Franz Ferdinand have just emailed me to say that their drummer has left the band

[holyzombiejesus]

Obviously one of those bulk emails because I must have written my email address on something, possibly those postcards that used to be slipped inside singles. Can't remember ever receiving an email containing news that I gave so little of a shit about. Just looked and their last album got to number 7 in the charts. Number 7!

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I think the bigger news is that they're still going.

[holyzombiejesus]

I think the bigger news is that they're still going.

Yeah, they should have emailed to say that. Just had a look at their last tour (2018) and they were playing those O2 Academy sized venues which surprised me. I liked the first album but quite surprised that even the band members themselves can still be arsed.

[idunnosomename]

does this start a world war then

[The Culture Bunker]

Yeah, they should have emailed to say that. Just had a look at their last tour (2018) and they were playing those O2 Academy sized venues which surprised me. I liked the first album but quite surprised that even the band members themselves can still be arsed.

That first album (from 17 years ago) was bloody huge, for reasons far beyond my ken, so I imagine that even though their recent stuff doesn't seem to shift anywhere close to those levels, they can cash in the nostalgia coin from late 30s/early 40s types wistful for their student days.

The main thing I remember them for, beyond 'Take Me Out', was that the singer was over 30 by the time they broke through.

[holyzombiejesus]

That first album (from 17 years ago) was bloody huge, for reasons far beyond my ken, so I imagine that even though their recent stuff doesn't seem to shift anywhere close to those levels, they can cash in the nostalgia coin from late 30s/early 40s types wistful for their student days.

They just don't strike me as the kind of band to provoke feelings of nostalgia. Even though that first album had some really good songs on it, I never felt they really got people loving them. They struck me as quite a cold aloof band and it surprises me if they inspire the kind of loyalty that would get people still buying their (presumably somewhat shitty) records nearly 20 years later.

Kapranos wants a fucking slap just for this hugely embarrassing pile of shit. It's so wank.

[Shit Good Nose]

Presumably he's rejoining Roxy Music.

[SteveDave]

Presumably he's rejoining Roxy Music.

I am standing up and applauding this.

[thecuriousorange]

The main thing I remember them for, beyond 'Take Me Out', was that the singer was over 30 by the time they broke through.

The press made a thing of that. He tried to avoid the questions and even possibly lied before getting caught.

[The Mollusk]

Was the album they did with Sparks any good? Still haven't got around to that.

[sardines]

Obviously one of those bulk emails because I must have written my email address on something, possibly those postcards that used to be slipped inside singles.

Oddly I was thinking about these the other day as I'm still on the Coldplay mail list after buying one of their early singles. I was suddenly swept up in a wave of nostalgia for the times when I'd sign up for The Dandys mailing list via postcard.

More nostalgia there than for Franz Ferdinand who i first saw supporting Belle and Sebastian. The bassist spent the show perving at a woman next to me in the front row.

[ajsmith2]

Was the album they did with Sparks any good? Still haven't got around to that.

Brilliant. Although mainly cos of the Sparks input it has to be said. (Imo anyway).

[earl_sleek]

They just don't strike me as the kind of band to provoke feelings of nostalgia. Even though that first album had some really good songs on it, I never felt they really got people loving them. They struck me as quite a cold aloof band and it surprises me if they inspire the kind of loyalty that would get people still buying their (presumably somewhat shitty) records nearly 20 years later.

Nah, they were huge in my social circle. They stood out a lot against all the Strokes copyists that were around at the time. Second album was dreadful though.

Being concerned about how old singers are seems a pretty dated thing to me now, although maybe it's just because I'm getting older.

[PaulTMA]

Kapranos seems to have gone a bit angry and weird on Twitter in recent times

[The Culture Bunker]

Being concerned about how old singers are seems a pretty dated thing to me now, although maybe it's just because I'm getting older.

I guess for me at the time that first album came out - as a 23 year aspiring musician - it at least made me think "plenty of time yet, then", even if I thought his music was tosh. Of course, now the idea of being 32, 33 or whatever seems like a different lifetime ago.

Mention of the pervy bassist and the OP talking about the drummer quitting did make me think that my main criticism of them was that their rhythm section didn't seem to have any kind of feel for funk the way, for example, Orange Juice's did.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Was the album they did with Sparks any good? Still haven't got around to that.

Loved it but there were a couple of clangers.

Disliked FF, and a big part of my dislike was I thought Kapranos was a good frontman doing material that didn't suit him at all, loads of secondhand embarrassment whenever they tried to do postpunk dance stuff, so it was nice to hear him on something good.

Fucking hearing that shitty Matinee song whenever you'd go out for a drink it was fucking relentless. The Mambo Number Five of student dives and bookshops. For everytime I heard Last Nite by the Strokes, I heard Matinee four fucking times. Why the fuck was that one the sticker. A while ago I was in a place where the dj did a set of "throwback" tunes to the 00s and the first song was fucking Matinee by the Turdy Band. I could've shat.

