The Boss and The Killers team for a fairytale collaboration.
For the very first time, Bruce Springsteen joins forces with Brandon Flowers and Co. for a reimagined cut of “A Dustland Fairytale,” the emotional, mid-album track on the Las Vegas rockers’ 2008 set Day & Age.
The new version, simply titled “Dustland,” dropped at midnight ahead of an exclusive performance of it on The Today Show.
“Dustland,” said to be Springsteen’s favorite Killers track, was written in the middle of Flowers’ mom’s battle with cancer (she passed away two years later, in 2010, at the age of 64).
“It was an attempt to better understand my dad, who is sometimes a mystery to me. To grieve for my mother,” writes Flowers on his socials. “To acknowledge their sacrifices and maybe even catch a glimpse of just how strong love needs to be to make it in this world. It was my therapy. It was cathartic.”
Springsteen, we learn, reached out to Flowers via text in February 2020, with a glowing review of their band’s Glastonbury performance. The pandemic then shut down touring, but opened a window for the unlikely collaboration. The rest is recorded music history.
Bruce, he continues, “has written a lot about people like my parents and found a whole lot of beauty in otherwise invisible people’s hopes and dreams. Their struggles, and their losses.” Writes Flowers, “I’m grateful to him for opening this door for me. I’m grateful to my parents for their example to me. Now go find something new out about your dad, give your mom a big hug, and for god’s sake listen to Bruce Springsteen.”
The Today Show will air an exclusive interview and performance of “Dustland” with both artists from 8am.
Stream “Dustland” below.
