Recommendations of the Editorial team
Franz Ferdinand have spoken out against the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) use of their 2003 song “Take Me Out” in a propaganda video. Frontman Alex Kapranos shared the video on Instagram over the weekendnd criticized the IDF for using their music “without our consent.”
The IDF video shows footage of fighter jets and explosions as an Israeli soldier celebrates his country’s recent attacks on Iran. The post is captioned: “Operation Roaring Lion – here’s how it’s done.”
“These warmongering murderers are using our music without our consent,” Kapranos wrote. “It makes us disgusted and angry in equal measure. Kind of typical, right? Just stomping out and taking what isn’t theirs with a disgusting arrogance…”
Attack on Iran
On February 28, Israel and the US launched a joint military operation against Iran, which Donald Trump called Operation Epic Fury. Trump announced in a Truth Social post that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in the attacks. Iran later confirmed his death.
Iran retaliated shortly thereafter with missile attacks on Israeli targets as well as on U.S. military bases in several Arab countries, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Trump has since said he would take control of who Iran chooses as its next supreme leader. “He has to get our approval,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday about a potential new supreme leader. “If he doesn’t get our approval, he won’t last long.”
Franz Ferdinand and politics
Franz Ferdinand have made their political views clear in the past, including with their criticism of Trump in the 2016 song “Demagogue”. The song was released as part of 30 Days, 30 Songs, an independent campaign by “Artists for a Trump-free America”. After Trump was elected president, Kapranos tweeted: “Did I really wake up? Or am I still typing this as part of the nightmare? Feels frighteningly real.”
Franz Ferdinand’s most recent album “The Human Fear” was released last year. The band will tour the UK and Europe in March and April.
