Pontiac Dream

Forty Guns

2010-04-18T16:24:00.004+01:00

Forty Guns is a 1957 western filmed by Sam Fuller. I do not know a lot about Fuller except he made some films filled with the bizarre, randmomness and at time, a little bit of genius.

To help understand his process if may help to see a picture of him:

We know if Swordfishtrombones grew his hair out, starting smoking again and aged a few years, this would be his photofit.

Back to Forty Guns. Wow! What a western. Bearing all the hallmarks of a low budget cult western that sneaked past the big studio editing machine, its bursting to death with corn, conservative parody and sexual steam.

The Forty Guns are the 40 hired guns that Cattle-Range boss Barbara Stanwyck gallops and dines alongside. Enter Barry Sullivan and his brothers, US Marshalls with a warrant for one of Stanwyck's men. From then on its a zig-zagging affair which jumps from one set piece to another with giant metaphors grinding against self mocking dialogue almost too corny to believe ("I want to hold your trademark"..."Careful it may go off in your face").

Incoherent in a good way is feels like a film Sergio Leone or Corbucci might have seen and decided it opened the door to ripping on Ford and Hawks. Its sexuality is loud and proud while it has those themes of changing times which Peckinpah would perfect.

My only gripe would be that Stanwyck is not the domineering force she could have been. Unlike Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge in Johnny Guitar whose control over their men and worlds eventually destroys them, Babs quickly loses her masculinity to her need for a strong man who she can love. But who cares, in amongst the chaos of the film you are more interested in what will happen next.

New LCD

2010-04-14T23:13:00.002+01:00

The third and last LCD Soundsytem album is coming in mid May. You can now listen to it on their website. Me and a mucka are heading along to see them at the Barra's in a couple of weeks so I have veen practicing some moves. There are still tickets Jackie.

Match Point

2010-04-02T21:35:00.001+01:00

Was checking all the depressing stories on BBC news and this one although a lil' sad also brought a smile that one person's daft-cheeky-naughty photo could have such a resonance.

Say cheese.

Boardwalk Empire

2010-03-27T14:02:00.003Z

I was about to post a blog about how I think Martin Scorsese how really flatlined as a creative force in cinema. About how I believe his films reflect a comfort zone which many directors find themselves in after years of struggle.

Now I am not suggesting this zone is necessarily a bad thing for them personally as who does not need a break from the creative grindstone. However, his years of turmoil produced Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours and The King Of Comedy. His years of post Goodfellas comfort include unsatisfying and sometimes self indulgent product like Cape Fear, Gangs Of New York, Aviator, Kundun, Casino and now Shutters Island.

So in my rummaging for a suitable pic I cam across another story and one mjuch more interesting than my opinions on Scorsese (but i think i am on the right track with marty).

Coming in the fall of 2010 (fall - thanks America) comes a new HBO series from Sopranos writer Terence Winter and including directing spots from Sopranos regular Tim Van Patten and Scorsese himself doing the pilot.

Its called Boardwalk Empire and will have Steve Buscemi leading the cast. Something that is long overdue. Anyway set in Atlantic City as prohibition begins in the USA, Buscemi plays the head kingpin controlling the booze and assorted other illegal activities. From the looks of the preview clips it looks like a Sopranos/Deadwood mixture of sex, violence, corruption and action.

Roll on fall.

Breaking Bad Season Three

2010-03-22T22:35:00.003Z

Breaking Bad's third season started last night in the US of A and man o' man the opener was sensational. I am struggling to put into words how perfect every aspect of this programme is.

The character development, the writing, the water tight narrative, true originality, cinematic direction and plot teasing leaves me shaking like a leaf.

Thanks AMCTV.

Hoop Delusions

2010-03-16T18:27:00.003Z

A new edition to the feet patrol. Thanks to the excellent cut in price at Crooked Tongues I have been able to pick up a pair of trainers I was checking out in November but felt the price was a bit high for a pair I had not seen close up. Anyway got them today and they are most hip and tick all the boxes I hoped they would. Here is a little video that traces the development of sneaker.

PRO-KEDS X BOBBITO: ROYAL FLASH RELEASE from PRO KEDS on Vimeo.

