The Killers

I’m shocked at how underrated this band is. People act like they arent real musicians. Are there any other fans on dl?

by Anonymousreply 58May 14, 2022 6:11 PM

Love them and BFs solo album. Saw them at MSG a few years ago. Good show.

by Anonymousreply 1May 6, 2022 1:15 AM

I still enjoy their first album and its New Wave sound. I'm glad the band is still performing.

by Anonymousreply 2May 6, 2022 1:18 AM

Back in the Hot Fuss era, there were fans here until there was a controversy around whether the lead singer, Brandon Flowers, had or had not made a bunch of anti-gay comments in interviews.

No one can point to definitively to specific comments, but he cannot escape the allegation for some reason. Several media outlets reported it, but no one could point to an original source. No matter what he says, people still believe it.

I know I stopped listening to them.

by Anonymousreply 3May 6, 2022 1:25 AM

R3 So basically Donna Summer all over again?

I always thought Brandon Flowers was bisexual leaning towards gay. He seems like the sexually repressed Mormon guy type.

by Anonymousreply 4May 6, 2022 1:44 AM

Op ur 20 yrs late to the arena. They are not and have never been underrated. They’ve gotten lots of critical and commercial accolades over the past 20 yrs.

by Anonymousreply 5May 6, 2022 1:48 AM

Yes. Big fan.

You must remember OP that most DLers are over 65, maybe even 70 and despite all looking 10 years younger had stopped paying attention to any new acts long before the Killers came along.

Their cover of Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet" (which DL's Boomers will know) is one of my favorites.

ETA: The YouTube post seems to indicate they are touring this fall

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by Anonymousreply 6May 6, 2022 1:53 AM

"The Man" is another favorite and the video features Flowers' biceps in a wife beater

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by Anonymousreply 7May 6, 2022 1:56 AM

I looooooove them. They did a Christmas song, something about Red Boots, it is one of my most favorite Christmas/winter song now. Growing up in Chicago, that song speaks to what winter feels like.

by Anonymousreply 8May 6, 2022 3:57 AM

[quote][R3]So basically Donna Summer all over again?

Yes and no.

At the time, he appeared to back the mormon position regarding gay marriage and then later "clarified" his position when he started getting called out for it. He never said that he hated faggots or other overtly anti-gay comments.

Since then, his stance has seemingly shifted.

It seemed like The Killers were poised to succeed U2 as the superband of the new millenium. I always wonder whether this controversy contributed to their just being another band instead of hitting the stratosphere.

by Anonymousreply 9May 6, 2022 3:05 PM

I love Tranquelize Dr Lou Reed

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by Anonymousreply 10May 7, 2022 12:49 AM

They were incredible when I was 17 and Hot Fuss came out.

They turned into old men quickly. It’s like they went from playing to teenagers and people in their 20’s to playing to people in their 40’s and 50’s in a matter of years.

They’re like U2 to me now. I’m too young to be listening to them. And I’m almost 35.

by Anonymousreply 11May 7, 2022 12:53 AM

R9 “ It seemed like The Killers were poised to succeed U2 as the superband of the new millenium. I always wonder whether this controversy contributed to their just being another band instead of hitting the stratosphere.”

Well first off, U2 is not cool. At least to millennials and that’s who was buying the Killers first album.

It had nothing to do with the controversy, they just made like Adult contemporary rock and got old and boring.

Like remember Brandon’s solo album? He released this middle of the road rock album with like these boring 90’s producers that sounded like Diane Warren wrote the songs amidst the Lady Gaga dance era of pop.

He should have worked with RedOne and made some bops. Instead he chose to be like Billy Joel or something.

by Anonymousreply 12May 7, 2022 1:02 AM

Brandon Flowers is hot and cute. He's a devout Mormon though. I don't think he's homophobic because he named a lot of gay artists as his inspirations. He knows he has gay fanboys too. He grew up in Las Vegas not out in the Utah or Idaho bumfuck country

by Anonymousreply 13May 7, 2022 1:06 AM

[quote]Well first off, U2 is not cool. At least to millennials and that’s who was buying the Killers first album.

Well, first off, I said that they were poised to succeed U2 in the new millenium - you know, precisely because of their appeal to new audiences.

U2 was a gigantic band in the late-80s, 90s, and early 2000s. By 2004 when Hot Fuss came out, they may not have been as popular, but their album still beat out Coldplay for a grammy for album of the year and their concerts were still selling out huge stadium dates across the world.

by Anonymousreply 14May 7, 2022 1:14 AM

R6, that is one of my faves as well. BF has one of the most expressive voices at times.

by Anonymousreply 15May 7, 2022 1:39 AM

I respect BF more for making the music he wanted to rather than trying to be trendy.

by Anonymousreply 16May 7, 2022 4:38 AM

Sawdust is a great album. I love this song

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by Anonymousreply 17May 7, 2022 4:40 AM

This will always be my favorite by then

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by Anonymousreply 18May 7, 2022 4:42 AM

Ohh....I thought the thread was about...

