Some of the world’s biggest artists team up with Cuban band Rhythms Del Mundo for the benefit album, “Classics”. The collection aims to raise awareness and funds for natural-disaster relief through the U.K.-based charity Artists Project Earth (www.apeuk.org). “Classics” follows the similar 2006 album “Rhythms Del Mundo Cuba”, which emerged after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. That compilation featured Buena Vista Social Club musicians reworking tunes from such acts as Coldplay, U2 and Franz Ferdinand. Here, The Killers visit The Eagles‘ “Hotel California”; Amy Winehouse plays “Cupid” (Sam Cooke); and Keane take Queen “Under Pressure”–all in collaboration with Rhythms Del Mundo.

by Mark Emge

Like their hometown of Las Vegas, The Killers have a flair for the sparkly and over-the-top: soaring synth-pop operas, multipart arena-rock anthems, “Bohemian Rhapsody”-style choirs. So it makes sense that after 2006’s massively ambitious “Sam’s Town”, “Day & Age” expands their scope even further. “A Dustland Fairytale” moves from somber pianos to an orchestral conclusion so epic, the listener half-expects some fairy godmother to swoop in and save singer Brandon Flowers.

by Mark Emge

It’s The Killers‘ world, we just live in it. Quite literally, if you believe the Las Vegas rockers’ latest single, “The World We Live In”, (off their third album “Day & Age”). And that world just included a stellar performance at the famous Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California this month. The annual three-day music and cultural explosion deep in the California desert has always boasted an amazing and eclectic line-up of iconic headliners, current chart-toppers and ready-to-ignite newcomers. 2009 was no different. In addition to The Killers, the Coachella line-up this year also included the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, The Cure, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, The Chemical Brothers, M.I.A., Glasvegas, James Morrison and many more. Music, the (pre-summer) desert, and plenty of fabulous festival distractions (including a very functioning bathroom system)… sounds like the perfect three days to us. www.Coachella.com has all the info!

by Mark Emge

The Killers‘ great gift is that frontman Brandon Flowers has utterly no recognition of the ridiculous. More than that, he’s drawn to it, piecing together sounds that don’t belong, reaching far beyond his grasp, aiming for profundity by slipping into silliness. Since he is at core poseur rather than prophet, style over substance is the right move, and third album “Day & Age” has style for miles and miles, exceeding even The Killers’ debut, “Hot Fuss”, in its stainless-steel gleam. “Human” was voted the Best Song Of 2008 by the readers of Rolling Stone.

by Mark Emge

The Killers‘ great gift is that they–and in particular frontman Brandon Flowers–have utterly no recognition of the ridiculous. More than that, they’re drawn to it, piecing together sounds that don’t belong, reaching far beyond their grasp, aiming for profundity by slipping into silliness. Since they are at their core poseurs instead of prophets, style over substance is the right move, and third album “Day & Age” has style for miles and miles, exceeding even their debut, “Hot Fuss”, in its stainless-steel gleam. “Human” was voted the Best Song Of 2008 by the readers of Rolling Stone.

by Mark Emge

Brandon Flowers met guitarist, and Oasis fanatic, David Keuning through a personals ad, and within weeks the pair had written The Killers‘ soon-to-be hit “Mr. Brightside”. After filling out their lineup, the new group took their name from the bass drum logo of the fictional band in New Order’s music video for “Crystal”. Fittingly, the bass-heavy “Spaceman” recalls Manchester’s finest, off their new album “Day & Age”.

by Mark Emge

You can’t get more American than Las Vegas, hometown of The Killers, but it says a lot about their neo-New Wave sound that they were signed by a UK label. If debut “Hot Fuss” was their “Seven And The Ragged Tiger”, and follow-up “Sam’s Town” their “Rattle & Hum”, then third album “Day And Age” is…something in-between. Brandon Flowers told Rolling Stone that first single “Human” is “like Johnny Cash meets the Pet Shop Boys,” The Observer that it’s “a cross between New Order and Bruce Springsteen.” You get the idea.

by Mark Emge