Countdown 20 - 1

2010-03-11T21:15:00.003Z

Doing things a little different for the end of the countdown with a wee bit about each film and why its so high on the list.

Also want to say a bit about how the list made itself. For me it's not about the most watchable films, funniest films, experimental films, obscure films, criticallly acclaimed films or popular films.

For instance whenever Dantes Peak is on TV I watch it. I love its corn, the cheese and the fact it does not attempt to engage with me. But it would never be near this list because its cinematic candy which I can switch in and out of with no regret. Need a cup of tea, away I go. Want to watch another channel for 20 minutes, will do and the return in comfort.

But in this top 250 there is La Fracture du Myocarde and Yojimbo. I have seen the first once and the second twice. However, they are so memorable I can still remember the excitement and emotion of watching them before heading to school to tell everyone about them. Not sure I would be in such a rush for Dantes Peak.

So basically this is list of films that changed my cinema horizons, made my laugh so much I got a stitch, had me hiding behind my hands, welling up into a tear waterfall and hoot 'n' roar for a hero. Maybe some of them are as pretentious as my little chat but I doubt it.

IMDB (but hopefully you wont need the link for this 20)

1. The Wild Bunch

Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece. Cool, action packed and tragic. The perfect bridge between John Ford and revisionist westerns. How many films have you in tears for a group of murderers who leave a trail off blood wherever they go.

2. 12 Angry Men

This film should be shown to all children and young adults. Its like a blue print for rational thought. Thanks to my dad for telling me constantly to watch this.

3. Assault On Precinct 13

It was late on a Sunday night. A film began with some youths walking down a passageway. Cops suddenly kill them all. Then the awesome sound of John Carpenter on a casio keyboard rumbles in. And then the sound of silencers.....

4. Jaws

Totally terrifying to watch as a kid. Now totally thrilling as an adult. Brilliant form the start but as soon as Quinn, Brody and Hooper get on the boat it takes off to perfection.

5. The Searchers

An old skool western which was basically already hinting at the revisionism of the 60s and 70s. John Wayne hate filled beast of a character was his best and like a lot of this top 20, it always makes me cry at the end. Also best opening/closing sequence ever.

6. Taxi Driver

This reeks of the the malaise, cynicism and corruption of 1970s America. A film full of menace and literally dripping in the disturbed thoughts of Travis. Scorcese's greatest moment, the whole experience is addictive.

7. Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid

A broken disjointed classic. Peckinpah's world was falling apart as he made this and it shows. However, it all falls together and once again for a film of violence and betrayal it has moments of great humour and sadness.

8. Blazing Saddles

Funniest and most quotable film of all time. He's the new sheriff and he's black. Let's roll.

9. A Matter Of Life And Death

This was made in the 1940s but feels like some 1960s breakthrough piece of drug fuelled creation. Is it heaven? Is it another world? Or is David Niven in coma? Visionary.

10. Badlands

Another late Sunday night find. This was not like a dream but more like a daydream. Moments of beauty and tenderness or spliced with our dark side which flits in and out of reality.

11. Planes Trains And Automobiles

You laugh for 89 mins. Cry for 1 min. Smile through the credits. This is a John Hughes film that makes the rest of his films feel like John Hughes films.

12. The Godfather

Surely this cannot be nearly three hours long. The big boss of gangster films. Better than its sequel until the moment I change my mind again.

13. The Godfather Part Two

This is all about Michael and his descent from bady guy to evil dude. The scariest character created for film.

14. Chinatown

Born out of the same machine as the Godfather this again is an almost perfect film with a dense pot which has a real shock value.

15. Amelie

The happiest film I have ever seen. And a film about falling in love with a french girl called Audrey.

16. Airplane

Slightly behind Blazing Saddles in terms of quotableness but only because BS has cowboys. At 400 gags per minute all records are broken.

17. A Fistful Of Dynamite

Considered a weak Leone film I believe its his best. Steiger and Coburn are a great double act despite their awful Mexican and Irish accents. A real sad film full of huge set piece action, dark humour, rage against the machine and a little model train.

18. Annie Hall

Where Woody Allen made you laugh and think without one drowning the other. A tour de force (what's a tour de force) of New York jewish comedy. (whats jewish comedy)

19. The French Connection

New York pops up all over this list and its this 70s thriller that feels so down and dirty. Don't often root for cops but gotta love popeye. And no the car chase is not overrated.

20. Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark

The best hero created. Clever, handsome, brave, a nazi hater, a snake fearer with the ability to laugh at himself. And Marion.

Hope this list was of some interest. Feel free to mock, challenge and debate. A list is born to be talked about and disagreed over and not live in some vaccum wwhere everyone agrees to differ. Of course we differ but lets talk.

So on that point I reccommend checking a friend of Pontiac Dream mario.blog for his own Top 250 which could not be more different but is just as interesting.

Countdown 40 - 21

2010-03-10T22:27:00.004Z

Nearly there...one armed justice, combat comedy, road rage, where the crosses grow, pounding nothingness, the devil wears momma, tobacco chewing redemption, a load of bull, revolutionary heartbreak, old man honour, old man dying, existential snowfall, put the ball in the basket, a special purpose, dustbowl love cocktails, gazoontite, biblical blasphemy, italian tragedy, a short chamber Boxer Henry 4-5 caliber miracle and a monument valley opera.

IMDB

21. Once Upon A Time In The West
22. Zulu
23. Life Is Beautiful
24. Life of Brian
25. The Taking Of Pelham 123
26. The Last Picture Show
27. The Jerk
28. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
29. McCabe and Mrs Miller
30. The Shootist
31. Ride The High Country
32. Pans Labyrinth
33. Junior Bonner
34. The Outlaw Josey Wales
35. Rosemary's Baby
36. The Haunting
37. Cross Of Iron
38. Duel
39. M.A.S.H.
40. Bad Day At Black Rock

Countdown 60 - 41

2010-03-09T21:49:00.003Z

Three posts to go and we start with.....Charlie Hitler, old man moves, bread basket love triangle, taking it off here boss, samba drama, wings of death, the boogie man, jack's helmet, steve's white socks, a family affair, the ultimate father, no need for any badges, puking dinosaurs, deep freeze paranoia, funny how?, he wants his money, karate lessons from a bastard, phone box punch ups, girl trouble and Mr Bond???

IMDB

41. The Hill
42. Paper Moon
43. The Iprcess File
44. Get Carter
45. Point Blank
46. Goodfellas
47. The Thing
48. Toy Story
49. The Treasure Of Sierra Madre
50. To Kill A Mocking Bird
51. Empire Strikes Back
52. Fargo
53. Easy Rider
54. Monsters Inc
55. Brewster McCloud
56. City Of God
57. Cool Hand Luke
58. Days Of Heaven
59. Straight Story
60. The Great Dictator

Countdown 80 - 61

2010-03-08T19:54:00.003Z

A post-oscar statuette to....george gershwin soundscapes, the pride & joy of pupkiss, mummy's boy, jazz guitar, ghosts of children, oil rage, no time for love, miserable redemption, android chaplin, snowball fury, abby normal, ten minute tears, death of a clown, illinois nazis, scab picking horror, repetitive laughs, wheat WHEAT!!, the world is ours, hell on a horse and the perfect murder.

IMDB

61. Rope
62. High Plains drifter
63. La Haine
64. Love And Death
65. Groundhog Day
66. Poltergiest
67. The Blues Brothers
68. The Third Man
69. Up
70. Young Frankenstein
71. Dumb And Dumber
72. Wall-E
73. Three Colors Blue
74. Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom
75. There Will Be Blood
76. the devil's backbone
77. Sweet and Lowdown
78. psycho
79. King Of Comedy
80. Manhattan

Countdown 100 - 81

2010-03-07T13:04:00.004Z

First up: a correction. Number 127 should be Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers and NOT Return Of King. Rather like Empire Stikes Back vs Return Of the Jedi.

Anyhoos as we enter the 100s.....the original bromance, cime-capering bromantics, fraudulent bromantics, lessons about guns, camp gangs, and you thought brokebank mountain has homosexual undertones, aunt veroooooooo, pizza wars, itchy and scratchy land, the last american hero, wind-up sailors, they call him tim, bill paxtion gets killed (or was it bill pulman), 70s groucho, glasses make you spinster, commie cowboys, swords and skeletons, far east cool, deep frozen marxism and don't underestimate the IRA.

IMDB

81. The Long Good Friday
92. Sleeper
83. Lost In Translation
84. Jason and the Argonauts
85. High Noon
86. Its A Wonderful Life
87. Play It Again Sam
88. The Terminator
89. Monty Python and The holy grail
90. The Bedford Incident
91. Vanishing Point
92. Westworld
93. Do The Right Thing
94. Star Wars
95. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
96. The Warriors
97. Bowling For Columbine
98. The Producers
99. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
100. The Odd Couple

Countdown 120 - 101

2010-03-06T16:03:00.004Z

G'day.....psychadelic outback fear-fest, cowboy dialectic materialism, mountain men, bourne again*, casualty of nazi war, cold turkey revenge, big rain, the decapatation of Noel Edmonds, lost love, kid power, little red riding slasher, belgian sadism, I'll stick to hill walking, follow that gun!, there is nothing like a dame, the first 22nd Century western, its a pukka, freedom fighting for dummies, street rats and sweet ass paranoia.

*= I have chosen to place all the Bourne films in one entry. Each is 10/10. Each has prety much the same structure (fights, femmes and chases). Each feels like the previous and the follow-up.

IMDB

101. The Parallax View
102. Midnight Cowboy
103. The Battle Of Algiers
104. Harvey
105. Assassination Of Jesse James
106. The Naked Spur
107. Winchester 73
108. Touching the Void
109. The Vanishing
110. Don't Look Now
111. La Fracture du Myocarde
112. Casablanca
113. Dawn Of The Dead
114. A Bugs Life
115. French Connection 2
116. Europa Europa
117. Bourne Series
118. Jeremiah Johnson
119. The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean
120. Picnic at Hanging Rock

Countdown 140 - 121

2010-03-05T20:38:00.002Z

Friday hellos to...video store solidarity, don't call me boy! , the self preservation society, living books, el classico death of death, retard dreams, bad memories, bomb surfing, cumbernauld love stories, don't call me crazy, flying kung fu, shirley mclaine's hair, big fat orson, ork on ork action, lots of sun, felix la poubelle, harry dean goes in a dustcloud, deep throat, hot herald tribunes and back garden going-ons.

IMDB

121. Rear Window
122. Breathless
123. All The Presidents Men
124. Dillinger
125. Grosse Point Blank
126. Lawrence Of Arabia
127. Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King
128. Touch Of Evil
129. The Apartment
130. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
131. One Upon A Time In America
132. Gregorys Girl
133. Dr Strangelove
134. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
135. Being There
136. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
137. Fahrenheit 451
138. The Italian Job
139. In The Heat Of The Night
140. Clerks

Countdown 160 - 141

2010-03-04T23:17:00.002Z

So good evening to....the whore with a heart, 1997 New York, meat and no veg, glorious soggy bottoms, flyin' monkeys, ronald reagan???, an irish monk, a country-fried dystopia, fags and dames, war is bad, blow-dried malaise, media malaise, the art of fighting without fighting (but actually fighting), apes a poppin', ginger blur, dead narrators, red blood/red sand, "pick up the gun" and adagio for strings.

IMDB

141. Platoon
142. Shane
143. The Proposition
144. Sunset Boulevard
145. Run Lola Run
146. Planet Of The Apes
147. Enter The Dragon
148. Network
149. shampoo
150. Gallipoli
151. Mean Streets
152. The Maltese falcon
153. Nashville
154. The Big Lebowski
155. The Killers
156. Wizard Of Oz
157. O Brother Where Art Thou
158. Delicatessen
159. Escape From New York
160. Stagecoach

Countdown 180-161

2010-03-03T23:15:00.003Z

In tonight's post we have...a film I never thought I could like let alone love, hope & tragedy in the Spanish Revolution, "ssssissster", big brain action, that green volkswagon beetle, the truffle shuffle, shit scary 1940s nothingness, chicken catching, Clint's misunderstood copshow, Carry On Saving Private Kelly, brave docu-polemics, beyond the infinite, plain clothes cool, in space nobody can hear me crap myself, union blues, prententious genius, bolshevik romcom, textbook revisionism and an olympic tragedy.