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by Anonymousreply 19May 7, 2022 4:42 AM

When You Were Young and Human are great songs.

by Anonymousreply 20May 7, 2022 3:54 PM

R12 "Like remember Brandon’s solo album? He released this middle of the road rock album with like these"

Like

by Anonymousreply 22May 7, 2022 4:38 PM

R14 Because of old people. I didn’t grow up with them ever being cool, their songs on VH1 were cute but U2 was Mom and Dad music.

The Killers was teenage music and they suddenly turned into Mom & Dad music by their next album.

by Anonymousreply 23May 7, 2022 4:51 PM

[quote]I didn’t grow up

Apparently.

Can't wait to hear your opinion about The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, and Pink Floyd.

by Anonymousreply 24May 7, 2022 5:20 PM

[quote]You must remember OP that most DLers are over 65, maybe even 70 and despite all looking 10 years younger had stopped paying attention to any new acts long before the Killers came along.

DL's eldergays stopped paying attention to pop culture and the world in general when Dynasty and Designing Women went off the air. They're stuck in a strange time warp where the last 30 years never happened.

by Anonymousreply 25May 7, 2022 5:47 PM

The Killers might be the last of the big(ish) rock bands. Kings of Leon, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay being the only other ones I can think of since 2000.

So they have that going for them

I actually loved their second album the best. Nothing really since, however.

by Anonymousreply 26May 7, 2022 11:04 PM

What happened to One Republic, Franz Ferdinand, Hoobastank, Guster, Interpol, and Modest Mouse who were also all on the cusp of hitting big, then petered out.

[quote]The Killers might be the last of the big(ish) rock bands. Kings of Leon, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay being the only other ones I can think of since 2000.

Wouldn't Green Day be in this group also?

by Anonymousreply 27May 7, 2022 11:15 PM

The Strokes and Libertines were pretty big in the 2000s.

Green Day is more 90s though they enjoyed success into the mid-2000s

by Anonymousreply 28May 7, 2022 11:16 PM

I remember 30 Seconds to Mars was a big deal but mainly because of pretty boy Jared Leto who served as eye candy for the videos.

by Anonymousreply 29May 7, 2022 11:19 PM

R27, Green Day is 100% a 90s band. I saw them in 1994 when I was a freshman! They just carried over to the 2000s.

I love Interpol and Modest Mouse, but they never really had much mainstream success. One Republic is like Maroon 5: Not really a rock band. Just a pop band. Franz had one big hit, were never the "biggest band in the world" like the others I mentioned. Guster was just an indie band. Nothing more. The National, Arcade Fire, and bunch of others were both bigger and better. But none huge.

R28, The Strokes were big, but, again, not the biggest band in the world. At the time of their rise, Coldplay and The Killers were both bigger. So where the White Stripes for that matter.

by Anonymousreply 30May 7, 2022 11:20 PM

Forgot about The White Stripes. I recently learned The Black Keys have a new album. They weren't huge huge but they had a strong following for their blues rock revival sound.

There's also the Ting-Tings that had that one hit and disappeared.

by Anonymousreply 31May 7, 2022 11:22 PM

R31, now that I think about it, The White Stripes could have been huge. White Blood Cells had a slew of hits. And Elephant had Seven Nation Army (I just love that damn song). But then they got a little to weird (which I loved) with Icky Thump and sales died.

by Anonymousreply 32May 7, 2022 11:25 PM

They are a great band. Delighted to see a thread about them here. Human is my personal favourite song. I also love the Jacque du Cont remix of Mr. Brightside and the Corsten Ferry remix of Human. Epic.

by Anonymousreply 33May 7, 2022 11:26 PM

r32 it seemed like the White Stripes were on the verge of getting bigger but then as you said they just got too weird.

by Anonymousreply 35May 7, 2022 11:28 PM

OP, The Killers are one of my favorite bands of all time.

Totally underrated, for sure!

by Anonymousreply 36May 7, 2022 11:45 PM

I was shocked to learn that Jack and Meg White were a married couple. I thought they were siblings. And they still performed even after they divorced.

by Anonymousreply 37May 7, 2022 11:59 PM

It's because Brandon was outed as a Mormon. A lot of people lost their hard on for the band after that.

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by Anonymousreply 38May 8, 2022 12:09 AM

Brendan Urie was a Mormon too but no longer practicing.

by Anonymousreply 39May 8, 2022 12:14 AM

R27 Those bands were big to me. Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse are amazing. They don’t have to sell out and be Coldplay and U2, it’s ok to stay The Pixies and The Smiths.

