Customer Reviews

Don't Shoot Me Santa

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"Don't Shoot Me Santa" (2007) was the second in a series of holiday singles released by The Killers in cooperation with Project Red, so a portion of the proceeds go to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. "A Great Big Sled" (2006) and "Joseph, Better You than Me" (2008), featuring Elton John, are the other charitable singles thus far. But "Don't Shoot Me Santa" stands out for its black humor and danceable rhythm. Written by vocalist Brandon Flowers, it's a tune most fitting a band called The Killers. Santa pays a visit to a killer, bearing not gifts but justice for the naughty fellow. This song might scare children, but it makes me smile every time I hear it.

Tour manager Ryan Pardey is the voice of Santa in the song and plays Santa in the video. Rarely do I think a music video is worth watching, but this one is funny and clever, with plenty of Vegas cheese and Nevada desert, perfect for a band from Las Vegas. Santa's a good guy, if a little trashier and avenging than we usually think. Never before have the whiney pleas of an admitted criminal inspired me to get up and dance. It's a wonder what a catchy tune can do for even a terminally depraved character (his, not mine). It's funny. It's irreverent. It rocks. "Don't Shoot Me Santa" is on my short list of great holiday songs. Download it alone or with the video.

Brandon says in the song: 'All the children on the block they tease me ..."

Were those other children John McCrea from Cake and Rivers Cuomo from Weezer? Is this revenge then? Because it seems that now Brandon and the boys have washed themselves completely of their late-eighties Duran Duran sound they're going to slip on some early nineties passion and angst tone just for kicks. But maybe the video is a highlight of the fact that they're going to emulate 'The Joshua Tree' sound next. Who knows?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty big fan of The Killers, having seen them a few times live and even had a conversation or two with Brandon Flowers about Elton John's 'Tumbleweed Connection' album -- long before we saw Sam's Town. I just have a strong feeling that The Killers will continue to struggle to find themselves and *their own* sound even if the largest core of their paying audience believe them to still be breaking new ground. Hot Fuss was a high water-mark that's going to be hard to hurdle.

Robbing from Cake and Weezer isn't really a good sign, especially since they're weren't originally grouped with them to begin with.


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