![]() While the garage rock movement was already in full swing FRANZ FERDINAND managed to do something their predecessors weren’t really capable of. Alex Turner ( ARCTIC MONKEYS), Alex Kapranos ( FRANZ FERDINAND) and Julian Casblancas ( THE STROKES) have a chat. “Words of love and words so leisured / Words are poisoned darts of pleasure” – but you could hardly call that rock music. And nothing against the tender counter-movement of COLDPLAY, TRAVIS and Co. OASIS‘ egos and cocaine orders were bigger than there ideas, BLUR already parted ways more or less. The once so fresh alternative became a big and clumsy monster. Same goes for Britpop after its high times in the mid 90s. By the time LIMP BIZKIT hit their peak, the whole idea went pop. Nu Metal on the American side was … well, debatably good. Rock music didn’t really come up with an effective idea after the decline of grunge. FRANZ FERDINAND was part of the counter movement. The charts were dominated by bubblegum-pop, hip-hop and R&B. ![]() To understand what followed this initial crossover success, you have to understand the time when it happened and the demand that created it, starting with bands like THE VINES, THE HIVES or THE WHITE STRIPES. Rock’n’Roll in its purest form, on point. Eleven songs, hardly forty minutes, four guys and basic instrumentation. ![]() It’s the compact character of the FRANZ FERDINAND debut that made it work. Seriously, of all the languages they could have chosen – German? Too arty and awesome. Including the famous German lines “Ich heiße Superfantastisch, ich trinke Schampus mit Lachsfisch” – always one of the highlights in this small basement club back then. Michael was aural wildfire and Darts of Pleasure as well. The Dark of the Matineé’s melody is just too irresistible, same goes for the groove of This Fire that also comes with a chorus that instantly burned itself inside your head. Take Me Out is one of THE great rock classics of the 00’s, thanks to its pumping, almost-machine-like beat. The gentle opening of Jacqueline soon turned into a wild monster after a few seconds in. Eleven tracks that literally won’t fuck with you. “This fire is out of control / we’re gonna burn this city…”įRANZ FERDINAND might not have been the first, but they were the first who effectively brought this recipe to a wider audience. Punk rockers straight from the art college – what’s there not to like? And the band itself came with a great sense for fashion, style and visual aesthetics. They combined the rough garage rock spirit with a stiff-upper-lip attitude, catchy radio-friendly melodies and danceable beats with an on-point-production. Even an act like Canadian band HOT HOT HEAT (has anyone heard from them lately?) released records in the same vein. Obviously the THE STROKES happened three years prior, as did their British colleagues THE LIBERTINES. It’s identified as one of the ignition moments of the ‘indie movement.’ Of course, you can claim that there’ve been other bands before who enjoyed more mainstream, commercial success. Being universally praised as one of the seminal records of the 2000s (we still got no proper name for that decade, have we?) it sold 3,6 Million copies, bringing the band a certain amount of fame. These days the critically acclaimed self-titled debut of FRANZ FERDINAND celebrates its tenth anniversary. And FRANZ FERDINAND was one main reason for it. Two years later, the KAISER CHIEFS sang Ruby, Ruby, Ruuuuby and the party moved on to the slick student clubs. One year later getting into the club became harder when you didn’t show up early enough. “Burn down the Disco” … a few weeks later the number of people on the dance floor increased, going up to 40 or 50. And although it was sticky and sweaty, you could clearly sense the spark in the eyes of each and every attendee, and the pure enjoyment of singing these songs. There was about 10 to 20 people maximum on the small dancefloor. They might have been playing hot new stuff like ARCADE FIRE from Canada and some British dark wave rockers called EDITORS. MAXIMO PARK and THE STROKES were mandatory, same goes for the good ol’ SMITHS. The DJs spinning records, CD’s more accurately. It was one of the rare ‘indie’ nights that occurred on a regular basis. The author remembers a small basement club in a bigger East German city. “It’s always better on holiday / that’s why we only work when we need the money”
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