Day & Age

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Day & Age
Studio album by The Killers
Released November 18, 2008
Recorded April - September 2008 at Battle Born Studios, Las Vegas, Nevada
Genre Indie rock,[1] New Wave, synthpop, post-punk revival
Length 40:49
Label Island, Vertigo
Producer Stuart Price, The Killers
The Killers chronology
Sawdust
(2007)		 Day & Age
(2008)		 Live from the Royal Albert Hall
(2009)
Singles from Day & Age
  1. "Human"
    Released: September 30, 2008
  2. "Spaceman"
    Released: November 4, 2008
  3. "The World We Live In"
    Released: May 18, 2009
  4. "A Dustland Fairytale"
    Released: June 9, 2009

Day & Age is the third studio album by American rock band The Killers, released in November 2008 in the UK, Canada and the United States.[2] Frontman and lead vocalist Brandon Flowers stated that it is the band's "most playful record."[3] To date, Day & Age has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.[4] Following the release of the album, the band embarked on the hugely successful worldwide Day & Age Tour.

Contents

[edit] Production

The band began writing the tracks for Day & Age while on the road during the Sam's Town tour. Producer Stuart Price had worked on some Killers remixes, but the band had still never met him until they connected in London in 2006. Price and the band had dinner, before returning to his home studio and recording the lead single "Human" in just two hours.[5] Work on the album was conducted on an international basis; demos that were made in Las Vegas were sent to producer Price in London over the Internet, who would then call back to discuss the recordings.[6][7] With the album largely done, the Killers met at their Las Vegas studio in May 2008 to put the finishing touches on the album.[5] Flowers stated that the concept for the album is a "continuation" of Sam's Town,[8] saying "it's like looking at Sam's Town from Mars".[5]

In an interview with The Quietus, Flowers said that songs on the album were inspired by Elton John, David Bowie and Lou Reed.[9]

When asked where the album's title came from, Flowers replied, "I don't know. You wait for moments. I just wait for it to come, and I knew that [Day & Age] was right when I had it."[8] The album's title is also part of the lyrics to two of the album's tracks: "Neon Tiger" and "The World We Live In."

The Killers selected Paul Normansell to create the artwork for the album. Portraits of the band members themselves are included in the album. These portraits can be seen at various parts of the "Human" video, as well as the cover of Day & Age and the CD insert. On December 8, 2008, Rolling Stone named the album cover for Day & Age the best album cover of 2008.[10] On December 15, Rolling Stone readers voted Day & Age the Album of the Year.[11]

In September 2009, Flowers commented on the album, stating:[12]

“ "It sits well with our other two albums. It's obviously a little more on the pop end of things; it's not quite as masculine as Sam's Town, but I like it. "Spaceman" is such a playful tune, it makes my body do things I've never done before. "Human" is one of our best recordings so far. I don't think we've made our best album yet, and that makes me happy, to know it's still out there." ”


[edit] Singles

The first single from the album, "Human", was released to radio on September 22, 2008, and became available for download on September 30, 2008.[13] The band performed "Human" and "Spaceman" on the October 4, 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live.[13] They released the video for "Human" in October 2008.

"Spaceman" was released for download on November 4, 2008 in the US. The vinyl edition was released in the US on November 18, 2008, and included a free download of the album from Island Records. The music video was released in January 2009.

The third single varies from country to country. "The World We Live In" is the third single in Europe and Australia while "A Dustland Fairytale" is the third single in the United States.[14] The single "The World We Live In" has been described as "a song that gives you a disney/floating in the air feeling" by music critic Brian Narvaez.

As with the album cover, the singles' covers were designed by Paul Normansell and consist of the same individual band member images that appear in the album's booklet. Dave Keuning's picture was used for the "Human" cover, and the "Spaceman" cover was Brandon Flowers. Ronnie Vannucci's picture features on the single "The World We Live In". Mark Stoermer is on the cover for the single, "A Dustland Fairytale".[citation needed]

Additionally, the band released a video for "Goodnight, Travel Well" in partnership with MTV EXIT, UNICEF, and USAID in order to raise awareness about human trafficking. It premiered globally on MTV on July 13, 2009[15] and on UNICEF's YouTube page the next day.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Killers. 

No. Title Length
1. "Losing Touch"   4:15
2. "Human"   4:09
3. "Spaceman"   4:43
4. "Joy Ride"   3:33
5. "A Dustland Fairytale"   3:45
6. "This Is Your Life"   3:41
7. "I Can't Stay"   3:06
8. "Neon Tiger"   3:05
9. "The World We Live In"   4:40
10. "Goodnight, Travel Well"   6:51
CD bonus track (UK, Ireland and Australia)
No. Title Length
11. "A Crippling Blow"   3:36
CD bonus track (Japan)
No. Title Length
11. "A Crippling Blow"   3:37
12. "Forget About What I Said"   2:57
iTunes bonus tracks (US and Canada)
No. Title Length
11. "Tidal Wave"   4:13
12. "Forget About What I Said"   2:57
13. "Human" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Pre-order only)  
iTunes bonus tracks (UK, Japan and Australia)
No. Title Length
11. "A Crippling Blow"   3:36
12. "Forget About What I Said" (Pre-order only) 2:57

[edit] Personnel

[edit] The Killers

[edit] Additional personnel

  • Daniel de los Reyes – Percussion
  • Alex Dromgoole – Mixing Assistant
  • Dave Emery – Mixing Assistant
  • Tommy Marth – Saxophone
  • Paul Normansell – Artwork, Paintings
  • Stuart Price – Production, Mixing
  • Robert Root – Engineering
  • Ted Sablay – Engineering
  • Tim Young – Mastering

[edit] Promotion

After the release of the album, The Killers embarked on their third concert tour, the Day & Age Tour. The tour became their biggest effort to date, with sold-out shows across six continents.

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com 3/5 stars [16]
Allmusic 4/5 stars [17]
The A.V. Club (B–) [18]
Entertainment Weekly (B+) [19]
Consequence of Sound 2.5/5 stars [20]
The Guardian 3/5 stars [21]
NME (7/10) [22]
Pitchfork Media (5.9/10) [23]
PopMatters (8/10) [24]
Robert Christgau (dud) [25]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars [26]
Slant 3.5/5 stars [27]
Spin (7/10) [28]
Sputnikmusic 2/5 stars [29]
Wiki letter w.svg This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

[edit] Critical

Critical response to Day & Age was mostly positive. USA Today, which gave the album three-and-a-half stars, called the album "outstanding" and a "fresh and immediate arena-rock triumph". The newspaper continued, "The sound isn't just bigger, it's transnational, yielding the kind of radiant, whip-smart rock album you seldom hear in this day and age."[30] Billboard called Day & Age a "gamble" and said "if nothing else, this band keeps fans on their toes, and they're likely to buy in for another round."[31] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, commenting on the albums' influences from Duran Duran, Bono and David Bowie and ultimately saying "Like Vegas itself, Day & Age sometimes leans toward sensory overload. But the pull of its showgirls-and-fool's-gold glory is undeniable."[19]

[edit] Commercial

The album has been certified Multi-Platinum or Platinum in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Spain. The album has also been certified Gold in the US, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, and Sweden. This makes Day & Age the Killers' most far reaching international album. The album debuted at number one in the UK albums chart selling over 200,000 copies in its first week.[32] It reached number 6 in the USA selling over 193,000 copies in its first week.[33] It has since gone 4x Platinum in the United Kingdom selling 1,200,000+ copies (Feb 2010).[34] Day & Age also produced hit singles including the Platinum selling Human.

The album sold more than 2,700,000 copies in the first year of its release. To date, Day & Age has sold over 3 million records worldwide.

The cover for the album is featured on the packaging for all 7th generation Apple iPod Classic units.[35]

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 4
Austrian Albums Chart 9
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 12
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 41
Canadian Albums Chart 6
Croatian International Albums Chart[36] 6
Danish Albums Chart 19
Dutch Albums Chart 12
Finnish Albums Chart 17
French Albums Chart 57
German Albums Chart 8
Greek Albums Chart 1
Irish Albums Chart 1
Italian Albums Chart 21
Japanese Albums Chart 26
Mexican Albums Chart 3
New Zealand Albums Chart 2
Norwegian Albums Chart 1
Portuguese Albums Chart 5
Spanish Albums Chart 9
Swedish Albums Chart 8
Swiss Albums Chart 4
UK Albums Chart[34] 1
US Billboard 200[37] 6

[edit] Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[38] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[39] Gold 10,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Platinum 80,000^
Germany (BVMI)[41] Gold 100,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[42] Gold 7,500^
Ireland (IRMA)[43] 4× Platinum 60,000x
New Zealand (RIANZ)[44] Platinum 15,000^
Sweden (GLF)[45] Gold 20,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Gold 15,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States (RIAA)[48] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[49] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
Swiss Albums Chart[50] 72

[edit] Awards

Year Ceremony Award Result
2009 BRIT Awards Best International Album Nominated
2009 Shockwaves NME Awards Best Album Nominated
2009 Shockwaves NME Awards Best Album Artwork Nominated

[edit] Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Q UK 250 Best Albums of Q's Lifetime 1986-2010 2011 144[51]
Q UK 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008 22[52]
New York Post US Top 10 Albums of the Year 2008 2[53]
Rolling Stone US Readers’ Top 30 Albums of 2008 2008 1[54]
Rolling Stone US Top Album Covers of 2008 2008 1[55]

[edit] Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue #
Japan November 19, 2008 Universal CD, download UICL-1085
Italy November 21, 2008 Universal CD, download 602517872875
Australia November 22, 2008 Island CD, download 1785121
United Kingdom November 23, 2008 Mercury Download
CD 1785121
Vinyl LP 1785123
United States, Canada November 18, 2008 Island Vinyl LP, download B0012197-01
November 24, 2008 CD B0012197-02

