Song of the Day 12/13: The Killers, “Mr. Brightside”

WXPN concluded its countdown of the best songs of the century so far last evening, and I can’t quibble with the top song. Jack White’s “Seven Nation Army” is familiar even to millions of sports fans who’ve never heard the record because it’s become a stadium chant as familiar as “We Will Rock You.” Even White has expressed surprise at that.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at the No. 2 song, either. “Mr. Brightside,” the Killers’ debut single from 2003, is, according to an article in The Guardian a couple of years back, empirically the most overplayed song in the world.

There it is, on the radio. In the supermarket. In the pub. The office. In a cab. Thrumming through your neighbours’ wall. In the background on reality shows, dramas, soaps, documentaries. Blasted out at every party or wedding you’ll attend for the rest of your life…It came out in 2004, and it’s … still … just … on, all the time, everywhere, there’s no escape.

He wasn’t kidding. Despite never reaching No. 1, it has spent a record 416 weeks on the UK singles chart. It didn’t last that long in the U.S., but I’ve probably heard it a thousand times over the years without ever seeking it out. Though I assume you’ve heard it before, here it is again.