Hoobastank doesn’t fit into that group, they were just emo pop crap.

by Anonymousreply 40May 8, 2022 12:18 AM

R35 But who cares? White Stripes would have done absolutely nothing as a “bigger” band.

Look at what happened to Maroon 5. They were a respectable decent band at one point.

by Anonymousreply 41May 8, 2022 12:20 AM

R24 Grandpa rock. Why don’t you add Michael Jackson, Queen, and Journey on there for the 80’s too.

by Anonymousreply 42May 8, 2022 12:22 AM

Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin lose their luster when you listen to old Delta, Piedmont and Texas blues they copied. Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Sam Chatmon, Big Mama Thornton, Charley Patton, John Lee Hooker, etc.

by Anonymousreply 43May 8, 2022 12:25 AM

I loved Hot Fuss, but then Brandon decided he wanted to be Springsteen with bombast, and they lost me.

by Anonymousreply 44May 8, 2022 12:27 AM

Yup. Agree with R44, the Springsteen fixation and pitched up voice killed all the cool.

by Anonymousreply 45May 8, 2022 12:32 AM

I liked Brandon's sophomore solo album, The Desired Effect. He's cute as hell.

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by Anonymousreply 47May 8, 2022 7:04 AM

Underrated? Yeesh, OP. What, did you JUST discover them for yourself?

Here's their HUGE list of accolades for everything from their albums, their singles, their live performances, their videos, and their sales.

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by Anonymousreply 48May 8, 2022 8:38 AM

Brandon is hot. I also loved his second solo album.

by Anonymousreply 49May 8, 2022 9:50 AM

He sounds so country. I think it's the Utah accent but he sounds like could be from Arkansas or Alabama.

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by Anonymousreply 50May 11, 2022 2:58 AM

[quote] DL's eldergays stopped paying attention to pop culture and the world in general when Dynasty and Designing Women went off the air. They're stuck in a strange time warp where the last 30 years never happened.

Oh, fuck the entire way off, cuntscab. Seriously.

I'm an eldergay (or on the cusp of it) who is aware of culture events after 2000 and yes, likes the Killers. We've had quite a few discussions here about the band in general and Brandon specifically.

Supposedly, he and Rufus Wainwright had an affairette - or at least a night of passion. This Tumblr post implies they didn't but they totally did.

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by Anonymousreply 51May 11, 2022 3:10 AM

I can buy Brandon and Timberlake hooking up. Sir Elton had to go home.

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by Anonymousreply 54May 11, 2022 3:22 AM

Flowers and Gaga do the worst Springsteen impressions. They’re inspired the worst part of his music.

Bleachers’ “Stop Making This Heart” was Springsteen done right.

by Anonymousreply 55May 11, 2022 3:32 AM

My favorite Killers song. Brandon was a cutie, I think he was at his peak at a concert in Hyde Park maybe 2009- 2010?

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by Anonymousreply 56May 11, 2022 12:12 PM

The fake nudes on this JUB thread

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by Anonymousreply 57May 12, 2022 12:57 AM

I like how Brandon Flowers is clearly on the side of Democrats. People would assume because he's a Mormon, he'd be a MAGAt and Republicunt but he's not. Individual Mormons can be liberal just like Protestants and Catholics even if the official congregation is right-wing. He mentioned one of his grandparents immigrated from Lithuania and dealt with xenophobia which made him sympathetic to immigrants coming to The US for better opportunities. He wrote this song about gun violence and the "build the wall" hysteria.

[quote] “We dishonor our values, our ancestors and our heritage when we tear gas our brothers and sisters seeking asylum,” Flowers continued. “I see my family in the faces of these vulnerable people. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that my grandmother and her family immigrated from Lithuania to escape the U.S.S.R.’s oppression. They chose to leave everything they knew behind to come to America and work grueling jobs in dangerous coal mines, rather than endure tyranny at home.”

[quote] “I think it’s a very important time right now,” he said. “And ‘enough was enough’ is basically where it comes from. It started in my mind around when Sandy Hook happened, and as a father how that affected me. And then it just started stacking up – things like Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, things like what’s happening at the wall. This stuff didn’t seem to be in harmony with the values that I believe my country was founded on. I would start the song and then I would put it away and I’d say, ‘I’m not the guy to do this,’ or I’d feel inadequate, waiting, somebody’s going to write this song. Then it just piled up … Las Vegas, Orlando, Parkland, and it just kept coming and I was just like, I have to get this out.”

That makes him incredibly sexy to me.

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by Anonymousreply 58May 14, 2022 6:11 PM

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