IMDB

161. One Day In September
162. The Posse
163. Dr Zchivago
164. Apocalypse Now
165. Blue Collar
166. Alien
167. Serpicio
168. 2001 Space Odyssey
169. Pulp Fiction
170. Farenheit 9/11
171. Kelly's Heroes
172. Dirty Harry
173. Rocky II
174. Return Of The Cat People
175. The Goonies
176. Bullit
177. Nikita
178. Return Of The Jedi
179. Land and Freedom
180. Last Of The Mohicans

Countdown 200-181

2010-03-02T19:15:00.003Z

Evil man cured by Karen Allen, disco nightmares, rednecks pissing themselves, grumpy old desert men, sharp suits & sharper tongues, high noon in space, talking dogs, chinese gods vs kurt russell, scary spanish antics, cannibalism, le sex bombs, a big country, lost icons, a great sci-fi horror ending, hired slaughter, the original hannibal, big boats & big men, mrs robinson, cattle mutiny and Moviedrome's Alex Cox.

IMDB

181. Repo Man
182. Red River
183. The Graduate
184. The Cruel Sea
185. Manhunter
186. Missouri Breaks
187. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
188. Misfits
189. The Big Country
190. Belle De Jour
191. Ravenous
192. The Orphanage
193. Big Trouble In Little China
194. A Boy And His Dog
195. Outland
196. Glengarry Glen Ross
197. Flight of the phoenix
198. Mississippi Burning
199. Saturday Night Fever
200. Scrooged

Undressing People With Your Finger

2010-03-01T23:28:00.002Z

Check dis out. Wandered onto Wranglers website and if you choose Blue Bell link its takes into a wonderful presentation of their apparel where you can click and drag the models about or undress them to reveal there better-than-mine body. Lots of fun and technically very impressive. Cool tune as well.

Countdown 220-201

2010-03-01T19:10:00.004Z

Have decided to do a mini text thing with each post. Have added one to the previous email as well.

So anyhoo in this countdown we have.....Mrs Coppola's on set documentary about her husbands mental implosion, a feminist nightmare, my first Kurosawa, my first Mike Leigh, Kubrick's debut, Bill Murray's secret classic, spelling B antics, Indiana vs god, french cool, class war from Alastair Sim, small town destruction, a good Nic Cage film (????), Debbie Harry with a beehive, a James Cameron flick that kicks Avatar's bue ass, revolution in the coalmines of America, move over Jerry Lewis I'm talking about the Martin-Clift partnership, McQueen's last hurrah, the cyborganiser, a proper horror and a big ole welcome to the party pal.

IMDB

201. Die Hard
202. Halloween
203. Robocop
204. Tom Horn
205. Young Lions
206. Matewan
207. Aliens
208. Hairspray (the original)
209. Raising Arizona
210. First Blood
211. An Inspector Calls
212. Bande A Part
213. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
214. Spellbound
215. Quick Change
216. The Killing
217. Life Is sweet
218. Yojimbo
219. The Stepford Wives
220. Heart of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse

Countdown 240 - 221

2010-02-28T09:00:00.004Z

A big thank you to....Ricky Tomlinson mooning a 'copter, that chariot race, Belgian serial killer chic, Lee Marvin & Gene Hackman playing gangsters in America's bread basket, un chein inspired french comicbook violence, a chunk of Chaplin genius, horny woodland animals, certifiable spaghetti western insanity, jack nicholson playing piano on a truck to nowhere, sean connery's terrifying anti-bond, this is my rifle this is my gun, baby Tupac, a western about waiting for a train, an Australian family with no sense but a load of love, a Thai noodle western, exploding heads, naked jenny aguttar, Apollo Creed playing a wooden handed gold pro and revolution in El Salvador.

Once again here is your link to IMDB.

221. 21 grams
222. Salvador
223. Happy Gilmore
224. Walkabout
225. Scanners
226. Tears Of A Black Tiger
227. The Castle
228. 3.10 To Yuma
229. Juice
230. Full Metal Jacket
231. The Offence
232. Five Easy Pieces
233. Django Killl Kill
234. Bambi
235. Gold Rush
236. Dobermann
237. Prime Cut
238. Man Bites Dog
239. Ben Hur
240. Raining Stones

Countdown 250 - 241

2010-02-27T16:13:00.004Z

And so it begins....

