Andy, You're a Star

A guy named Andy Messersmith went to school with Brandon Flowers. They went to Juab High School in Nephi, Utah, and Andy was the popular sports star, and he tortured Brandon and made his time there miserable. So Brandon wrote this song sarcastically. Most ironic thing: Brandon Flowers is a famous, rich celebrity, and Andy Messersmith still works at Juab High School in Nephi, as a gym teacher. Karma.

Found this explanation of "Hot Fuss" online. Not sure who the author is...but he or she is spot on. I cleaned it up a bit and put in my own interpretation: An Examination of the Homosexual Subtext of The Killers' "Hot Fuss" 0. Andy, You're a Star - The key to the puzzle, without a doubt, is ''Andy, You're a Star.'' The most transparent of the songs on the album, our narrator pines for the seemingly untouchable (and attached) high school jock. On the field he's incredible and he's leaving his legacy on the school, but he's also rolling around on the mats with the boys with more fervor than wrestling demands. The narrator says, explicitly, ''in a car with a girl-promise me she's not your world, 'cause Andy, you're a star.''Sure, it could be a platonic envy or admiration of a small-town boy with a too-big-for-his-britches star quality, but the town isn't admiring him; they're judging him-and the verdict is in. We suspect Andy likes boys. And our narrator likes Andy. Chronologically, though, the story line doesn't start with ''Andy, You're A Star.'' It begins with: 1. Smile Like You Mean It - sets the tone for the emotional environment of the relationship between our narrator and Andy. It's all about denying what's truly there, yet lamenting the loss of innocence as each male character accepts his true desires. 2. Change Your Mind - is the beginning of the connection between the two boys. Mr. Flowers proclaimed the song ''the sweetest''the Killers have done, and it's true. It's the most promising, most hopeful song on the album, and reeks of the possibilities of a new romance. Yet because this romance is between our narrator and Andy, the sweetness of the song is somewhat diluted with suspicion, shame, and guilt. Still, they can?t deny that they've ''both felt like this before.'' 3. Somebody Told Me - the story begins to become clearer. The twisted genders of the boyfriends and girlfriends in the chorus become a coded inquiry from our narrator to Andy to see exactly whether or not he's interested. The proverbial ''somebody'' told him that he had a boyfriend, who looked a lot like one of the narrator's old ''girlfriends.'' The narrator has had it with playing games 4. On Top - In the overtly homoerotic "On Top" the two get together. Still, leaving each other with a cigarette and a handshake after their trysts, they can?t acknowledge to other people what?s truly going on. 5. Mr. Brightside - The most significant of those other people is Andy's girlfriend, Jenny. Our narrator's jealousy over Jenny's role in Andy's life permeates the entire album, but is specifically dealt with in "Mr. Brightside," in which the narrator is not possessive of the ''she,'' but rather jealous of her time with the ''he.''It seems that Jenny is an acquaintance of the narrator's; she fuels his jealousy with her presence in both his and Andy's life. 6. Midnight Show - By the Killers' own admittance, a murder occurs on this album. It's Jenny, and the narrator commits the murder. This is all a given. The band, however, does not as explicitly state the gay love theme that drives the murder. It seems not only that the narrator kills Jenny, but also that Andy was there and was involved in the actual process; someone is holding Jenny down, imploring an accomplice to ''drive faster.'' 7. Jenny was a Friend of Mine - Post-murder (which takes place outside, in the rain, but doesn't involve drowning-personally, I believe she was strangled), the narrator denies the charges, telling his interrogators that Jenny was a friend of his and he had no motive to commit such a crime. However, if we were to believe that this album depicts a heterosexual relationship, why would our narrator declare Jenny simply a friend? 8. All These Things That I've Done - Guilt sets in after the crime. It seems that the two men cannot stay together. And finally: 9. Everything Will Be Alright - The narrator's attempts (including "All These Things That I've Done") to not only console himself, but also the boy he is losing. 10. Believe Me, Natalie - Which leaves the listener with ''Believe Me, Natalie.How does it fit in? I tried to make this whole theory work with the narrator having a girlfriend as well, but I just don't think it's true. I've come to the conclusion that the Killers are too smart not to have a good old-fashioned red herring on the album. It's sort of in the interest of the narrator's character to detract attention from the secret subplot with a song that doesn't relate to the story, but rather talks about the 1970's disco scene coming to an end. Still, though the song is a red herring, it does invite the listener to explore what's hidden under the Monet, just below the surface.

I think the song talks about how the singer is stalking Andy, but he is imaging about how he would be with Andy. 'In a car with a girl, promise me she's not your world', tells me he's stalking him and is jealous of the girl cause he knows Andy isn't gay but he tries to image it anyway. That's what I think. Not very sure.

THIS IS LEGIT, I PROMISE: okay, brandon flowers lived in Nephi, Utah, about 30 miles from where I live. the song is about ANDY, a wrestling star at Juab high school. his plaques seriously drape the halls. THIS SONG IS MOCKING ANDY. something to do with a prom incident where andy went with a girl brandon asked...or something like that. Andy is actually the wrestling coach/PE teacher at my school, NSH, imagine that. i was in his class today and asked him about it. Peaceeee.

Listening to this song, I picture it almost like he's singing it to a kid that is throwing all his effort to some white trash girl who's just gonna break his heart...and he's got all this potential, but he doesn't realize it...he's too caught up chasing tail. So, Brandon's telling him, 'promise me she's not your world, cuz you're a star.' and maybe you or nobody else sees it...but i do. that's kinda how i feel this song.

This is what Brandon said about what inspired the song: “I think it came from…I wouldn't say that I was an outcast at school, but when you’re at school, it’s always the case that the more athletically-gifted kids, the popular kids, are somewhat glorified, and that frustrated me a bit. I guess I was trying to be ironic with that song, and that’s where it stemmed from.”

The lyrics certainly convey a certain level of "stalker-ness," but I also get the impression that this song is set on the high school level. For some reason, whenever I hear it, I envisioned some slightly-disturbed kid, perhaps a gay boy, who is obsessed with one of the school's athletes. For example: "On the match with the boys" conjures up images of wrestling, so maybe he is on the wrestling team. "On the field I remember you were incredible" suggests, to me at least, an athletic field. Football, or soccer, perhaps. And, most strongly, "leave your legacy in gold on the plaques that line the hall." Legacy, based on the other lyrics, seems like an athletic legacy -- championship games, most valuable player, et cetera. These line the halls of the locker oom, on which the singer requests he leave his number. And at the risk of over-interpretation, maybe he's talking about a locker room? With regards to the gay male aspect, I really don't have much support; it just feels like that's the scenario, though I could be wrong. The "hey shut up, hey shut up" lyrics strike me as being the other jocks at this high school telling the school "fag" to "shut up," and suggests that the stalker / singer is considered an outcast by the other students.

its about andy messersmith i think thats how you spell his name but i know andy he was really good at wrestling and football and he was the wrestling coach at my high school and he coached my brother i have heard two stories that andy was mean to brandon and also that they were friends but im pretty sure they were friends but andy hates talking about it my sister asked him and he got a little mad but yeah its about him

The guitar in this is really beautiful!

Not sure if this song is not sarcastic? Andy was Brandon's sports' coach at high school who was mean to him.