Hey, Sleepwalker….
Brandon Flowers Playlist
⬆️ YouTube Playlist ⬆️
Our Creator Spotlight - Brandon Flowers
“There gonna be opposition, ain’t no way around it. If your looking for strong and steady, well baby, you it.” - Dying Breed
When you’re younger you find people to look up to. That can be your parents, religious figures, athletes, tech gurus, artists, and the list goes on and on. Remember, that time of being a young teenager finding your favorite band. Little by little the music, art, and with life’s chaos you begin pull inspiration from those you look up to.
Those influences help color the lens we see our own world.
As I have gotten older I have started a new wave of influence in my late 30s. I wasn’t feeling the same connection to people like Bono, Lindsey Buckingham, Brian Wilson, or Stephen King. All of whom are much older than I am.
As I am I am getting older I started connecting to creators closer to my age.
I was always a fan of the Killers and Brandon Flowers. Their stadium rock anthems can make you feel like you’re driving 100 mph while sitting in Tasteful beans listening to their music.
Brandon Flowers moved to Las Vegas to chase his dream. He signed his record deal and quit his “door man” gig. When The Killers’ first album released, Hot Fuss, it was a massive hit in June of 2004 - you knew, what you were hearing wasn’t going to just be the normal 15 minutes of fame.
“Reach for the summit.” - When the Dreams Run Dry
You ever have that friend that says “I don’t like their new stuff.” When talking about a band, writer, or influence. Most of the time they will reference back to their hits.
People like to pick the most popular fruit from a creators tree.
Brandon ‘s last two albums with the Killers, Imploding the Mirage and Pressure Machine is his best work. His most inspiring work. Why?
“If you could see through the banner of the sun, into eternity’s eyes like a vision reaching down to you, would you turn away? What if it knew by your name?” - My Own Soul’s Warning
He moved his family back to the town he grew up in Utah. He left the glitz and glam of Las Vegas - “natural power of the glow” - he sings.
He left a place he never thought he would. Las Vegas was where his dreams came true, where he achieved his wildest dreams. You can hear his resistance to leaving throughout his lyrics but, there was something bigger than him pulling him out of Las Vegas.
I can relate to this. I never thought I would ever leave a place where family, friends, and 40 years of my life were spent in my hometown just to live in a whole other place. The words Brandon Flowers pours into both of these latest albums have helped me not just as a writer but as a father and husband.
After those two albums I started looking into what kind of person Brandon Flowers is. His personality, his relationships, his children, their ages, and this unmistakable connection that I have with his ART.
As he creates.
Through His influence.
I create.
Like an immovable spinning stain glass window of influence through my universe.
Parallels between influences start to take shape. It’s not just enjoying the music, the message and the inspiration begin to get clearer.
Brandon Flowers is a year older than I am, he has three teenage boys one year older than all three of my teenage boys. He married his wife the same year I married mine, whom he’s still with. He moved to a small town and now, he is doing the best work of his life.
“Everyone is afraid of something, even the strongest man alive.” - Sleepwalker
I wanted to share with you a small playlist of songs from the last two albums he created with The Killers.
Brandon Flowers Playlist on YouTube Music
Quick 10 songs from the last two albums from Brandon Flowers and The Killers that I chose that have inspired me over the last two months. Here is a list of the song titles with a great “quote” attached to each song.
Sleepwalker
“are you getting ready to rise, it’s time to begin, it doesn’t come from without it comes from within.”
Pressure Machine
“Don’t you feel the time slipping away? It ain’t funny at all, it’s gonna break your heart one day.”
My Own Soul’s Warning
“it got me thinking, no matter how far, I just wanted to get back to where you are.”
boy
“these streets weren’t meant to house jet-fueled engine dreams”
In Another Life
“I passed a couple kids holding hands in the street tonight, they reminder me of us - in another life”
Dying Breed
“The coveted touch of a girl in love”
Caution
“It’s some kind of sin, to live your own whole, on a ‘might’ve been’ - Featuring a guitar solo from Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac 🎸 They do play Go Your Own Way afterwards ⬇️
Quiet Town
“When we first heard opioid stories, they were always in whispering tones, now banners of sorrow mark the front steps of childhood homes.”
When the Dreams Run Dry (song on the video attached, any pictured quotes below)
“I will be where I was always, standing by your side”
The Getting by
“Nothing good seems to ever come, from all this work no matter how hard I try”
Thank you Brandon Flowers and the Killers, I have written 147 pages in the last 10 days. Lean into your inspirations. KEEP GOING 💪
“Because it’s some kind of sin, to live your whole life on a “might’ve been” - Caution
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Chris Goldby is a writer, marketer, and multimedia storyteller based in Hickory, North Carolina. He owns The Hickory Algorithm, a multichannel marketing agency, and is a contributing writer and Head of Documentary/Docuseries with Akula Literary Partners.
CONTACT ME:
chris@hickoryalgorithm.com
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