolling Stone. November 19, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "The Killers official website @ islandrecords.com". Island Records. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  6. ^ "Does the Killers' 'Human' have the silliest lyrics of the week?". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  7. ^ "Weekly Chart Highlights". Radio & Records. 2008-09-29. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2008-09-29" ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b c "The Killers - Human". aCharts. 2008-10-07. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2008-10-07" ignored (help)
  9. ^ Top 50 Singles Chart - Australian Recording Industry Association. ARIA. Accessed November 16, 2008.
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