VOTE S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

I was considering not using my vote, for the first time ever, in the upcoming euro elections. However, I got some leaflets through my door and have made my decision.

Most of the leaflets were the usual fare. SNP promising to stand up for me but not sure against who. Labour promising to protect me from the SNP even though I don't need protection from the SNP. Liberals saying will stand up for me and protect me from all the other parties. Greens putting in loft insulation???? Nazis putting on doctors and builders outfits in effort to look like real people who will convince me of the 'black evil'. And UKIP telling me to leave everything, including the 21st century and into the 17th Century.

But one leaflet outshone them and won me over. At first I thought it was the Tories but on closer inspection there was a photo of their main candidate looking evil (more evil than usual) and holding a bunch of cats. Yes. It was Blofeld. The leadership, pussy obsessed arch enemy of James Bond (ironic) and leader of Spectre, aka the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.

Go look in your bins and pull the supposed Tory leaflet out. In these times of expenses rows and other things bad, we need a leader and party like Spectre to cut through the spin and hold our hearts and minds to ransom.

To celebrate my decision I offer Nancy Sinatra's title track from You Only Live Twice and her long time buddy Lee Hazlewood. Forget that Robbie Williams stole the strings from Nacy's song & John Barry. Its quality pop. The second track is classic Lee. That deep rumbling voice with beautiful arrangements.

Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice

Lee Hazlewood - Your Sweet Love

Homage De Shatbass

Was just visting Shatbass to download some tunes and the blog is well worth a look with its eclectic mix of old, new, personal and random tracks.

Today's post was You're The Best from Karate Kid, topped of with a pic of a pretty young lady. Well to celebrate the continued success of Shatbass I offer my own eighties throwback.

For anyone who has fought a Russian giant or even just eaten too many nachos, Burning Heart, from Rocky IV is your anthem. I was cleaning the house this morning and listened to The Rance Allen Group and then Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. I really should have had some Survivor on!

The picture is of the contestants for Miss Russian Army. Some show the horrors of war. Some are just horrors.

Survivor - Burning Heart

There's No Padding Like American Idol Padding

The female section of Pontiac Dream is currently watching hour number 5 of the lingering death of American Idol's latest season. Queen Latifah has kindly taken time out from making the worst films in Hollywood to scare the audience with stretchy black pants.

So I have put on my headphones and although I can still Paula Abdul read from her thesaurus, my music acts as an effective kind of Maginot Line.

And I'm listening to The Future Will Come, the new album from The Juan Maclean. TJM, as I will call them in an effort to appear in a zeitgeist, are from the DFA stable. John MacLean, who essentially is TJM and James Murphy used to be in the same group and it was Murphy who brought Maclean back to music and its electronic possibilities. Yeah, I read the wikipedia site, want to fight??

I picked up TJM's first album, Less Than Human, on the back of hearing a few tracks on a DFA comp and a general obsession with the disco-punk-funk ethos represented by the lable. Less Than Human was a mostly minimal techno with touches of dancefloor motions. A soundtrack to the first date between two 23rd Century androids.

So I was excited about the recent release of The Future Will Come. The surprise was that rather than another journey to the stripped down electric side of DFA, the two androids have built themselves a time machine and are having a honeymoon in a parallel universe to 1982.

edit point: the metaphor has gone too far I know, but in my defence my musical critique professors were all Muzik magazines writers like Calvin Bush and Ben Turner. And they used metaphors with military precision. Respect.

So anyhoo...The Future Will Come has an eighties pop feel while hinting at the House boom waiting fround the corner. LCD Soundsystem keyboardist/synth destroyer, Nacy Whang, has joined MacLean as a vocalist and there duets are a mix alienation and curiosity.

So far I I still prefer the first album. It was my techno treat for a long time and the new tracks are still finding their way under my skin. Some of the lyrics are nonsense but at points it becomes very danceable and a couple of tracks are classic DFA statements: punktinged lyrics, disco electrics, funk basslines.

Check it out and wet your beak with these tracks.

The Juan MacLean - The Simple Life

The Juan MacLean - A New Bot

Papas Got A Brand New Handbag

It's true you know.

Old Faithfull Gravis has helped me across Glasgow, Scotland, Europe, The Atlantic and the mean streets of the Upper West Side.

But in recent times as the spring sun hit him, he looked more like Skeletor's scrotum rather Jesus's napsack. So I hoped to find a bag in NYC but with little luck. All the ones I liked fitted in with a two dollar-pound style of economy.

So I visited everyones favourite cornershop and found a funky yet urban flavoured satchel from Eastpak. By the way big shouts to Chemical Records to for their swift delivery and beating the price of the offical Eastpak site by nearly £10. I will be returning to this site as it looked like a great little side street of internet funkiness be it tshirt, bag or tunes.

So with a new bag at my side I am ready to step out and take the praise. Speaking of praise and newness its been too long since I actually posted some new music. So tonight I say..."Listen".

Tosca are Austrian duo Richard Dorfmeister (of Kruder & Dorfmeister) and Rupert Huber and excel in making experimental but accessible electronica. Their new album, No Hassle, is out and making inrodes into my eardrums.

Now I'm not going to say that this album breaks musical boundaries. But it reminds us why electronica can be so good in the right hands. I'm looking at you Zero 7 and every other coffee bar electro jibbery-jazz Morcheeba soundclash.

Tosca make stripped down electronic tracks. Bleepy at some points, selective strings at others and Austrian beats as clean as the Alpine air. I am really enjoying this album and I hope that you like the tracks below. In addition I added the video for Birthday which is how first came across the new album. It totally reminds me of some of the low budget but effective music videos that many house and downtemp producers used in the late 90s. More new music soon....

Tosca - Elitsa

Tosca - Birthday

Are You Positive?

Tomorrow Shatner's Bassoon has a job interview and everyone here at Pontiac Towers is wishing him well and sending adequate amounts of positive related energy.

In addition here is a interview guide from Will Ferrell:



Good Luck Shatbass

I See Famous People

As promised details of the celebs stroke famous people stroke hollywood legends we saw in NYC.

In order of appearance we have:

Paul Herman aka Beansie from the Soprano's aka the guy Richie Aprile crushed with his motor aka Marvin the accountant from Entourage.



While on one of our many subway journeys just as we came into 42nd St Station I turned to see an older man dressed to impress with shades and tan to match. It then dawned on me that it was Beansie. As usual did have the time or inclination to stalk Beansie on the subway but a good start.

Next up was a sighting all down to Mrs Pontiac and her knowledge of the fake/reality show The City on MTV. Wandering up 8th Ave we passed a Blockbuster Video and I was dragged back to to see Miss Allie Crandell aka Allie from The City aka a thin model. Cannot be sure of the dvd being rented but believe she had a bucket of popcorn and a a bucket for her bolemia.



A now for the legend................

It's our last night in NYC. We have just had a lovely Italian meal and were heading up 7th Ave to get some frozen yogurt aka some Yolato. I turn to see some old lady getting out of a limo. She looks familiar. She looks confused, rummaging in her handbag. Is it? Can't be? Mrs Pontiac confirms it is.



Inappropriately Sexy



Radical Sexy



Leg Warming Sexy



Classy O'lady Sexy

Jane Bloody Fonda