Franz Ferdinand fans: have you really never heard of Josef K before?

[RandomKoolzip]

Because every single note sang, played, written, hit, etc. on their little album was originally done much better by a Scottish band called Josef K back in the early 80's.

They sound EXACTLY alike, down to that FF guy's vocal style, copped directly from Paul Haig, Josef K's singer.

It's amazing that one of the biggest, hippest bands nowadays is getting all this attention just by ripping off some obscure band who probably never sold more than 2000 albums in the States, whose sound was considered too "odd" way back when.

If you've never heard of them, I suggest tracking down some of Josef K's early EP's or singles...they're now being reissued on CD, so you'll prolly find them at Tower.

[IronLionZion]

1. not a fan, but that's not surprising

a lot of "musicians" these days are so phony it makes you want to slap them.

[RandomKoolzip]

2. Ripping off older stuff is a timeworn tradition....

I usually don't mind when musicians rip off older stuff, so long as it's older GOOD stuff. I wish MORE bands sounded like the Kinks, The Clash, early Genesis, etc.

But when the new band is obviously counting on their audience not knowing who it is they're ripping off, and becoming successful at it, it pisses me off. Franz Ferdinand is so transparently saying "okay, here's a cool band no-one's ever heard of...let's copy their records note for note, and we'll make a shitload of money and get lots of good reviews...." Posers.

[IronLionZion]

3. yeah, there's a huge difference between honoring another band

and ripping them off.

and some people just need to be slapped

[LSdemocrat]

4. After listening to some Josef K samples on iTunes,

I can see a vague similarity between the two bands, but to my ears there do seem to be very distinct differences.

Josef K seems to have slightly less intense beats and more of a 70's funk influence than Franz Ferdinand. I also find Josef K's beats a lot less catchy than Franz Ferdinand tunes.

None of the Josef K samples I listened to struck me as highly similar to any Franz Ferdinand song.

Is there any particular Josef K song that strikes you as suspiciously similar to a Franz Ferdinand tune?

[nickgutierrez]

5. I'll check it out. n/t