UNDERRATED / OVERRATED

Khandi Alexander on ‘Treme’: We’re jazzed to watch David Simon’s new HBO series about post-Katrina New Orleans, and while it’s terrific to see “Wire” vets such as Clarke Peters back in action, we also love getting reacquainted with this sad-eyed star of Simon’s “The Corner” and the sitcom “NewsRadio.” Why she hasn’t been seen in higher-profile roles since then is beyond us.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: There’s something pre-millennial about this collective of dark-minded Canadians, but we couldn’t be happier with their recently announced reunion. Used to brilliant effect in the “28 Days Later” soundtrack, Godspeed’s evocative mix of gloomy cellos, churning guitars and martial drums can sound like the end times, but it also sounds transcendent.

Being shocked by fast food: The Internet exploded last week with talk of a new sandwich at a certain chicken franchise that takes hand-held fat-and-grease delivery systems to absurd new heights. Fun stuff, but at this point it isn’t news that fast food is bad for you -- everything but water is a caloric disaster. Mock the menu’s decadent evolution if you will, but it’s just free marketing at this point.

Pavement’s progeny: Now that fans of this Stockton band are gleefully stationed in Indio for a much-anticipated reunion, we should concede that Stephen Malkmus and Co. did a lot of accidental damage to the modern rock landscape. Just as Led Zeppelin must answer for every bad hair-metal band, so too did Pavement give us every overly ironic and lazy-drawled indie darling. Uh, thanks?