Keeping with their nascent holiday tradition, the Killers released their fourth Christmas single yesterday, this one titled “Happy Birthday Guadalupe.” The mariachi-flavored track, recorded miles away from whatever hemisphere produced Day & Age, features guest spots from two bands that opened for the Killers during their recent tour, Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx. The single was released digitally via (RED) on World AIDS Day and all proceeds from the track will go toward the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.
The video for “Happy Birthday Guadalupe,” which is also available for digital download, follows a lonesome, grizzled cowboy, played by none other than Beverly Hills 90210 thespian Luke Perry, as he searches the desert for his long-lost love. It’s sort of like Paris, Texas if that movie was soundtracked by a Tijuana nightclub band. The imagery of the video screams Day of the Dead more than it does “Feliz Navidad” (there’s nary a Christmas tree in sight), but Killers fans are likely just happy to be unwrapping a new song from Brandon Flowers and company this holiday season.
As Rolling Stone has previously reported, past Killers Christmas singles have seen the band collaborate with the likes of Elton John and the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, as was the case with 2008’s Xmas gift “Joseph, Better You Than Me.” In 2007, they offered up “Don’t Shoot Me, Santa,” and the whole tradition kicked off in 2006 with “A Great Big Sled.”
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Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily