The Killers Got ‘Tude

The Killers are obviously a very popular rock band and have racked up numerous awards, nominations and fans since forming in late 2002. But all that fame isn’t good enough for frontman Brandon Flowers, who says he wants to knock Led Zeppelin and Nirvana “off their pedastals.”

Ambitious much?

In a recent interview with NME, Flowers told the music magazine it’s really American audiences he has an issue with.

Whoa now. First Billy Bob Thornton calling Canadian audiences “mashed potatoes without the gravy” and now Flowers picking on his home turf?

The sold-out house at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium is magically transported to Sam’s Town by The Killers.

“We’ve been embraced in Britain in a way that I’ll never understand, and it’s such a wonderful thing,” Flowers told NME.com. “But over here [in America], people are still so obsessed with Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, those sorts of bands, that nobody else is allowed [to grow].”

He added: “It’s not just us; there are a lot of great bands that have been held down or confined by the influence of these people that we’ve put up on pedestals. I’m tired of it, you know? I just want to knock them all off! And people don’t like that attitude. It’s almost like they don’t believe that it’s possible that anybody else can be the real deal.

The Killers are currently touring North America and Europe with dates on the books through the end of September.

So, what do you think? Is Flowers just full of himself? Is he crazy to think he can bring down Led Zeppelin and Nirvana?

I’ve never really cared for Nirvana but there’s no way The Killers are ever going to be better than Zeppelin. That’s just nuts.

And what do you think of Flowers’ analysis of American audiences. Are we stuck in the past?

Check out the NME.com piece here.