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Killers Single-Latest". Clash. http://www.clashmusic.com/news/killers-single-latest. Retrieved April 5, 2011. 
  2. ^ [7&uf_system_http://islandrecords.com/site/newsinfo.php?uf_item_id=1-10660id=0 "Release Date Set For Kanye, The Killers and Ludacris"]. Island Records. 2008-11-10]. 7&uf_system_http://islandrecords.com/site/newsinfo.php?uf_item_id=1-10660id=0. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
  3. ^ Posted 11/24/08 (2008-11-24). "For The Killers, It's Back To The Future (Again), By John Norris - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1600069/20081124/killers_the.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  4. ^ Magazine, Discussions (2009-07-22). "Discussions Magazine Music Blog: THE KILLERS HIT U.S. AND EURO FESTIVAL STAGES". Discussionsmagazine.com. http://www.discussionsmagazine.com/2009/07/killers-hit-us-and-euro-festival-stages.html. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  5. ^ a b c Scaggs, Austin (2008-10-02), "Killers Return With Disco Epics". Rolling Stone. (1062):14
  6. ^ "Killers singer discusses long-distance LP". Digital Spy. 2008-05-09. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a95601/killers-singer-discusses-long-distance-lp.html. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
  7. ^ "The Killers Aim For Greatness On Third Album". FMQB. http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=836508. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  8. ^ a b "Brandon Flowers Talks Day & Age: Best Killers Disc Ever!!!". Rolling Stone. 2008-09-15. http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokingsection/2008/09/brandon-flowers-talks-day-age.php. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  9. ^ "The Killers interview on The Quietus". http://www.thequietus.com/articles/00637-the-killers-interviewed-world-exclusive. Retrieved 2008-10-31. 
  10. ^ [1][dead link]
  11. ^ [2][dead link]
  12. ^ http://www.thekillersfansite.com/article%20pics/rssept09.jpg
  13. ^ a b "The Killers". The Killers. http://www.thekillersmusic.com/. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  14. ^ "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/killers-prepping-live-dvd-covers-album-1003965994.story. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  15. ^ "UNICEF Press Release". UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_50171.html. Retrieved 2009-07-28. 
  16. ^ About.com review
  17. ^ Day & Age at Allmusic
  18. ^ The A.V. Club review
  19. ^ a b (November 28, 2008), "Day & Age". Entertainment Weekly. (1023):74
  20. ^ Consequence of Sound review
  21. ^ The Guardian review
  22. ^ NME review
  23. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  24. ^ PopMatters review
  25. ^ Robert Christgau review
  26. ^ Rolling Stone review
  27. ^ Slant review
  28. ^ Spin review
  29. ^ Sputnikmusic review
  30. ^ Edna Gundersen (November 24, 2008), "The Killers age with perfection". USA Today.
  31. ^ Menze, Jill (November 29, 2008), "Day & Age". Billboard. 120 (48):41
  32. ^ The Killers beat Guns N' Roses
  33. ^ "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/kanye-edges-gnr-ludacris-for-no-1-debut-1003918838.story. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  34. ^ a b "Official Album Chart". The Official UK Year-End Top 200 Charts for 2008. ChartsPlus. p. 5. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.
  35. ^ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611rsfQE5HL._AA1024_.jpg
  36. ^ "Top of the Shops - službena tjedna lista prodanih albuma u Hrvatskoj". Hdu-toplista.com. 2012-01-17. http://www.hdu-toplista.com/index.php?what=. Retrieved 2012-02-12. 
  37. ^ [3][dead link]
  38. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Albums.htm. 
  39. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Day & Age" (in German). IFPI Austria. http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin.  Enter Day & Age in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Day & Age". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Day+%26+Age&sa=&smt=0. 
  41. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Day & Age')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Day+%26+Age&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  42. ^ "Greek album certifications – Day & Age" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20100106230335/www.ifpi.gr/chart01.htm. 
  43. ^ "Irish album certifications – Day & Age". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/multi_platinum08.htm. 
  44. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". Radioscope.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110724195817/http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=62. Retrieved 10 January 2011. 
  45. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2009" (in Swedish) (PDF). IFPI Sweden. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/Guld-Platina-2009.pdf. 
  46. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Day & Age')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Day+%26+Age. 
  47. ^ "British album certifications – Day & Age". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Day & Age in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  48. ^ "American album certifications – Day & Age". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Day+%26+Age%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  49. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2008". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2008.html. 
  50. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2009. Retrieved February 6, 2009. 
  51. ^ Q Magazine Feb 11
  52. ^ Q Magazine Jan 09, pg.84
  53. ^ Aquilante, Dan (December 7, 2008). "Best Of 2008". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/12072008/entertainment/music/best_of_2008_142978.htm?page=0. 
  54. ^ "Rock List: Readers’ Top 30 Albums of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 15, 2008). Retrieved on December 16, 2008.
  55. ^ "[4]". Rolling Stone

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Spirit: Deluxe Edition by Leona Lewis		 UK number one album
November 30, 2008 – December 7, 2008		 Succeeded by
The Circus by Take That
The Killers
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