What do jagged, post-punky rock music and the oft stuffy discipline of food writing have in common? Listen to Terry Gross interview Alex Kapranos, frontman of Scottish group Franz Ferdinand, about his gustatory adventures on the road, to find out. According to World Hum, Kapranos has just published Sound Bites a book of columns he wrote for the UK Guardian about eating while on tour. Sounds odd, but apparently, Kapranos worked for long years in the restaurant industry before hitting the musical big time. He also met fellow band member Bob Hardy while working in the kitchen. Kapranos is kind of an inverse Anthony Bourdain, a culinary guide for the asymmetrical-bangs set, instead of a “rock-star” chef. When asked about his most adventurous food experience, Kapranos’ response is the well-worn fugu. He saves himself from cliché, though, downplaying it as “tasty, but not worth the chance of death.” Overall he strikes a good balance of the effete and honest, and is an entertaining storyteller (his descriptions of his band members’ eating habits are priceless), and gets special props for namechecking my local doughnut shop.
(It really is that good, but man, there goes the neighborhood.)

– “Holiday Books: Music” (NYT)
– Food