Future Islands Singer Says Feelings Were Hurt After Backlash From 'Letterman' Performance

Perhaps you remember Future Islands' performance on Late Night with David Letterman this March. You know: the one where singer Samuel T Herring thrashed around like a punk rocker and let out hoarse syllables while the rest of the band played laid-back synth snoozer "Seasons (Waiting on You)."

The antithetical juxtaposition was too much for the Internet, which responded in an unkind way after the performance. NME reports that Herring was "stung" by the response.

"It doesn't matter if it's a joke as long as it's not a joke to everybody," he said.

He explained that the spirit of the song includes the idea that we need to break free from everyday norms.

"We need to live by our own rules to get what we want out of life," he said. "And you know what? There's kind of a 'f--- you' in that too."

Herring also revealed the relationship story behind the song, which he said the group wrote in 90 minutes.

"I was trying to get her to change so that she would love me the way I wanted to be loved," he said. "And I tried to change too, until I realised that you can't do that. That's just one of the tragedies of love: it's not always going to work out, even if there's something there."

As previously reported, the group extended their 2014 tour into next year. Here are the remaining dates:

01/07-15: Boston, MA @ Royale
01/09: New York, NY @ Terminal 5
01/10: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
01/24: Singapore @ Laneway Festival
01/26: Auckland, New Zealand @ Laneway Festival
01/31: Brisbane, Australia @ Laneway Festival
02/01: Sydney, Australia @ Laneway Festival
02/06: Adelaide, Australia @ Laneway Festival
02/07: Melbourne, Australia @ Laneway Festival
02/08: Perth, Australia @ Laneway Festival
02/10: Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
02/26: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
03/31: London, UK @ Roundhouse

Tags

Future Islands