I was gonna do a wee but of text per film but after realising that was gonna take till August I will probably just do that for the top 50 or something. Check out imdb.com for more details on them.

250. Attack
249. The Omega Man
248. Race With The Devil
247. Battle Royale
246. Eyes Without A Face
245. Johnny Guitar
244. The Sting
243. Shogun Assassin
242. The Mist
241. The Andromeda Strain

My Lil' Project

2010-02-14T16:34:00.002Z

Its been a quiet Pontiac Dream in 2010 but apart from the usual issues of struggling to say something of interest, even to me, I have been working on a bit of an epic notion.

At the moment friend of Pontiac, Swordfish Trombone, is working his way through IMDB list of the
250 best films according to the votes on its site and I am glad to see and hear that he enjoying lots of the movies.

If I remember right after I looked over the list I have already seen about 190+ of them and am not in a huge hurry to complete it. Partly cause I know I will hate some of the films but also I just do not have the time or motivation.

However, I do have the time to make a list. And currently I am in the process of making my own top 250 films I have seen.

It's been hard going. Currently I am at 343 and counting. I am over the 250 because to start with I am just trying to remember films that I consider great, epic, moving, sweet, hysterical, exciting, terrifying, perfect, a flawed masterpiece or all of the above.

After I am happy I have got 99% of them its about ditching some of the weaker efforts before the hard task of rating them 1 t0 250.

Feel free to join me. Take your time and wattch this space.

HEALTH WARNING

2010-02-11T22:01:00.002Z

Bought a jar of capers in sea salt the other day. Way to salty. No matter what your sauce it wont remove the flava. Salt-E.

We Have A Decision

2010-02-01T19:50:00.002Z

And its the New York Knicks themed Adidas Forum Lo's that win the day. I have a mind to keep them in their box until we go back to NYC next year so I can strut my Knickerbocker luvin' stuff through the streets. But that wont happen.

Away We Go

2010-01-31T10:27:00.002Z

Well staying in from cold last night me and the ladyfriend watched the comedic drama Away We Go starring John Krasinski (Jim from NBC's The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Minnie Riperton's daughter!!! yes, daughter) as a couple expecting their first child and trying to decide where they want to settle and bring her up.

So they zig zag across North America and meet some weird and dsyfunctional friends and family along the way. Allison Janney, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels and Maggie Gyllenhaal all put in great cameo performances. There are some real laugh at loud moments, plenty of tittering and the odd watery eye piece of poignancy.

There are few moments when the pace of the film falls away a little too much and it drags but they are few and far between (great saying). The soundtrack is also a bit too twee and plinkity plonk for my liking but overall a really good film. I did read some reviews saying how the two main characters are unlikeable because they are arrogant and smug but that's really unfair. They are simply a couple who love one another, don't fight and enjoy each others company. Hardly a crime.

Also a big Happy Birthday to Mrs Pontiac who is 25 today. x

Athletes Foot

2010-01-29T23:50:00.005Z

A funny thing has happened to me as 2009 has become 2010. For over 10 years I never wore, or even considered wearing, Nike trainers. Its not like I had been boycotting them for some ethical reason and fashion principle. It was that I bought a pair many moons ago and took absolutely no wear or tear and felt apart like trainer I had ever owned. Since that pair I had never went back.

I now have 3 pairs and am looking to buy another pair. Here is my story:

In November I bought a really swell pair of these chunky Adidas Forum Mids....

However, it was a bad time to invest in such chunkiness as I was recovering from a busted ankle and they just felt right. So I took them back and broke that 10 year cycle of no Nike. For these super bouncy similarly black n white Nike Pegasus...

Within a month I had my second pair. Mrs Pontiac surprised with these monster Air Force Max 1 on Xmas Day. My cautious response to their size was overcome by some street pounding coupled with new thicker socks...

With my second pair sitting in the bedroom my 3rd pair were ordered from Crooked Tongue on Boxing Day. When I first saw them in Size? I laughed at the shag carpet swoosh but I kept checking them out and their Marty McFly chique with phat tongue meant I had my first pair of Nike Air Jordans...

And now I am at a crossroads. I want to buy a different brand next but my attention is being swung towards this lurvly red Nike Dunks....

