Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It's late summer 1973, Washington new town, Tyne and Wear..." (more)
Key Phrases: pease pudding, benton harbor, south shields, Mother India, Jimmy Macjimmy

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The lead singer of the acclaimed, platinum-selling group Franz Ferdinand takes readers on a rock-and-roll culinary adventure around the world

The extremely successful band Franz Ferdinand has millions of fans around the globe, and the group's frequent tours bring its members not only to a wide variety of places but also face to face with a wide range of food. Here, lead singer Alex Kapranos collects his humorous and insightful reflections-compiled partly from his column in the Guardian (London)-on his many international gastronomic encounters, both savory and not so savory. From the charms of a donut shop in a Polish-speaking part of Brooklyn to a decidedly less charming pair of bull's testicles in Buenos Aires to the seductive, almost-vegetarian allure of a heavenly Singaporean buffet, Kapranos always gets the mouthwatering details just right while delivering an entertaining look at rock-and-roll life on the road.

About the Author

Alex Kapranos is the frontman for the Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand, whose first two albums have sold more than 1.5 million copies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143038087
• ISBN-13: 978-0143038085
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #612,408 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Let me eat cake! I'm a rock star!", January 11, 2007

By	H. McGuire - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of most entertaining foodie/travel/memoir books I've read in a long time! You don't have to be a fan of Franz Ferdinand to read this--it's a very worldly, witty, thoughtful collection of impressions about food and life, life on the road, restaurants around the world, and more. Kapranos also shares food-related stories of growing up in England and Scotland (where he was a chef before becoming a rock star). Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars literary tapas, February 19, 2007

By	gcon (colorado) - See all my reviews

so the guy from franz ferdinand tours the world and writes about what he eats. but it's more than that, it's not just the food, it's the atmosphere, it's the thoughts and feelings the food and atmosphere conjure up. it's all there. each "chapter" is no more than two pages, a quick sampling, but in those two pages, you get a feel and a taste for a place, for a moment of time. it's fun, funny, occasionally poetic, and even comes with a list of addresses and phone numbers of the restaurants talked about in the book.

so worth your time, a definate buy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Read!, February 1, 2009

By	Elizabeth Pantelis (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not much of a non-fiction reader nor a foodie, but I absolutely loved this book. It's storytelling with detail so eloquent and vivid that it feels like a good friend is taking you to experience these places. I couldn't pull myself away! I was completed surprised. I bought the book because I'm a fan of Franz Ferdinand and I enjoy hearing or reading Alex's interviews. He really knows how to pull you into a story. This isn't a book just critiquing food. It's a full on story following somewhat of a timeline with entertaining flashbacks to his childhood in Glasgow, London, and Greece and experiences as a chef in Glasgow. Everything is there, the good the bad, the absolutely disgusting. He writes about fast food joints all the way up to 5 star digs. It's across the board entertainment. I couldn't recommend this book any more.