"For Reasons Unknown" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

and was written by lead vocalist

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, which he formed with Dave Ke ...

. It is the fifth track on their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Sam's Town'', released in October 2006. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2007, and also the fourth and final

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n single. It is the only studio recording of a song by the band where Flowers plays bass guitar, with bassist Mark Stoermer playing guitar on the track.

Background

The B-sides are a cover of

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

' "

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

" and an acoustic version of "Sam's Town" both recorded live at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

show '' Live from Abbey Road'', and later featured on their compilation album ''

Sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable p ...

''. "For Reasons Unknown" also appeared on their 2013 compilation album ''Direct Hits''. Similarly to '' Sam's Town'', the cover art features a

Desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

, the state mammal of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, where the Killers are from.

Reception

Critical

The song received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said of the track, "this synth-free rocker opens with ominous multitrack vocals and grinding fuzz guitars and builds to a huge pop chorus as Flowers dances on the edge of a relentlessly pumped groove."

Music video

The video was premiered in the UK on May 18, 2007 and was shown on the International Music Feed and MTV Two as well as various other UK music channels. The video was shot in black-and-white, and has already premiered on ''

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

'' in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The video premiered on Australian music channels on .

Chart performance

It became one of their lowest charting singles in the UK to date, peaking at #53 on July 1, 2007, spending only one week in the UK Top 75. This song was #78 on

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay television channel that was launched on 5 May 1995 as a standalone pay television service. The channel was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History Pre-launch The first incarnation of MTV Asia was launched on ...

's list of the Top 100 Hits of 2007.

"Top 100 Hits List"
. Retrieved 2007-12-27 Singer

has stated that they did not "promote" the single like previous ones, stating four singles for the album was too much, and said he wished they hadn't released

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

as a single.

Track listing

UK CD: # "For Reasons Unknown" – 3:31 # "

" (Live at

) – 5:25 UK 7": # "For Reasons Unknown" – 3:31 # "Sam's Town" (Live at Abbey Road Studios) – 3:45

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control Island Records singles The Killers songs 2006 songs 2007 singles Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Brandon Flowers Rock ballads Music videos directed by Diane Martel Mercury Records singles Black-and-white music videos