Rock. Books. Food. A magical combination. Last night we sent Editorial Assistant Heather and Gawker lensperson Nikola Tamindzic down to the Tribeca Cinema Gallery to check out the scene at Alex Kapranos' Sound Bites book party. Join them after the jump.

I have to admit, I'm a little wary when it comes to books written by musicians. It probably has something to do with the "book" of "poetry" that Jewel wrote back in the day: for a while I felt inadequate because I didn't get it. It happened again when Billy Corgan did the same thing. After a little soul searching, a little quasi-emo brooding and some disgusted looks from my friends, I managed to figure out that it wasn't me, it was them: the "books" were absolute crap.

Standing in the Park Slope Barnes & Noble last week (yeah, what? I live in Park Slope. Shut it.), I was reluctant to pick up Alex Kapranos' Sound Bites, a partial compilation of the Franz Ferdinand frontman's foodie columns in the UK Guardian and previously unpublished material documenting his gastronomic adventures around the world. Thumbing through the book, however, I discovered sharp, witty humor and highly entertaining writing.

This past weekend I got an invitation to the party celebrating the book's release. The fact that Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Brasserie (I'm a huge Bourdian fan) was catering the event, and my being a complete sucker for awkward interactions with celebrities, guaranteed my attendance. I almost got lost in Tribeca just so I could stuff my face with some incredible mini-burgers and have Nikola Tamindzic chastise me for eating the bun with the burger.

Whatever. A model I am not.

In any case, food was the order of the evening: Stations set up all around the Tribeca Cinemas Gallery reflected the international delights that Alex both grew up with (yum, haggis), and experienced on tour. The crowd was mostly low-key and unfamiliar, sprinkled with a few droppable names (Daniel Kessler from Interpol; the boys from We Are Scientists). Kapranos himself was highly gracious and actually understood my half-breed Australian accent. Overall, it was fairly uneventful - no girl claiming paternity, no boobs, no awkward dancing. The night was about two things: the food and the music. And of that, there was plenty. Enjoy our gallery, and see Nikola's full gallery here.

Team Party Crash: Tribeca Cinema Series Presents Sound Bites [photos]