FRANZ INVADE FRANCE The Glasgow band really couldn’t have it much better
I There may be signs of a grassroots backlash in Scotland. but the rest of the world can't get enough of Franz Ferdinand's new album. You Could Have It So Much Better. The Guardian (000. ) kicks off the love-in: ‘If there's a more exciting opening track this year than “The Fallen". you wouldn‘t let it near anyone with a heart condition.' It’s an album that ‘radically extends the Franz musical palette'. says an NME reviewer. who remains untypically calm in the face of ‘Franz‘s strongest-ever songs' (.0000). Outside London. praise for the band is even more fulsome. USA Today (0000 ) explains that the album is ‘more sophisticated than its celebrated debut but no less fun or infectious’. while the New York Times (.0000) gushes that ‘Songs flaunt garage-rock rifting and bubble-gum nonsense syllables and surf-rock lead guitar; within three-minute tracks the arrangements shift and sometimes explode.’ The LA Times (0000 ) simply applauds ‘a fresh pop force'. and even the French newspaper Liberation (0.00 ) explains that ‘after a celebrated opening album‘ the band‘s second attempt ‘succeeds at being resolutely rock‘. Everywhere. from German paper Die Zeit (COO. ) to Malaysia's New Straits Times (0000.). Franz get the thumbs up. During the 19808. Abba were Sweden's biggest export commodity: could Franz Ferdinand be heading in the same direction for Scotland?
OFFSIDE!
Do women really know the rules of football better than blokes?
I When to run with a feelgood funny story? Last week the Scottish papers seemed to be ahead of the game. ‘Female football fans know the offside rule better than men,’ screamed the Daily Record, quoting ‘findings that will shock male supporters’. The Scotsman reasoned that ‘men become more emotionally involved in the game, whereas women adopt a more logical approach which helps them understand the rules better.’ Only the Times and a Zimbabwean news website picked
8 TEE LIST 7‘; Oct ’1 2305.
up the story as quickly — perhaps because the other papers had asked more penetrating questions
TATTOO MAGAZINES
Exploring the skin trade
I Once the exclusive territory of the armed forces and over-exuberant drunkards, tattoos today adorn girl bands and pensioners alike. There is. however. an underground subculture thriving in rapture of the needle, and the specialist press. while suitably fanatical. varies hugely.
I Tattoo is the daddy of all skin ink mags. Based in the US, it conveys the passion behind tattoos. Realistic sketching is swinging back into favour, away from garish, cartoonish styles, they tell us.
I Despite its soft porn cover, Tattoo Energy. a pan-European mag. relies on vivid, quality visuals. It is subdivided into genres like tribal. demons and animals, and the most impressive one is the sacred. an array of weeping Marys. crucifixions and an almost real set of rosary beads. Ironically, little UK-based Skin Deep is more cosmopolitan, with features on the cultural history of the art, and profiles on artists from New Zealand to Derby.
I These magazines certainly underline the permanency of tattoos. Pictograms of Mexican bandits atop a train across someone’s chest seem perfectly natural next to scenes from Scooby Doo covering a man’s entire back, or a girl with ‘BEER BELLY’ emblazoned across her lower torso. Whatever your tastes, there’s ink out there for you. Imagination and tolerance for pain are the only limitations.
I The Scottish Body Art Show is at the Station Hotel. Perth. Sat 29 8 Sun 30 Oct. Contact 0790 7 970677 lormore details.
about the data. According to the Times, ‘when 2000 football viewers were shown flashcards with various positions of play, 59 per cent of women identified offside instances compared with 55 per cent of men’. Hardly a decisive victory for the women, then. And what none of the papers remarked on was that the interviews took place with drinkers in Australian- themed Walkabout sports bars. Could you explain the offside laws after ten pints of Fosters?
‘I had my hair cut off by Elizabeth Hurley’s hair person. I thought it would look butch. Unfortunately I looked like a butch lesbian. I’m plug ugly with my hair cut off.’
Hugh Grant recalls the lira/merit when he decided to get rid of his tradenmrk floppy locks.
‘Addiction is a horrible thing, it’s nothing to be laughed at. I look at Pete Doherty and I just want to put my arm round him.’ Elton JO/ll? offers (3 slmtildor for the Bt'll)l’8/MIND/()7 to cry (>77.
“‘Bollocks” is my favourite curse word, and “tits”. Oh, and “cunt” is a good one, too. I’m really not very tough. I’m a wimp, in fact. But, I do like to swear a lot.’ Kart: Kl?’g"fi()‘,” shows lit?" iiizii‘ginzilly
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‘I haven’t removed enough Kim Deal compositions from it yet. We’ll have a fight about that or something. And of course, in the end I will dominate.’ Fin/7k Bitck ’t’il‘k’f)‘ (l/Oullt.‘ (ilxxxt {lit-:- note/trial for New prIOS .'7).’lf()."/(1/.
‘I shall be over 70 at the next general election and that, frankly, is a bit old to be dancing around in front of huge graphic displays.’ Port," 81min; int/10:; (ll) his
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‘Alan B’Stard brought down the Thatcher administration. This time he will be New Labour,
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