Michael by Franz Ferdinand

Album: Franz Ferdinand (2004)

Charted: 17

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This song is written from the perspective of a guy who spots Micheal on the dance floor and lusts after him. "Michael you're the only one I'd ever want," he tells him.

It was inspired by real-life events and a real-life Michael. Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos and guitarist Nick McCarthy wrote the song after a night at the Glasgow club Disco X with their friend Michael Kasparis, who got drunk and started dancing suggestively on a podium. Kapranos and McCarthy turned it into a story of a gay encounter, although Kasparis is heterosexual.

"They thought it was hilarious and it inspired the song," Kasparis told the Scottish Daily Record. "The original lyrics were a lot less serious but they changed them when it came to recording. They're much more gay-influenced now."
"Michael" is part of Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut album, which earned heaps of praise in the British music press and made a big impact in America as well, where "Take Me Out" was a big hit. "Michael" was issued as a single in the UK, where it climbed to #17.
The music video stars Michael Kasparis, who inspired the song. We see him dancing in a basement as a troupe of guys all dressed like the band look on. One of them likes what he sees and literally rips Kasparis' arm off.

The video was shot in Berlin and directed by Uwe Flade, who has also shot videos for Depeche Mode and a-ha.
The band embedded a hidden message in this song. At the beginning of the second verse, there's a garbled voice that comes on for a few seconds. When played backwards, it says, "She's worried about you. Call your mother."

This was spoof on the back-masking trend of the 1970s when songs like "Stairway To Heaven" were rumored to contain secret messages that could only be revealed when played backwards. Most of the time there was no message at all, but listeners but listeners often claimed to hear Satanic missives, building the urban legends. Franz Ferdinand thought it would be funny to go the opposite route by making their hidden message totally innocuous.
The lyrics, "Come and dance with me, come and dance with me, so come and dance with me" are repeated throughout this song, mostly leading into the chorus. However, at a live performance recorded at the Amsterdam Paradiso in 2003, Alex Kapranos sang instead, "come and dance with me, come and dance with me, so come all over me." If you look at the lyrics printed in the official Franz Ferdinand album booklet, the line, "So come all over me" is crossed out, and is not sung on the official album recording. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Amy - Melbourne, Australia

Comments: 14

Oromet from Christchurch, New ZealandThis song reminds me of the movie Billy Elliot, because he has a friend named Michael that he is always trying to get to dance with him.
Flowery Twat from Philadelphia, Paif you take out the words that alex is singing, the background singers are saying "hey you, hey you, good looking." it's awesome!
Saman from Lawrence, Mathe real michael makes a cameo in this video =)
Tracey from Liverpool Uk, Englandi love this song, they are not afraid to sing about anything, i love all their songs, three of the best underrated ones are darts of pleasure, come on home, the dark of the matinee, alex if you read this by any chance you are proper sexy, from scouse bird.
Iara from Santiago, ChileThis song has a subliminal messagge on the end of the first chorus,which says: " Call your mother,she's worried about you" .The band said that they made it for fun,and there's no perversion or any bad references on it.
Amy from Melbourne, AustraliaFranz Ferdiand have stated that their aim is to 'make records that girls can dance to'. They certainly achieve that on this track - just try to stop your feet moving!
Amy from Melbourne, AustraliaAlex has said 'this track's about the dancefloor and characters we knew on the dancefloor. Some people have taken a homoerotic interpretation for this song, so take it whichever way you want. I think ambiguity is a good thing in pop music, because then the lyrics belong to the listener rather than the person who wrote them.' Well said! Amy, Melbourne, Australia
Amy from Melbourne, AustraliaNME reviewer Anthony Thornton wrote that while Michael 'may appear to be a frank exploration of homoeroticism', really it's just Alex Kapranos 'playing at sexual roles in the same way Morrissey did 20 years ago.' I think the subversion of gender works perfectly to add intrigue to this song - if the object of the song was called Mary for example, it'd still be a great track to dance to, but somehow having the male lead singer singing to Michael adds other layers of meaning. Amy, Melbourne, Australia
Bethan from Somerset, Uk.Reached #17 in the UK singles chart in August 2004.
Katie from Newcastle-upon-tyne, EnglandI like this band. I like them a lot. I remember the first time I heard Take Me Out. I was in my dad's car and he played it for me. I thought it was really good. I'm glad I checked on here to see what this song was about. I love this song too. My favourite by them.
Mandy from Calgary, CanadaThank God I came here and looked up what this song ment. I bought the c.d. and listened to this song, and I was so so confused. I was like "most of thier songs are talking about girls... but this one... is very..." I almost thought they were gay. Well, they are a great band whether or not. And the c.d. rocks. Definitly one of the best bands of time! Thanks for the info!
Jack from St. Paul, MnThis is Franz Ferdinand's best song, except maybe for "The Dark of The Matinee." They are definately the best band since Nirvana.
Sean from Cork, IrelandIt wasn't meant to end up as a popular mainstream hit. They played it at concerts when they were struggling in Scotland. It was a private joke among the band and their friends
Veronica from Fowler, CaThen again, even Alex said it was about their friend who was really tripping the light fantastic (or however that goes) one night and decided to write a song about it...

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