Sunday’s 56th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony served as a love fest for dominant artist and producer Pharrell Williams.
Alex Kapranos’ Twitter profile is a different sort of venue.
In a Tweet posted Friday morning, the Franz Ferdinand singer and guitarist implied that Williams lifted one of his riffs for the new Paloma Faith song “Can’t Rely on You.”
Obviously referencing the similarity between the main “Can’t Rely on You” riff and that of “Take Me Out,” his band’s signature song, Kapranos wrote, “Hey @Pharrell – I love your tunes. If you want to borrow a riff, just ask.” He attached the music video for “Can’t Rely on You,” a song co-written and produced by Pharrell, to his biting Tweet.
In response to a fan who Tweeted, “maybe you could buy him a new hat once he’s paid up,” Kapranos cracked, “Let’s hope it’s a hit, then. Again.”
Kapranos does not, however, want his implication dubbed an accusation. In one Tweet, he noted, “oh, by the way, I didn’t “accuse” anyone of anything. ;-)”
In a later reply to SPIN Magazine, he wryly joked, “Hey, I’ve always loved @Pharrell’s stuff. I just offered him a riff if he wanted one.”
Neither Pharrell nor Faith has responded to Kapranos’ series of Tweets.