Top 5- Brandon Flowers

*CONFETTI*

Hey there! It’s me, the fish brain.

While I know this was a hard decision for many of my fellow Victims, Brandon Flowers ultimately won, 5-1.

Ah well. Keuning will be back next week, so keep an eye out for that.

I had an Idea™, which involves a Favourite or Honourable Mention section at the end of each post, which basically means if I know the artist, I might pick my favourite song by them which isn’t necessarily on the list, or my favourite from the list.

I will be going and editing some of my previous posts to include these, so go check those out.

Anyway, the Spotify playlist has been updated, the list is ready, the necessary announcements have been made, so let’s go!

Brandon Flowers, as most of you should know, is the singer from The Killers, and this is his solo project. There’s two albums, the Desired Effect and Flamingo.

So, our list today comes from both of those, the songs being Crossfire, Only The Young, Can’t Deny My Love, Lonely Town, and I Can Change.

Well, then.

Onwards, to Las Vegas!

Crossfire

We start pretty low-key, just a dee dee dee thing, and then the guitar starts.

It’s a pretty slow build, the beat’s nice and steady, energetic but not super excitable. I really like this song, because it gets your attention but doesn’t, if that makes any sense. It’s relatively laid-back, in the verses, that is.

We get to the chorus, and… there you are Brandon. It gets louder just before the chorus, and that’s the part when we all start screaming the words. It’s infectious.

Especially when it says ‘And we’re searching for- SHELTER!’ That’s when you want to scream.

You know, if you’re me.

I particularly like the bridge, which goes: ‘Tell the devil that he can go back from where he came/ His fiery arrows drew their bead in vain/ And when the hardest part is over, we’ll be here/ And our dreams will break the boundaries of our fears’.

It’s a catchy tune, yes, but it’s so much more. It’s talking about resilience and ultimately optimism. It leans towards pessimism up to the bridge, talking about darkness, being in the crossfire, feeling like you have no control, just trying to find somewhere to shelter. In the bridge, it tells you that no, actually, this isn’t it, things don’t suck all that bad, it will get better, and it’s possible to overcome your fears.

The music reflects this as well, starting quiet, louder in the chorus, quiet in the next verse, louder in the chorus, then it builds again in the bridge, drops briefly, and then builds again and drops at the end. The way the song is structured reflects the ups and downs, and reminds you that when the hardest part is over, you’ll be stronger for it.

Only the young

This song’s a lot more low-key, but with a much shorter intro.

The beginning is just a few chords in the background, making the words stand out a lot more. The beat and the rest of the music come in at the pre-chorus, but the song stays relatively relaxed throughout. It’s on the list of Stress Songs™.

Meaning-wise, we start out with someone looking back on their life, possibly on all the mistakes they’ve made. Nothing’s ever been easy for them. It almost sounds like a conversation, like Person A is asking where everything went wrong, and Person B is telling them that it happened a long time ago. The pre-chorus slightly reflects on Person B’s past, but then tells Person A that they have another chance, that they can start again. The next part, I think, is Person A insisting that both of them can start again.

The chorus talks about losing your innocence, about ‘only the young’ being able to escape. It’s possible that Person B is telling Person A that there isn’t another chance for them, but there is for Person A. The next verse is Person B alone, possibly in the past, begging for someone to help them, to help them redeem themselves. They then insist again that Person A has a chance while they don’t.

The bridge is Person A, telling Person B that ‘the sun will shine again’. Person B isn’t convinced, and asks if they’re ‘caught up in the lie.’ The chorus repeats, and it’s almost a cliffhanger. Did Person A leave? Is Person B okay? Probably not.

This song goes a lot deeper than you think at first. It’s not particularly attention-grabbing, but it’s well-written and well-composed, and one of my favourite songs on this list.

Can’t deny my love

This one’s a lot more upbeat. More electronic. It’s also a different album, with a different tone.

I’m gonna run straight into the meaning, because I want to see where that goes.

The first verse is slightly unsettling, talking about how there’s something wrong that the other person isn’t telling them. In the pre-chorus, it shows that the person is nervous, worried that they’ve done something wrong to offend or hurt the other person. They’re worried that the other person is holding past mistakes against them, and it’s stressing them out.

However, in the chorus, it’s saying that even if the other person is lying to them, or hiding something from them, they still love them. It’s almost as if the other person is in a dark place, trying to convince themselves that nobody could love them. The person singing is trying to tell them that they’re still there.

