56 - Franz Ferdinand

When I woke up tonight I said "I-I-I I'm gonna make somebody love me"

Franz Ferdinand clocks in at number 56. They are from Scotland. I saw them in Philly with my younger sister (they are a fave of her's) and their guitarist was on crutches, but still played. Got to respect that.

Wiki - Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals).

The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the UK Charts, followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand which debuted on the UK album chart at #3. The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released, "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée" and "This Fire". The band has also received several Grammy Award nominations.

Many believe that the band is named after the Austrian Archduke of the same name, whose assassination was a major factor in the outbreak of World War I. However, they chose the name after watching the racehorse Archduke Ferdinand win the 2001 Northumberland Plate.

Discography -

Franz Ferdinand (2004)
You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009)

Best Songs -

Jacqueline
Take Me Out
Dark of the Matinee
This Fire
'40
The Fallen
Do You Want To?
Fade Together
Ulysses
No You Girls
Lucid Dreams

FF broke out in 2004 with their song (and Modest Mouse's "Float On") to cause radio rock to play more alternative rock than mainstream rock.



next up: a show I saw on spring break this year ... gotta be Muse, right?