Take Me Out (song)

"Take Me Out" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2004 and in the United States on 9 February, both through Domino Records. It was released as 7" vinyl, a CD single, and a DVD single with the music video and a short interview with the band.
The single reached number three in the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S., it reached number three on Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 66 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It was a number-seven hit on the Canadian Singles Chart, and also reached number one on the UK Indie Chart. In November 2004, the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song was voted the best single of 2004 by "The Village Voice" Pazz & Jop poll, and number one on Australian youth radio network Triple J's Hottest 100 of the same year. In July 2009, it was voted number 100 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time.
Background and release.
Franz Ferdinand formed in Glasgow in 2002 and wrote "Take Me Out" the following year.
The band attempted different arrangements before settling on a mid-song tempo change. Alex Kapranos said: “The verses sounded better played a little bit faster and the chorus sounded better played a little slower and we could never quite work it out... I had this idea that we’re going to take all of the verses, put them at the beginning of the song, and then we’re going to slow it down and play all the choruses, which is kind of the wrong way to do it.” The tempo changes were recorded live in the studio. Producer Tore Johansson said: "there was no editing other than that we compiled the best take. We didn't do any tricks of, like, doing that on a separate take and then doing the rest of the track." Johansson used multiple echo effects to achieve a "marching, machiney, industrial feel... It's very organic, but we wanted it to sound like you're in a big workshop or something."
Music video.
The music video for the song was directed by Jonas Odell. It includes the band in the midst of a Dadaist animation involving quirky vintage figures and machinery reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's cartoon segments for Monty Python. The video is a blend of the live action band superimposed into a 3D environment with animated 2D elements. Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos described the video's influences as Dada, the films of Busby Berkeley, and Soviet propaganda, and praised Odell's direction. Kapranos commented:
Basically it's a pop video and it should entertain you, but not just once – there're certain things you stare at in life that is just fascinating to look at like a fish tank or an open fire, they're actually quite simple things but there's something fascinating about them. And I think pop videos should be like that too. There should be something there that just makes you want to come back and look at it.
Composition.
"Take Me Out" is a song with features of indie rock and dance punk. Its first section is fast tempo guitar driven, followed by a slower second section with disco hi-hat patterns and snare drums.
Critical reception.
The song received high critical acclaim upon its release in January 2004. "Drowned in Sound" called it: "a work of sheer clanging wonder"
In March 2005, "Q" magazine placed "Take Me Out" at number 41 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2005, the same magazine named it the 34th greatest track ever performed by a British band. "Q" made another list for its television channel, also named Q, of 100 greatest Indie Anthems, where "Take Me Out" featured on number 6.
In May 2007, "NME" magazine placed "Take Me Out" on number 16 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, whereas MTV2 placed it on number 7 in its version of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, which was loosely based on "NME"s list. In October 2011, "NME" placed it at number 27 on its list of 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years.
"Pitchfork" ranked the song number 44 of its top 500 tracks of the 2000s.
"Rolling Stone" magazine ranked "Take Me Out" number 327 in the 2010 version of its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Usage in media.
"Take Me Out" was featured in the trailer for the 2008 film "Hancock" and in the soundtracks of the video games "Madden NFL 2005", "NHL 2005", and "Shaun White Skateboarding", being playable in "Guitar Hero", "", the U.S. version of "SingStar Pop", "Just Dance 2", "Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2" and "Rocksmith". The song is also a downloadable content for the "Rock Band" series. In 2017, the song was used in an advertisement for Ralph Lauren's Polo Red fragrance.
In 2018/19 in the UK, the refrain of "Take Me Out" was used in an video advertisement for the Kia Sportage.
Other versions.
In 2006, an acoustic version of "Take Me Out" was recorded in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States. This version of the song appeared as a B-side to the exclusive fan club release of "Swallow, Smile".
The song was covered by the Scissor Sisters in 2004 on the B-side to their single "Mary" and "Filthy/Gorgeous". In Australia, the song received substantial airplay and was ranked number 44 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004 while the original version was ranked number one.
The Magic Numbers and Guillemots both covered the song for BBC Radio 1's "The Jo Whiley Show". Biffy Clyro also recorded a very different take for Zane Lowe's show. Finger Eleven are known for playing "Take Me Out" live, usually in a medley of their "Paralyzer", Led Zeppelin's "Trampled Under Foot" and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2".
"Weird Al" Yankovic used a portion of the song for the polka medley "Polkarama!", from his 2006 album "Straight Outta Lynwood". In 2008, Ryan Lewis produced a mash-up, combining "Take Me Out" with 2Pac's "Crooked Nigga Too".
In 2019, Young Summer covered "Take Me Out". The version appears on the soundtrack for the Hulu TV series "Looking For Alaska", which is based on the 2005 novel by John Green.
Formats and track listings.
UK 7-inch single
UK limited-edition 12-inch single
UK CD single
UK DVD single
US 12-inch single
Australian CD single
French 12-inch and CD single
2013 remixes digital download