Why Brandon Flowers trusts his own judgment over critics

Brandon Flowers is best known as the frontman of The Killers. All seven of their albums have gone top 10 in the U.S. and to number one in the U.K. Flowers has also had a successful solo career and he’s back with his third solo album THRASHER, out August 21.

00:00 Cold Open

00:26 Welcome to Alchemy

01:05 Recording THRASHER Live in Nashville

02:38 Returning to His Nephi, Utah Roots

05:18 From Golf Course to First Songs

07:12 The Mentor Who Opened Up Music

08:48 Answering Dave Keuning's Ad and Becoming a Singer

12:36 Discovering His Frontman Persona

14:18 Family, Golf, and Finding His Own Lane

18:13 The Real People Behind THRASHER's Characters

22:06 Ambiguity and His Encounter with Elvis

26:46 Sponsor Break / The FLAG Art Foundation

29:01 Balancing Stage Persona and Family Life

30:15 22 Years Since Hot Fuss: Writing "Mr. Brightside" and "Human"

35:42 How Fan-Favorite Deep Cuts Emerge

38:06 Songwriting as a Daily Discipline

40:02 Two New Albums and Where The Killers Stand Now

42:38 Trusting His Own Judgment Over Critics

44:10 Vampire Weekend and Creative Competition

48:12 Closing Thanks

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About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation (flagartfoundation.org)⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (instagram.com/flagartfoundation).

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.