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August 1, 2005

Pickin' On Franz Ferdinand

FranzFerdinand.org has some pics from this weekend's "Do You Want It" video shoot. You Could Have It So Much Better ... With Franz Ferdinand! is the new title of the band's highly anticipated sophomore slump (I get the sense many of you want them to fail -- is it 'cause "Take Me Out" was appropriated by fratboys?).

Stream some clips from a bluegrass tribute to FF here (via Largehearted Boy). Recommended if you like Rodeohead.

Posted at 5:14 PM




30 Comments

um.

Posted by: matthew at 08/01/05 5:37 PM | Reply
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It's not for me, but those FF songs as bluegrass surprisingly work.

Posted by: N at 08/01/05 5:40 PM | Reply
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Nah, I want them to fail because I don't like their music.

Posted by: brooks at 08/01/05 5:44 PM | Reply
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Why do I want FF to fail? Cause they play lousy, boring, highly-derivitive music. (And yes, because they have become a frat-boy band. I admit it.)

Posted by: Billy K at 08/01/05 5:45 PM | Reply
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Because Bowie did it Better...

Posted by: JOEL at 08/01/05 5:46 PM | Reply
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FRANZ FERDINAND CAN SUCK A CHEETAH'S DICK...
MAD PROPS TO WESLEY WILLIS

Posted by: gnowyn at 08/01/05 5:49 PM | Reply
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i do not want them to fail, partially because i'm not an elitist hater, but mostly because i think they are a great band that's very exciting. i like bands nobody likes and i like bands everybody likes (and i ain't no frat boy but some people in fraternities enjoy the music of radiohead, david bowie, ramones, james brown, the talking heads, biggie, the clash, nirvana, miles davis, public enemy, iggy pop- you hate all of them, right?). but whatever, you can all listen to death cab and continue hate yourself and celebrities that you don't know.

Posted by: david bowie at 08/01/05 5:58 PM | Reply
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Franz Ferdinand needs to be picked on -- youre all the victims of payola -- this is NOT a good band... just as boring as The Strokes

Posted by: Delmore Pilcrow at 08/01/05 6:50 PM | Reply
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somebody reads the "journal"

Posted by: brother young at 08/01/05 6:58 PM | Reply
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Pilcrow, I don't think anyone here heard about them on the radio...

Posted by: deathbysexy at 08/01/05 7:07 PM | Reply
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Allow me to invoke vintage David Spade...

"I liked Frank Ferdinand better the first time....when they were called Josef K."

Posted by: Billy K at 08/01/05 7:50 PM | Reply
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aw, come on. i want franz to succeed. fuck the fratties...but at the same time, i'd place bets against 'em at ladbrokes. i mean, where could they possibly go from here? and, while i'm against the sentiment, props to the wesley willis shoutout.

Posted by: savvy at 08/01/05 8:29 PM | Reply
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I don't know, I liked FF when they were relatively unknown, but now it seems the market has become supersaturated with 'em. At this point, I couldn't be more apathetic.

Posted by: MrQuick at 08/01/05 10:15 PM | Reply
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"Pilcrow, I don't think anyone here heard about them on the radio..."

Exactly. Just like no one here heard about The Strokes on the radio. Sip some more haterade Delmore Pilcrow, ya louse.

Posted by: well put at 08/01/05 10:56 PM | Reply
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Maybe it's just being in the buckle of the bible belt, but here in Texas, they are a welcome alternative to Rob Thomas and Kelly Clarkson (even if Kelly allegedly is from around here...)

Posted by: winston at 08/02/05 12:12 AM | Reply
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Frankly, I just think most of us are tired of dance punk. End of story.

Posted by: dnicolep at 08/02/05 10:07 AM | Reply
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Yes, we're all victims of payola. I never heard them on the radio, but I still am a victim. Franz Ferdinand never saved my life, but I thought their record was pretty alright.
Those bluegrass reworkings are pretty great--a lot more imaginative than the originals.

Posted by: whb at 08/02/05 10:13 AM | Reply
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Just be careful what you wish for. Before the dreaded "dance punk" trend started, there hadn't been any decent non-techno to dance to for at least a decade. So the next time the girls are dancing to FF (or Radio One, or The Bravery, or whatever) in a bar, ask yourself, "Would I really be happier if they were dancing to the same fucking Hot Jams we've had to endure for the last 15 years?"

