Human (The Killers song)

Infobox Single
Name = Human

---

Artist = The Killers
from Album = Day & Age
B-side =
Released = September 30, 2008
Format =
Recorded =
Genre = Dance
Length = 4:07 (Album/Single Version)
Label = Island Records
Producer = Stuart Price
Chart position =
Last single = "Don't Shoot Me Santa"
(2007)
This single = "Human"
(2008)
Next single =

"Human" is a song by Las Vegas-based alternative rock band The Killers, and was released as the first single from the band's third studio album "Day & Age".cite web|title=The Killers' new album details revealed - exclusive|publisher=NME|date=2008-09-15|url=http://www.nme.com/news/the-killers/39721|accessdate=2008-09-15]

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 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.

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, describing the track as "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."cite web|title=Human-The Killers|publisher=Billboard|date=2008-10-04|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/singles/e3ic9d5859352b634397907bff56caa19bc|accessdate-2008-10-04]

Lyrical confusion

There has been much confusion and debate over a lyric in the chorus of the song. This is regarding whether or not Brandon Flowers is saying "denser" or "dancer", when posing the question "Are we human or are we denser/dancer?" The pronunciation of the word has lead several critics to believe that Flowers is in fact saying dancer, and therefore questioning what the meaning of the lyric is. "Entertainment Weekly"'s Pop Watch section, called the lyrics the "silliest lyrics of the week" under the assumption that Flowers was saying "dancer" in the chorus. They were puzzled by this, stating "most dancers are generally human."cite web|title=Does the Killers' 'Human' have the silliest lyrics of the week?|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|date=2008-09-15|url=http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/09/killers-human-s.html|accessdate=2008-09-26]

On The Killers official website at IslandRecords.com, the biography section states that Flowers is singing "Are we human, or are we dancer?" and also says that Flowers said the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers.cite web|title=The Killers official website @ islandrecords.com|publisher=Island Records|date=2008-10-06|url=http://www6.islandrecords.com/site/artist_bio.php?artist_id=547|accessdate=2008-10-06]

Chart performance

"Human" was the most added track on Alternative radio upon its release, already climbing into the top ten there after less than a week of airplay. It debuted at #13 on "Billboard"'s Modern Rock Tracks chart based on radio airplay alone, and advanced to #8 the following week. cite web|title=Weekly Chart Highlights|publisher=Radio & Records|date=2008-09-29|url=http://www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/Charts/highlights.asp|accessdate-2008-09-29] It is the band's sixth top ten hit on the chart. The song debuted at #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 #9. It debuted at #34 on the New Zealand RIANZ chart,cite web|title=The Killers - Human|publisher=aCharts|date=2008-10-07|url=http://acharts.us/song/38145|accessdate-2008-10-07] and entered at #4 on the Norway Top 20.

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.thekillersmusic.com/ The Killers official band website]