"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 Wales ...

band

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

and was written by lead vocalist

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his ...

. It is the fifth track on their second studio album ''

Sam's Town ''Sam's Town'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released on September 27, 2006, by Island Records. Regarding the album, frontman Brandon Flowers noted that he "wanted to create an album that captured, chron ...

'', 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 American single. Bassist

Mark Stoermer Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer ha ...

plays guitar on this track, with Flowers playing the bass.

Background

The B-sides are a cover of Dire Straits' " Romeo and Juliet" and an acoustic version of "Sam's Town" both recorded live at Abbey Road Studios for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

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, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machine ...

''. "For Reasons Unknown" also appeared on their 2013 compilation album ''Direct Hits''. Similarly to ''

'', 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 state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, 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 w ...

. '' Billboard'' 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 The International Music Feed was a music channel launched in 2005 broadcasting in the United States. IMF had a broad music policy focusing on music from around the world. The channel ceased operating in March 2008. It was the only channel in the ...

and

MTV Two MTV Rocks (formerly MTV Two, MTV2 Europe and M2) was a British pay television music channel that was operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music. Format and history The s ...

as well as various other UK music channels. The video was shot in black-and-white, and has already premiered on '' MuchMusic'' in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. 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 which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

'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, a ...

as a single.

Track listing

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

Charts

References

{{authority control 2000s 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