Hot Fuss vs. Sam's Town

   You'd be hard-pressed to find many more bands whose two first albums are both as through-and-through fantastic start-to-finish as The Killers. A lot of bands have a sort of sophomore slump - follow up a fantastic debut with an album that isn't as spectacular. But that's not the case with The Killers.
   Hot Fuss, their debut album, came out in 2004 and was fantastic, and then they followed it up in 2006 with the equally fantastic sophomore album, Sam's Town. 
  So much so, that trying to pick which one I like more feels like asking a parent to choose their favorite of their two children. I can't do it.
   But, I'm gonna try to force myself to...

1. "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" vs. "Sam's Town"
   Oof, starting off with a really hard choice. The former is the chronological last of their "murder trilogy" and supposedly centers around the killer of a woman pleading his innocence to interrogating cops. The latter is one of my favorite title tracks, and has an epic sing-along bit at the end. I hate to do it to Sam's Town, but I have to give the point to Hot Fuss here.
Hot Fuss: 1
Sam's Town: 0

2. "Mr. Brightside" vs. "Enterlude"
   Okay. The former is an iconic song that just about everyone knows. It's literally my second favorite song of all time. The latter is really just a nice little piece that warms you up for the rest of the album. There's really no question here.
Hot Fuss: 2
Sam's Town: 0

3. "Smile Like You Mean It" vs. "When You Were Young"
   I love SLYMI very much. It hurts to do this to it, but the latter really deserves it. It's a cute song about a young woman thinking she needs a knight in shining armor who is morally perfect but instead finds the love of her life in a small-town "bad boy". 
Hot Fuss: 2
Sam's Town: 1

4. "Somebody Told Me" vs. "Bling (Confession Of A King)"
   "Bling" is fine and actually really good, but compared to the rest of its album, its one of the weaker points. Whereas "Somebody Told Me" is iconic and bombastic and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly he's getting at.
Hot Fuss: 3
Sam's Town: 1

5. "All These Things That I've Done" vs. "For Reasons Unknown"
   Okay, I saw The Killers live in 2022. There was something incredibly magical about that whole arena loudly proclaiming "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier" together. This is undebatably one of the best songs this band has ever done. And while the latter is great, it unfortunately can't compete.
Hot Fuss: 4
Sam's Town: 1

6. "Andy, You're A Star" vs. "Read My Mind"
   I have a special connection to the former because I attributed it to my former coworker and one of my best friends, but even then, "Read My Mind" is just objectively a better song.
Hot Fuss: 4
Sam's Town: 2

7. "On Top" vs. "Uncle Johnny"
   Ah, troubled uncles taking cocaine to escape the pain they feel. A whole lot of edge and grittiness to that one. While "On Top" is great, it doesn't really offer anything unique.
Hot Fuss: 4
Sam's Town: 3

8. "Change Your Mind" vs. "Bones"
   Alas, another very difficult decision arises. I was initially gonna give it to "Bones", but I can't in good conscience do that.
Hot Fuss: 5
Sam's Town: 3

9. "Believe Me Natalie" vs. "My List"
    The former is in my opinion the weakest song on Hot Fuss, while the latter shows Brandon Flowers singing with so much urgency and sincerity in his voice and has such a catchy, sing-along feel to it. 
Hot Fuss: 5
Sam's Town: 4

10. "Midnight Show" vs. "This River Is Wild"
    Remember the aforementioned "murder trilogy"? Well, "Midnight Show" is the climax of it, containing the actual murder. And this decision is very hard. But the latter is perhaps the strongest part of Sam's Town.
Hot Fuss: 5
Sam's Town: 5

Oh look, we're all tied up!

11. "Everything Will Be Alright" vs. "Why Do I Keep Counting?" 
    The latter is one of the other strongest points on Sam's Town, and the former is very good but is a little repetitive and weird.
Hot Fuss: 5
Sam's Town: 6

12. "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" vs. "Exitlude"
     "Exitlude" perfectly ends Sam's Town, with a chorus telling you that they hope you enjoyed your stay. But, I absolutely love that GIR&R seems to tell a story parodizing hipsters and the like, people who think they're special and interesting because they're into underground music.
Hot Fuss: 6
Sam's Town: 6



Okay, um... I guess I really do love them equally. I don't know what to say. See you guys later, I guess.

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