[Lungpuddle]

I like a lot of the music made by the band Franz Ferdinand. 'Ascending Anyway' was a bit dull, though. It didn't really leave the launching pad. I know nothing about them outside their albums and some Darts of Pleasure b-sides. Van Tango is fun. FFS is also fun, I particularly like the bit in Johnny Delusional where Russel Mael sings "wouldn't it be terrible if there's no music there?" Such desperation to connect with another human. Good stuff. I also like when they sing together, Russell and Kapranos.

The Matinee song they apparently ripped off They Might Be Giants' (less than two minute long) Hell Hotel, but I don't really hear it. I do like Dark of the Matinee, though. I think it's good, dorky fun.

I think that's all my thread-related opinions.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Fucking hearing that shitty Matinee song whenever you'd go out for a drink it was fucking relentless. The Mambo Number Five of student dives and bookshops. For everytime I heard Last Nite by the Strokes, I heard Matinee four fucking times. Why the fuck was that one the sticker. A while ago I was in a place where the dj did a set of "throwback" tunes to the 00s and the first song was fucking Matinee by the Turdy Band. I could've shat.

That's odd. Take Me Out was the big tune, as I remember it, with Matinee being considered a disappointing follow up single by most of my spcial circle.

[jobotic]

More nostalgia there than for Franz Ferdinand who i first saw supporting Belle and Sebastian. The bassist spent the show perving at a woman next to me in the front row.

Did Murdoch then get her up on the stage so he could have a closer perv?

What the fuck is Matinee? Take Me Out is the only one I remember. Next you'll be saying the Las song everyone remembers isn't There She Goes!

[Video Game Fan 2000]

That's odd. Take Me Out was the big tune, as I remember it, with Matinee being considered a disappointing follow up single by most of my spcial circle.

yeah Take Me Out, Darts and Michael were all better tunes and Take Me Out was a hit, yet maddeningly Matinee was the one I heard everywhere for a year

i remember Do You Want To being even worse but no one liked it enough to play it anywhere

[Johnny Foreigner]

I remember it well.

So, I'm on BBC2 now,
Telling Terry Wogan how
I've made it and
What I've made is unclear now,
But his deference is, and his laughter is.

Big hit on the Continent, where no-one had a clue who Terry Wogan was.
A friend of mine lent me that first album, which I copied to cassette (yes, those were still around) and studied diligently. I think my favourite Franz Ferdinand song was 40 feet, the last one on the album. I haven't kept up with them since. Preferred them to the Kaiser Chiefs; Franz Ferdinand were more arty-farty, and I like that kind of thing.

[holyzombiejesus]

They were Domino Records' first proper big selling act, weren't they? In a way they're responsible for the masses of dreck the label went on to release once they had a bit of money. All those shitty bands.

[Ron Maels Moustache]

They were Domino Records' first proper big selling act, weren't they? In a way they're responsible for the masses of dreck the label went on to release once they had a bit of money. All those shitty bands.

On the plus side, the success of FF was wait paid for Domino to reissue the entirety of Young Marble Giants back catalogue (which admittedly is only 3 discs worth of material, but still)

The lyric of Matinee has always irritated me as clearly it should be "on Radio 2 now," when was El Tel ever on BBC2? Never, that's when!

[sevendaughters]

I know the eponymous Michael of Michael fame, he is a real person.

Also AK was a right sleazebag in their early days according to a couple of women I have met who he letched onto, tricked friends into getting their numbers, and then lovebombed.

Always found them a bit embarrassing though there's a good Go Betweens cover out there somewhere.

[popcorn]

That's odd. Take Me Out was the big tune, as I remember it, with Matinee being considered a disappointing follow up single by most of my spcial circle.

the titles of works like albums, novels or movies get italics. smaller works like songs don't (they use quotation marks if you feel you must use something).

I twitch every time I see this hypercorrection. sorry. bye!!!

[ProvanFan]

I just looked up the lyrics to The Matinee Song by 'Franz Ferdinand' and found the opening line is about a white finger, not a right finger. I always thought it was right finger.

[popcorn]

aieeeee

[daf]

Who the hell is going to fill up the Top 40 now? May as well cancel Top of the Pops while they're at it - it's all over!

[SteveDave]

I know the eponymous Michael of Michael fame, he is a real person.

Was he the drummer in the 1990s? Also in V-Twin.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Whatever you say, popcorn.

What annoyed me about "Matinée" was that they just kept repeating "matinée" in the chorus. The Chorus of the song, "Matinée", in which they keep repeating the word "matinée".

Oh, the huge matinée!