Franz Ferdinand condemn IDF for using ‘Take Me Out’ without permission: “Vile arrogance”
Alex Kapranos, the frontman of Franz Ferdinand, has condemned the Israel Defence Force on behalf of the band after a new video utilises their huge hit, ‘Take Me Out’, without their permission.
Kapranos shared the video to his Instagram story, which appears to be IDF propaganda, with an English-speaking IDF soldier proudly announcing, “We launched Operation Roaring Lion, an Operation against the Iranian terrorist regime.”
The soldier adds that the Operation is “in full co-operation with the US Armed Forces”. War footage, such as bombs, planes, and air strikes, is interspersed throughout the violent video.
Via his Instagram Story, the singer condemned the use of the 2004 indie classic, ‘Take Me Out’, to soundtrack the disturbing video. He began, “These war-mongering murderers are using our music without our consent. This makes us both nauseous and furious.”
Kapranos added, “Kind of typical though, isn’t it? To strut up and take what isn’t theirs with a vile arrogance.” It isn’t immediately clear where Kapranos lifted the video from.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently deemed Operation Roaring Lion a “joint campaign to put an end to the threat from the Ayatollah regime in Iran.”
This comes as Donald Trump has received much backlash for deeming the United States’ involvement in the conflict in Iran “Operation Epic Fury,” explaining, “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Franz Ferdinand have been staunchly anti-Trump since 2016, when they released the song, ‘Demagogue (30 Days, 30 Songs)’, which criticised Trump’s presidential candidacy at the time.
Franz Ferdinand released their latest album, The Human Fear, in 2025. In a review of the project, Far Out observed, “There’s often an absence of creative abandon, just replaced by a slick professionalism—but it shouldn’t have to be that way. It has rendered the record eminently listenable, but just how many memorable listens it will garner is another matter.”
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