1001 Songs Challenge #941: Take Me Out (2004)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out (2004)

 

 

We’re leaving the US today, dear reader, and making our way back across the Atlantic and to the UK. We head north to Scotland and to Glasgow. Formed in 2002 Franz Ferdinand specialised in various types of rock and would soon gather a fanbase. When we join them in 2004 it is with the release of their debut album, Franz Ferdinand, and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the second single – Take Me Out. 

Take Me Out has multiple interpretations but they generally centre around the same idea. In the song, the narrator talks of being a target and also of their love for someone special. They seem down about this woman and are resigned to losing them. Before this happens they ask to be taken out, to end their misery. This seems like a song of heartbreak, however, the more popular interpretation is that the track is in reference to Archduke Franz Ferdinand himself whose assassination in 1914 is considered to be the key moment that led to the outbreak of the First World War (1914- 1918). Applying a spot of history here, the song can be interpreted as Franz Ferdinand himself being a target and wanting to be taken out when his wife, Sophie, is killed before his eyes. 

I distinctly recall Take Me Out when it was first released 17 years ago! I can’t believe it is 17 years to be honest. What hasn’t changed is the energy and appeal of the track. It opens in style and never really lets up from start to finish. Franz Ferdinand continue to this day but have had line-up changes and even a one-off collaboration with Sparks (twice appearing on our list) to form FFS to record a solitary album. Sounds worth a listen to me.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run