Franz Ferdinand charted with “Take Me Out”

Take Me Out Franz Ferdinand

Writer(s): Alex Kapranos/Nicholas McCarthy (see lyrics here) Released: January 12, 2004 First Charted: January 31, 2004 Peak: 66 US, 32 RR, 3 MR, 3 UK, 7 CN, 25 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.1 US, 1.2 UK, 2.32 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.2 radio, 220.44 video, 834.45 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The grunge that ruled the ‘90s gave way to the “retro garage-punk [that] emerged as the predominant strain of post-millennial rock music in 2001.” PF American bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes were leading the way, leaving “Britain’s indie aristocracy looking bloated, boring, and irreversibly out-dated.” SY However, this was more serious-minded music, making one thing clear: “rockers forgot how to dance.” PD “Aspiring buzz bands realized that, down on the disco floor, they could really make their profits” PF and “with one song the Empire struck back.” SY Franz Ferdinand “brought the groove back to indie rock” PD by unapologetically “co-opting the styles of Talking Heads and Gang of Four for their trademark brittle, arty sound.” TB “‘Take Me Out’ crams every known Britpop trick into its fevered four minutes.” SY These Scottish rockers “took a certain strain of cooler-than-thou, spiky post-punk,” MX gave it a dose of “Beatlesque fluency,” SY “and gave us permission to dance to it.” MX It is “effortlessly arty and deliciously fun, at the same time.” NME’09 The song “a crowdpleaser that doesn’t sound out of place blasting during half-time at an NBA game.” PE but is still “a smash hit that was still cool for the indie kids to love.” PE It may be “the most surefire winner any DJ can have in his repertoire.” NME’09 “After a tense build-up…‘Take Me Out’ sounds ready to blast off; instead, Franz pull an aesthetic 180 and slow it down into a militaristic, libidinous funk stomp.” PF “This mod guitar stomp rules any bar where the girls feel like dancing,” RS’09 but is “still heavy enough to lure in those girls’ jock boyfriends.” PF It “remains one of the most satisfying moments in guitar-pop this decade has produced.” DS Lead singer “Alex Kapranos’ arch delivery and the song’s ambiguous meaning (was it about being taken out like a date, or about being taken out, like…killed?)” PD gave the song an added curiosity factor. In addition, “the innovative accompanying video won MTV’s Breakthrough Video of the Year and the Q Awards’ Video of the Year.” AB’00 He said, “This song is about the tensions between two people, in a sexual sense. That situation where two people are in love with each other but neither will admit it, as if they’d take rejection over acceptance just to end the tension in the situation.” DT Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Franz Ferdinand AB’00 About.com (2009) “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s” MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09) Best songs of the decade NME NME.com (11/11/09). 100 Tracks of the Decade PF Pitchfork.com (8/19/09) The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s PD PopDose.com (11/24/09) The Best Songs of the Decade PE PopEater.com (11/24/09) The Top Pop Songs of the Decade – 2000s RS’09 Rolling Stone (12/9/09). “Songs of the Decade” (12/9/09). SY Stylus (2009?) Top Singles DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 284. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 308. Related Links: Last updated 4/30/2024.