"I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier."

Hello, hello to all you people out there. It's a pleasure, truly. I've listened to this week's song no less than 50 times in the past two weeks. I'm not lying when I say that I get chills about half way through the song every single time I hear it. Lately I have been all about The Killers. They are just awesome. I do not dispute that "awesome" is the most over-used word in the English language. It drives me absolutely crazy to hear people refer to rather ordinary things as 'awesome.' "Hey, that lunch was awesome." Or, "Oh man, you went to Skyline? Awesome." Seriously? So you're telling me that it is literally awe-inspiring that the person whom you just met attended Skyline High School? Wow. Come on. But I'm telling you tonight, right this minute, that The Killers are truly awe-inspiring, or "awesome" to me. The large majority of their songs give me chills. I'm not exaggerating.

So I've been really into them lately, then my friend tells me that their front man, Brandon Flowers, is actually an active member of the LDS church. I, being an active member of the LDS church myself, was actually quite pleased and intrigued to hear this. I've heard it before, you know. Steve Martin, Alice Cooper, Billy Corgan, etc. etc. But I actually researched it and found that Brandon Flowers was born in Henderson, NV, just outside of Las Vegas, into an LDS home. They moved to Nephi, UT when he was like 8 years old and stayed there until he was 16 or 17. Then they moved back to Vegas where he started making music legitimately. He went through some crazy years apparently, living like the proverbial rock star. He later got married and (I think) had a baby, then he settled down and returned to his roots as a faithful member of the LDS church (This was all found in a SPIN magazine interview).

I truthfully don't really care if a band, personality, or anyone else in pop culture is of my faith. Honestly--couldn't care less. But it is quite refreshing to see that there's someone out there who's of my faith but not a real dork. I know, it sounds shallow and foolish, but it's true. Have you honestly looked at my religion's reference group? Let's take a quick look at the people who have brought publicity to Mormons:

First, we have the prototype of a nerd, albeit very intelligent, likable and nice:
Ken "Jeopardy Guy" Jennings

Next, a man who really needs no introduction, the slimiest car-salesman-turned-presidential candidate since Wendell Willkie:


The only others that come to mind presently are everyone's favorite B-list duo:


Again, it doesn't matter. I'm proud of my faith, or as Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)." But I also recognize that I'm pretty shallow, and there is something validating about Brandon Flowers being of my faith, though I can't say exactly what it is. So that said, I will give you a YouTube link for a great live performance of the song, or just play the box below to hear the studio version of "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers.

"I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier." I know, Brandon, I know. You give me, the no-name, dorky LDS kid in Utah hope. You'll always be a soldier in my eyes.

YouTube link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5n1aimznE&feature=related

Studio-recorded song, no video: