Restaurant: Burger King

Meal: Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch Value Meal (medium)

Album: LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem

Book: Lester Bangs, Psychotic Reactions And Carborateur Dung

Haven't been to Burger King in ages, but the Hootie-hawked chicken sandwich was too enticing to ignore. Every word is the sweetest kiss, and to order the meal by its full name felt like singing. The sandwich took a long time and could have used more Ranch, but overall I was pleased. Plus the soda fountain allows for free refills. I'm stuffed to the gills.

There's no question that LCD Soundsystem is a good album, but I think it makes for an insular & depressing "great" one. My mom says the reason she doesn't watch High Fidelity as much as every other half-decent John Cusack film is that its like listening to me and my friends. James Murphy's blog-like musical monomania has a similar effect on me. I dig "Daft Punk" and "Disco Infiltrator" cuz they mock hipster-dance subculture while offering the pleasures that keep it going, but by "Movement" and "On Repeat" he starts to hector and I lose my sympathy. Making the influences even more overt when straying from metacrit is a chickenshit move, too. The album inspires more reaction and repeat play then most of what I hear these days, but its not something that I feel any desire to champion. It sucks when comedians start taking themselves seriously, especially when their shtick is already so limited.

I first read Psychotic Reactions in middle school, but it's decent for stray perusal while eating. Anybody who was cynical about post-punk the first time around would have a real hard time with these guys. Music is dead? Shit, Second Edition says EVERYONE'S dead. This is kiddie shit.