Posted by: the management at 08/02/05 11:16 AM | Reply
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^^^ No, I probably wouldn't :(

Posted by: Mat at 08/02/05 11:49 AM | Reply
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disliking bands for their presence in the mainstream is elitist bullshit. and it is part of the yuppie hipster mentality. all music is a derivative of something else. why do you think artists cover each other? i have no shame in admitting that i enjoyed the first ff album, and look forward to hear the newest output.

Posted by: EasyP at 08/02/05 1:17 PM | Reply
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yes but when a band allows themselves to be a part of the corporate pay-for-spins machine they compromise their art, have jumped the shark, or what have you. their trajectory is negative, they lose credibility. its not elitist bullshit, its a sense of tact and being defensive about money stealing all that's good about music. i'm not sayin a band can't be commercially sucessful, i'm just calling bullshit.

Posted by: petey at 08/02/05 1:51 PM | Reply
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I think only Modest Mouse has done it right (and I say this nieve of any payola possibly involved.)
I mean, Float On got on the radio quite a bit, but I didn't see THEM whoring the PSP.

Posted by: MrQuick at 08/02/05 2:48 PM | Reply
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"yes but when a band allows themselves to be a part of the corporate pay-for-spins machine they compromise their art, have jumped the shark, or what have you."

you have got to be kidding me. you actually believe that the members of franz ferdinand are so involved with the marketing of their music in the states that they would have been aware of the payola thing? please, for fuck's sake be a little realistic.

Posted by: xmg at 08/02/05 10:37 PM | Reply
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anyone check out the other albums on the bluegras page? Like "Pick This Way:A Bluegrass Tribute to Aerosmith" or "Black & Bluegrass: A Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne"?

Posted by: mpm at 08/04/05 10:41 AM | Reply
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sorry..had to post again...but i never thought i would see a A Bluegrass Tribute to Air. I mean a bluegrass version of "Kelly Watch the Stars"?


Posted by: mpm at 08/04/05 10:48 AM | Reply
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The way I see it, no matter what you say, the Franz debut album was absolutely brilliant, and it was something new. Maybe it got overplayed and made into something bigger than it was, but you can't say that their art has been compromised until you've actually heard their new album, which I can't wait to hear. Also whats all this crap with The Strokes? what do they have to do with Franz? ohter than that they're brilliant...

Posted by: Jim - Bob (ok so thats not my real name) at 08/04/05 5:52 PM | Reply
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Am I the only person on the planet that thinks Modest Mouse is the most over-rated bullshit in recent memory? Seriously, I HATE "Float On".

Posted by: brokenengine at 08/06/05 10:49 AM | Reply
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whatever.

I think fratboys are lame and i would rather not have anything in common with them. But if more people like good music, maybe there will finally be less room in the world for nickleback.


so who cares.

Posted by: jesse at 08/09/05 9:08 PM | Reply
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I think only Modest Mouse has done it right (and I say this nieve of any payola possibly involved.)
I mean, Float On got on the radio quite a bit, but I didn't see THEM whoring the PSP.

Posted by: MrQuick at August 2, 2005 02:48 PM


Haven't MM "whored" a minivan? Oh, and remember when that Mogwai song was in a Levi's commercial?

Getting paid doesn't compromise art.

Posted by: jess at 08/09/05 9:17 PM | Reply
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I was at this shoot, actually, and let's just say...I haven't seen the completed video...but, for 14 hours or so, I ran into the following

1) a 20 foot tall inflatable astronaut
2) a man lit on fire shaking hands with a mannequin
3) a bunch of bicycles stacked on top of each other, with some kind of wire support from the ceiling.
4) Celebrity lookalikes: Dolly Parton and Yoko Ono.

The video kinda scares me, because I'm not sure if they're making fun of pretentious, so-called "art", or if it's just a celebration of weird crap.

The song's addictive though, but I think everyone should avoid the live version that's floating around - it's godawful.

Posted by: couss at 08/13/05 3:58 PM | Reply
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