The bridge asks if there’s still room for them, if the other person will let them help, and asks again ‘what’s going on in your head?’ They want to know what’s wrong, and are reminding the other person that they’re still there.

It gets across the feeling of confusion, wanting to understand and unconditional love pretty perfectly.

This guy is one hell of a songwriter.

🙂

Lonely town

Not gonna lie, I love this song. When it starts, it really gets you moving, and it’s difficult not to dance to.

First verse, pretty simple, someone’s not there, and the person in the song misses them, asking ‘When will you come home again?’ The chorus talks about change, thinking that things would get better, but they never did. There is a possible other thing to take from that, but I’ll go into that later.

The second verse once again brings us to the idea that they’re missing someone, saying that they’re ‘on the outskirts of hope’. They’re falling apart without this person, someone who was like them (‘another kid in Lonely Town’).

The bridge, however, is where it gets interesting. It’s asking things like ‘do you hear the phone when I call?’ and ‘do you hear the crack when I break?’ They want to know if the person is still thinking about them.

Multiple people on Genius are toying with the idea that the bridge refers to them stalking the other person, and ‘Did you see the knife when it cut?’ referencing potential murder. Brandon Flowers actually did confirm this (ish), saying that “if you’re not listening closely, it just feels like this breezy love song. But, if you wrote the lyrics down or listened to them a little more intently, it’s actually pretty creepy.” If he’s on about murder again…

What I think when I hear this song, and this is my personal interpretation, is that ‘Lonely Town’ is a metaphor for a dark place the person is in. They thought it would get better with time, but it didn’t. The other person was in the same place when they met (‘another kid in Lonely Town’), but they healed and moved on, and the first person was left behind. That’s why they’re asking if the person still thinks about them, and why the verses are so bleak: they’ve lost the only person who cared/understood enough to help them. The bridge is representing their spiral into darkness.

Murder or not, it’s still got one hell of a beat and it’ll get you moving.

I can change

So, moving on from murder.

This song is the calmest to start, with just a piano, even when the vocals start. What I like is the two or three parts singing at the beginning. The harmonies blend really well together, and it’s a nice effect. Then, there’s an electronic keyboard in the background, but the emphasis is still on the vocals.

Well, since it seems like they want me to listen to the words, it looks like we’re listening to the words.

The first verse is saying that whatever happens, if the other person is ‘out of luck’, they’ll be there. Interestingly, it says ‘even if it’s not who I am.’

Ultimately, this song is saying that it doesn’t matter what happens, they’ll always be there for the other person. They’re willing to change for that person, to be what that person needs, even if it’s not who they are.

A fun thing that I learned about this song: In the second verse, when it says ‘And when you’re looking for a change’, that is none other than Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys, sending them a voice message. So hey. That’s something.

Also, this song samples ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat. Just with slight tune differences and different lyrics. There’s probably more to go into with that, but the only time I’ve ever actually heard Smalltown Boy was on the radio once and this fish brain mistook it for this song. I’ll probably do a post comparing those two at some point, so yeah.

Conclusion

Well. That was fun!

Honestly, I love the Killers. I really do. (you should all know this, given the number of references I make). But they’re just as good on their own as they are together, and I love that.

And don’t worry. Stoermer and Vanucci will get a look too. What did you take me for?

Honourable Mention (not on the list): I Came Here To Get Over You (Bonus Track).

This song is only available on the deluxe edition, but it’s one of my all-time favourite Brandon Flowers songs. It’s less synthesised, a little darker, and I love it. It’s here if you want to listen.

Anyway, that’s it for this post! Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll be able to do an extra non-Top 5 post, but I have a few options, which are:

• The Brightside Series (Miss Atomic Bomb, Mr Brightside etc.)
• The Murder Trilogy
• Blurryface (that one will take a lot longer)
• Little Fictions and the Zombie Apocalypse: A Conspiracy Theory
• Smalltown Boy and I Can Change
• Stress Songs
• Panic! At The Disco This Is Gospel Trilogy Breakdown

Those are the options, so drop a comment and tell me which one you want! (There will also be a question sticker on Instagram).

I’ll be back next week, with another Top 5 and a few more references. Next week, I’ll be covering Keuning, so stay tuned or something like that.

Finally, in the wise words of Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, and Ronnie Vanucci:

We hope you enjoyed your stay. It’s good to have you with us, even if it’s just for the day.

Fish brain out.