Sunday, January 16, 2005

Do the Killers Sound Like the Cure?

This morning we watched "Saturday Night Live," recorded from the night before. To me, The Killers sound a little like The Cure and I could even see some Robert Smith mannerisms in the lead singer from time to time. My husband, who actually owns The Cure records & CDs that we have, doesn't see it. Maybe it's me. I often hear overtones of other riffs, other groups, when I listen to music.

I have this terrible urge to go out on Google to see if others see a similar similarity, but if I do that, I'll never get any writing done today.

Oh, well. Does it matter? I like what I heard, regardless.

In the meantime, I'll just try to write while "Well somebody told me/you had a boyfriend/who looks like a girlfriend..." plays an endless loop in my head.


What I'm Reading Now...
  • Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
  • The White Room by A. J. Matthews
  • A Voice in the Forest by Jimahl di Fiosa
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style by Laurie E. Rozakis



Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

i totally agree...it hit me when i was listening to the cure greatest hits album...the killers whole synth thing is the same as the cure's and the way brandon flowers sings is really close to robert smith

Anonymous said...

Well, I found this by searching "the killers the cure" to see if anybody else shared the same opinion, much like yourself.

I almost thought I was listening to the cure at one point and had to take a look at itunes.

Anonymous said...

Yeah!... i came to that page searching exactly the same words than the second anonymous (i'm the third one he)... it's true the voice of the killer's singer turns at time very close to the robert smith's one...

SentientNone said...

that kinda scary, my google search was "the killers the cure" too.

Yeah, while they have different accents, theres a clear similarity in how they carry their voice.

Anonymous said...

That makes 4 of us. The song which most mimics The Cure is "Believe Me Natalie" sounds like it should be on The Cures Disintegration album.

Unknown said...

Me too me too!! the killers the cure... interesting.

fdx99 said...

The Cure some...but was watching one hit wonders on VH1...does anyone remember Wall of Voodoo that did the song Mexican Radio? Video at You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLaUHdvjehU seemed to influence The Killers -- All the Things that I've Done video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXkWW_q_OTM

Anonymous said...

I was also brought to this blog by a "the killers the cure" search.

I'm listening to "Goodnight, Travel Well" and was struck by how much it sounds like a Cure song.

P.S. Would be nice if these comments had the year in the timestamp instead of just the time.

Anonymous said...

Haha here is another one searching the same words and having the same opinion XD

It's freaky really haha

Anonymous said...

Agree. Like others I did the search in google being almost sure that I would find people that were thinking the same thing. And by the way it's not only the singer. If you listen to their guitars they are very similar to The Cure. I would be surprise if they do not admit the Cure as one of their big influences.

Anonymous said...

I just searched The Cure and The Killers on Google haha

If I say it people think I'm crazy I'm just glad there's more people who think like me.

And if you're still interested I'm writing a post about this and it should be out today.

but really who can listen to Wrong Number and don't think of The killers?

Diegolo said...

Me was "the cure the killers" while listening "Just Like Heaven"

Anonymous said...

lol I googled "the killers the cure" too! ok it seems many people can see/hear the simillarity...

Anonymous said...

yup. i googled them both and totally agree.

Carlos said...

The Killers yhe Cure technically, but I meant the killers the cure. Lmao, this is some kind of cosmic link... And I TOTALLY agree. I thought it was the same singer maybe...

Anonymous said...

Creepy, "the killers the cure" too. I checked wikipedia first, though. Says nothing about the killers' influences. But c'mon if you listen to one song of each, it's pretty obvious.

Anonymous said...

"The End Of The World" is like the blueprint for the Killers' whole career.

Anonymous said...

i thought i was the only one! and its scary because i also found this by searching the killer the cure..

Unknown said...

i dont really "see" but my boss says he thinks so too (that they sound alike)... at least now I can tell him he's not the only one :D


nice post

Anonymous said...

Am I late for posting a comment? :p I was watching interviews from Robert Smith and the way he talks with the interviewer, and about the succesfull of the band, how shy he is and how he always says in the beggining of the cure that it was a great band, and that he doesn´t care what other people think, etc, ... for a moment a thought I was listening to Brandon Speech, they are way too similares, but Robert came first... so Love both bands, and now that i´m thinking maybe this is why a like them too (and the guyliner too haha)

Anonymous said...

Hi. My search was "brandon flowers robert smith" and here I am with the same thoughts. I was listening to Crystal Castles - Not In Love ft. Robert Smith when it hit me. They are both great musicians with amazing voices and I'm happy I found some people who also hear the similarity. This is really interesting.

Melanie said...

I totally agree with you!!! I am a devoted Cure fan, and their albums are some of the few that I can listen all the through without skipping tracks. Now I find myself listening to The Killers on a serious loop. I do find many similarities between Robert Smith and Brandon Flowers' voices. I think they are both amazing singers,songwriters and musicians... Thank God good music isn't dead!

Anonymous said...

in the last time, my girlfriend listen a lot "the killers". (i dont hear it, just saw it in my youtubeactivities)

first time i listend, i said "thats sounds like the cure" and she said " hm...i dont think so"

then googled "the killers the cure" and found dis on de topspot.

so who got the better ears bitch?

THX for the proof that im not stupid!!!

Unknown said...

I knew I wasn't the only one :) although Cure sounds a bit more dark and lyrical than the killers. Which is why any of us would hear either band.

Unknown said...

Got here by typing "The Cure The Killers" in Google.

Obvious reverence/emulation/quasi-plagiarism in sound and style.

Kudos to The Cure for inspiring a pretty good knock-off.

Anonymous said...

http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/14/the-killers-singer-brandon-flowers-already-planning-his-funeral-before-he-moves-on-to-his-afterlife-4186848/

The Somebody Told Me hitmaker, who is a devout follower of the Latter Day Saint movement Christian religious offshoot, admits he has his brother, Shane, to thank for his musical experiences.

‘I first heard Just Like Heaven by The Cure through my brother, who was very into alternative music,’ he told NME magazine.

‘His bedroom was a shrine to bands. I would sneak in and look at his posters of The Smiths with dead actors on them and The Cure, Robert Smith with all his make-up on, and just take it all in.

‘I remember him blaring Just Like Heaven and me standing by the door, getting into that sweet melody.’

I guess that he really liked the cure.

BTW I was listening to an 80's radio station and was like wait, the killers aren't from the 80's... So yeah I'm a bit younger... But I have been listening to 80 music since before I started paying attention to song titles and bands.

--23 year old 80's kid

Anonymous said...

Much like one of the posts above, I was led here by a google search of "brandon flowers robert smith." Having been an avid fan of both The Cure and The Killers for quite awhile, it's shocking that I never made the connection..and then I heard Not In Love by Crystal Castles and..bam. There you go. Now, I can't listen to a Cure song without thinking "I'm coming outta my cage and I'm doing just fine."

29-year-old, avid music fan from Australia.

24/01/15.

Diana F. said...

Totally agree ... more someone found the live sound terrible ?

Anonymous said...

Hah... Since someone else commented here in 2015, I will too. Just Googled "the killers the cure" and was brought here. haha... A decade later and it is still working. I was unhealthily addicted to the cure back in the 80's - yes, they sound alike.

Anonymous said...

Haha, I'm writing this in late 2016, having googled the same keywords. I've enjoyed both bands for quite a long while (though I don't think The Killers ever topped the urgency and sheer pop delight of their first album, while The Cure has one of the most unbelievably rewarding discographies of any band in the last 40 years.) However, it was only this summer as we ended up listening to Hot Fuss on repeat during a long car ride that it struck me how similar it is to the work of The Cure. Aside from the synths and lead vocals, I also feel like, for instance, the bassline in Jenny Was a Friend of Mine totally makes the song and in that it's very strongly reminiscent of Simon Gallup's bass work.

Anonymous said...

I always Google this since the time the killers first song, I've been into the smiths and the cure since I was 16, I instantly recognized the similarities to both bands, I practically screamed the house down when Brandon revealed he was smiths / cure fan. I'm bloody 43. But"what difference does it make"in still a bonkers fan!

Unknown said...

I think the song "bones" sounds like a cure song for some reason

Bobus said...

Today is August 6th 2017 and I'm watching the killers performance at Lollapalooza and had the same thought as others I believe that the Killers music is influenced by The Cure most definitely

Verónica López said...

Omg we are in 2018 and I keep coming back to this topic/page every time I find myself listening to The cure and I hear that Brandon Flowers resemblance in Robert smith manner, voice, mostly from the killers early era. I love both bands. V

nope said...

Here it was a "brandon flowers robert smith" google search too! (25, brazilian fan of the cure - 05/2018)
I was watching some concert videos from The Cure, then I finished it and went to my twitter spending some time. So someone posted a lyric from Mr. Brightside and I opened Youtube again to listen it. And then BOOOM!
I was like "omg, am I crazy after listening so much The Cure that now I'm seeing Robert Smith everywhere? Or someone else has noticed it too?" hahaha

Seriously, now that I'm listening a lot of songs of The Killers (Hot Fuss album) it became much still more evident to me: yes, there are many similarities, and not just between both vocalists but in the music constructions and style too.

(OMG LISTEN UP TO "JENNY WAS A FRIEND OF MINE"!!)

azlv said...

Not sure what took me so long to figure it out, but I also landed here from a killers/Brandon Flowers & the cure/Robert Smith search. Glad to know I’m not alone!

Thekillersthecure said...

I too searched up “The killers the cure”

Thekillersthecure said...

“The killers the cure”, me too lol

Thekillersthecure said...

“The killers the cure”, me too lol

Lovecat86 said...

Love The Cure, hate The Killers so I'm gonna say no.