"Joseph, Better You Than Me" by the Killers and Elton John: A Review

The Killers Help Elton Find Himself with New Charity Single

From the first rumors of a Christmas collaboration for charity from the youthful pop\alt. rock band with a multiple personality disorder known as The Killers and the foul mouthed, egocentric, aging queen of pop we call Elton John, the rock cynics shuddered. To their credit, such a knee jerk reaction to a duet between these acts is founded. After all, neither The Killers nor Captain Fantastic have the best track record for consistency, with both frequently molding their acts to keep up with current pop trends.

Let us begin with the four-eyed knight of the music biz. While Sir Elton is a legend of classic rock and a beloved pop and soundtrack institution, it is hard to forget his many failed attempts to connect with today's youth and to stay relevant. An embarrassing duet on a Grammy Awards Show with bad boy rapper Eminem (where Mr. John appeared from behind a shower curtain clad in a purple and pink poke-a-dot suit belting out a chorus made famous by Dido) springs to mind. Oh, and who could forget the forgettable ACM duet of "Tiny Dancer" with country king Tim McGraw helping the Rocket Man butcher this classic tune from his 70's heyday. Elton can fill his videos with Mandy Moore and have Justin Timberlake wear his tacky wardrobe and sunglasses until his heart desires- it won't make him a teen idol or a reinvented rock god to music loving youth. Like it or not, Elton John is a dinosaur on the music scene these days. He can stop recycling cover versions of his old hits, trying to "recreate" the sound of his calssic 70's albums and doing cameos with young, hip stars- it won't help. The one thing Elton can do for the music scene is to go back to his roots- sit at his piano to write and sing the fresh kind of songs that made the world fall in love with the bespectacled tunesmith to begin with. Elton should just be Elton, and then the music will take care of itself. Thankfully and surprisingly, it is The Killers who have forced him to do the closest thing to that we've seen in years.