40. Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out

When Radio 1 first started playing Take Me Out in late 2003, the version they aired edited out the track’s first 55 seconds. “Here’s Franz Ferdinand”, the DJ would say, and straight away the choppy guitar downstrokes that heralded the meat of the song were upon us. Thankfully, within a week or so, someone had seen sense and reattached the song’s opening minute, and Take Me Out went on to become an indie behemoth. These two events surely can’t be unrelated: Take Me Out’s thunderous intro is what makes the song so exciting – removing it is like cutting all the establishing shots of the Bates Motel and going straight to the shower scene. Alex Kapranos’ ringleader-style delivery, the entire group’s cocky, art-school swagger – it all set the scene for the main event. And then what a blast of stomp and riff and singalong. Take Me Out should be heard loud and brash, hip-swinging and pouting – and, crucially, fully intact.