In an interview with Nick Kent,in The Guardian,
(October 20th) Brandon Flowers discusses his relationship with Morrissey, Manchester and all things English:

The Killers, after all, are deeply ambitious and media-savvy enough to know how the process of selling records in the new millennium tends to work, though Flowers is worried that the time devoted to promotion and gargantuan touring schedules means there's little chance he'll ever be as prolific as his heroes once were. "The Smiths released two albums a year, plus singles and fresh B-sides - that's just incredible to me," he laments.

One minute they were the toast of the London live circuit, the next they were playing in gargantuan stadiums opening for - and on occasion even duetting with - Bono and U2. But all those celebrity meetings can be rather meaningless. "They're always so brief," grumbles bassist Stoermer. "And you never have much to say to each other." For his part, Flowers - who positively idolises Morrissey and supported him in concert two years ago - reckons he got closer to his hero when he was serving him as a busboy in a Las Vegas restaurant back in 2002.

Flowers' greatest dream-come-true to date, then, has not been achieving stardom, but the Killers' early conquest of the UK. "Our first trip to England was so great. The magic soon wore off a little bit but it was still unforgettable: playing the same clubs in London as Oasis when they started, going around Manchester visiting all the Smiths' sites.

"When I was growing up in Las Vegas, England just seemed so far away: a genuine fantasy-land. There was something untouchable about the music - larger than life. It was so different from what the Americans were growing up with. And it became irresistible to try to emulate, even down to adopting an English accent when you sang. But this time around I wanted my singing voice to sound like the way I actually talk. I didn't do that on the first album; I was so used to singing along with Morrissey records in the car, I couldn't stop myself from adopting an English way of expressing my lyrics, even though I'd never even been to Manchester back then. This time I wanted to sound more like someone who comes from the Mojave desert, which is where I'm actually from."

Check out Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 page and 'listen again' to his show of Saturday 21st October. About an hour and a half in you will hear a stunning cover version of The Boy With The Thorn In His Side from a Wolverhampton lad going by the name of Scott Matthew. Its acoustic, and way better than J Mascis' attempt of a few years back.

A Video Installation artist uses the Smiths as a backdrop for the political plight for Turkish citizens. There will also be a screening of the film "Is it Really So Strange" with a QA session afterwards by filmmaker, William E. Jones. Check it out!!

SFMOMA exibitions

"His video installation dünya dinlemiyor (Turkish for "the world won’t listen") features young people in Istanbul performing karaoke versions of songs by the 1980s band The Smiths. Within the politically fraught context of Istanbul, The Smiths' melancholic pop takes on new poignancy, asking us to listen to what the rest of the world won't. Collins is a nominee for the 2006 Turner Prize."