Ulysses (song)


"Ulysses" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the lead single from their third studio album, , on 2 December 2008 in the United States and 18 January 2009 in the United Kingdom. "Ulysses" peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.

Release

The song "Ulysses" was chosen to be the first single and was in physical format on 19 January 2009. It was debuted live on 5 August 2007 at the "Hey You Get Off My Pavement" festival in Glasgow and has been played at every full set gig since. The song received first airplay at BBC Radio 1 on 17 November 2008, and subsequently became available to download from the Canadian and US iTunes music stores on 2 December 2008. In the United States, the song reached #20 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, the band's fifth single to appear on that chart. The song also entered the UK Singles Chart at a peak position of #20 on 25 January 2009. The video, directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, was premiered on 9 January 2009.
The cover art for the single is part of a series of photographs the band are taking on their travels, recreating crime scenes; this one features Alex Kapranos face-down in the street, presumably dead, while his bandmates look on. The Ulysses cover shot was taken in Brooklyn by Guy Eppel.

Reception

"Ulysses" featured on Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown in 2008, polling 82nd. The track was also featured on the second season of Skins's promo advert.
Ulysses is the Roman name for the Greek mythological hero Odysseus, as well as the title for the novel of the same name by James Joyce.
The song has been used for the television commercial of Toyota Mark X ZiO in Japan since February 2009., as well as the video game .

Track listing

  1. "Ulysses" - 3:13
  2. "New Kind of Thrill" - 4:28
  3. "Ulysses" - 6:13
  1. "Ulysses" - 3:13
  2. "Anyone in Love" - 2:44
  1. "Ulysses" - 3:13
  2. "You Never Go Out Anymore" - 2:05
  1. "Ulysses" - 3:14
  2. "New Kind Of Thrill" - 4:29
  3. "Anyone In Love" - 2:45
  4. "You Never Go Out Anymore" - 2:06
  5. "Ulysses" - 6:13
  1. "Ulysses" - 6:13
  2. "Feeling Kind Of Anxious" - 6:33
  3. "Ulysses" - 8:06
  4. "Ulysses" - 3:49
  1. "Ulysses" - 2:21
  2. "Ulysses" - 3:00

    Personnel

"Ulysses" debuted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart at #20. On the UK Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 20.

Weekly charts