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The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci Jr. Is Still Flattered the Strokes Liked His Band

SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 21: Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr of the band The Killers visits the Infiniti Red Bull racing garage during qualifying for the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 21, 2013 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Once upon a time, the young Strokes looked at the Killers‘ runaway hit “Mr. Brightside” and thought: What have they got that we don’t? “We had conversations that went along the lines of, ‘Gosh, I think our songs are better than “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers, but how come that’s the one everyone is listening to?,’” the Strokes’ Nick Valensi is quoted saying in Meet Me in the Bathroom, Lizzy Goodman’s new oral history of rock ‘n’ roll in the ’00s.

In a recent interview with NME, Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. was asked to reflect on this potential Killers/Strokes rivalry, some 15 years after the fact. Vannucci: “I certainly didn’t [feel a rivalry], and I don’t think anybody in the band really would even put ourselves in the same boat. We always thought those guys were so much more… above us. It’s kind of flattering just to hear them talking about our band, even now. Especially the Strokes. They’re one of the baddest rock bands out there.”

There you have it—conclusive proof that either a) the Strokes were the better band or b) the Killers remain much too nice to talk shit in public. The Killers’ new album Wonderful Wonderful is expected this September; watch Vannucci’s response for yourself below.