But fighting for my feet are these glorious Adidas ZX 600. They look very comfy, that dash and sweep of green is very enticing and they're black is the color I am strangely attracted to at the mo'....

Aaaah but then again I have seen a New York Knicks color themed pair of Adidas Forums. The problems of a thirty something man eh.

The Best Of 2010

2010-01-03T09:42:00.002Z

Well all the blogs, facebook homepages and radio waves are full of top/favourite lists of 2009. So I am trying to get a headstart and laying out what I think and hope will be my 'bests' of 2010.

Best TV Show

Season 5 of 30 Rock was no doubt the funniest show of the year again but in terms of drama, excitement, dark humour, incredible writing and astounding acting it was easily Breaking Bad - Season Three.

Best Film

At the beginning of the year I was excited about a lot of films. If you asked me back in January what my favourite film would have been I would have put a large bet on Date Night starring Tina Fey, Steve Carrell as a couple who take another couples reservations...and deal with the hysterical consequences. Ruined by Mark Wahlberg. Of course I did enjoy Hot Tub Time Machine abd Toy Story 3 but the defo best of the year the rampaging atheist propaganda piece which combined the best aspects of Assualt On Precinct 13, The Mist and Prophecy to make an all action-all tension classic. I'm taking about Legion and its tale of an angry God sending his angels to wipe out humanity. Only a rogue angel and the occupants of a desert diner stoof in there way. I hope you enjoyed your 2010 at the cinema.

Best Album

Funnily enough I did not enjoy Peter Gabriel's new album and while Daft Punk score to Tron Legacy was worth the wait I am still listening to LCD Soundsystem's third album. On the surface more rockier than there previous output, I adore the disco sounds underplaying each track. A true example of the disco-punk-funk that inspired Pontiac Dream.

Best Act Of Parliament

An obvious choice but I know we were all ecstatic with the Sinn Feinn bill outlawing the advertising the comparison websites on TV. The Freedom From Comparison Act has cleared the tv channels of that meerkat, go-compare operatic Danny Baker lookalike, trolley surfing Peter Jones and of course those webcam recording faking douche-bags from confused.com.

Best Pair Of Trainers I Bought

After spending a couple of years spending 98% of their time (suedes excluded) making trainers for neds, Ferrari fans and skinny big haired students, Puma renounced this path in May with the release of the classic Puma Basket minus city themed designs, modern bulky curves and pimpled leather. Simple blacks and whites, blues and reds. I bought two pairs and they still fit like no other trainer I have ever worn.

Best Badget
Cowon's S10 media player. While the Cowon S9 was superior in terms of sound, video playback, battery life and appearance to the Ipod touch it touchscreen interface lagged way behind the almost unbelievable responsiveness of its fruit based competitor. So they released the S10 which matches and goes beyond the Ipod. The perfect player.

Best Game
Who would have thought I Spy would have been such a hit on the Wii. Me and mrs Pontiac play it each and every evening before we retire.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T15:00:00.003Z

Hope you had a good one. The picture is in honour of my favourite film of the year. Up.

Sob Story

2009-12-26T23:34:00.004Z

Was watching Bridge To Treabithia today. A family/kids film seeemingly perfect for boxing day and sore belly that comes with it.

Its a pretty basic tale of a boy and girl who are outsiders at their school but find a release for their imaginations and fears in woods near their home by inventing a new world of creatures and adventure called Terabithia.

So, anyway, its all going along nicely when the boys music teacher asks if he wants to visit a local museum. As he fancys her he doesn't invite the girl. On his return he finds that she has died after falling into the stream which borders Terabithia. Cue me starting to cry!!! No idea why but got very emotional. I did not see that one coming and it really got me in my lady-genes. Not that good a film really but what does that matter when it does such a job on the viewer.

Ho ho ho.

Oh No She Didn't

2009-12-25T10:17:00.002Z

Woke up this morning to hear a yound lady rugby tackled ex-Nazi Youth member, Pope Benny the Dick. Tremendous.

Merry xmas y'all.

Love And Death

2009-12-21T22:45:00.002Z

This may be my favourite Woody Allen film. Love And Death is a homage and send up of the epic Russian literature of the like of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. You don't know anything literature? Neither do I and most people who have seen this but its make no difference. This is laugh out loud from beginning to end.

Allen is the odd one out in a world of glorious Russian stereotypes and Napoleon's invasion of the Motherland. We see him first as a small boy struggling with the contradictions of religon and patriarchy before he blossoms into a young man...struggling with the contradictions of religon and patriarchy but mostly war and his love for his cousin, Diane Keaton.

The on-screen interaction between Keaton and Allen leaps forward from Sleeper they slip between farce, epic monologues and lyrical waltz's with ease. The film again looks great while the score is dominated by bouncy Russian classics.

Love And Death was the last hurrah (for a while) of the carefree gags of Allen's youthful output. While Anne Hall still has them they are tightly bound up in that film's leap forward into a more mature and introspective vision. So find and watch Love And Deathso get a taste of what real comedy can be.

The trailer below is not the best quality so sorry about that. However, it still gives a good taste of the film. An even better sample is the clip which is much better quality and shows off the perfect balance of Love And Death between Allen's roots in absurdism, the developing on screen relationship with Diane Keaton and the ingenius philosophical comical lyricism which came to dominate his future productions.

Sleeper

2009-12-19T14:23:00.003Z

Sleeper continues where Play It Again Sam left off. Woody Allen and Diane Keaton again star together and its one liners, sight gags and even more of a double act.

Allen plays an unfortunate jazz musician (and health food owner) who goes in for a routine operation in 1973 and after complications gets frozen and then dug up 200 years laters in an America which is now a futuristic police state.

Untraceable, the revolutionary underground ask Allen to help them in the bid to topple The Leader. Soon he is on the run and seeks the help of vacuous socialite Diane Keaton. And on it goes in that form as their love grows despite of their comedic efforts to break loose of the state and the underground.

This is a brilliant film. Its very very funny. The inter-play between Allen and Keaton is effortless. The vision of the future is suitabley nihilistic. The score is superb collection of ragtime jazz. So many great moments I cannot list them but do give the jazz score some justice I have included an hysterical scene below where the hungry fugitive Allen breaks into a farm of the future to steal giant fruit and veg. Be careful of banana skins.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

2009-12-16T19:43:00.003Z

Next is a film which really should be the definition of a sex comedy, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask).

Woody Allen's adaptation of a best selling sex manual is a series of short stories or vignettes, if you would prefer, featuring Woody Allen in various roles, John Carradine, Anthony Quayle and Lynn Redgrave and Gene Wilder.

The stories all cover various sexual quirks, perversions, temptations and discharges:

1. Do Aphrodisiacs Work?
In which a court jester gives a love potion to a Queen but is foiled by her chastity belt. There are references to Shakespeare's Hamlet throughout.
2. What is Sodomy?
In which a doctor falls in love with the partner of an Armenian patient. His sheep.
3. Why Do Some Women Have Trouble Reaching an Orgasm?
About a woman who can only reach orgasm in public. Allen's homage to Italian film-making in general and Casanova 70, Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini in particular.
4. Are Transvestites Homosexuals?
In which a middle-aged married man experiments with women's clothes.
5. What Are Sex Perverts?
Which features a parody of the game show What's My Line? called What's My Perversion? After the panel fail to guess that the contestant's perversion is "Likes to expose himself on a subway", a second segment of the show is presented, in which a rabbi gets to act out his bondage and humiliation fantasy.
6. Are the Findings of Doctors and Clinics Who Do Sexual Research and Experiments Accurate?
In which a researcher and journalist visit a sexual scientist. After they see a series of bizarre sexual experiments underway at the lab and realize the scientist is insane. The segment culminates with a scene in which the countryside is terrorized by a giant runaway breast created by the researcher.
7. What Happens During Ejaculation?
Which is set in a man's brain (and other parts of the body)m a la the beano's numbskulls, as he gets involved in a sexual clinch. We see the NASA-like control center in the man's brain (headed by Tony Randall and Burt Reynolds) and see the soldier-like sperm as they are dispatched paratrooper-style into the great unknown.

This film was very successful at the time but I think it is the weakest of his 1970s output. It's not just that so many of the jokes are from a seventies time-capsual of outdated sexual preconceptions, but some of the stories peeter out a little.

But it's still a gag-fest and all of Allen's characters are perfectly played. The best story? Well the Gene Wilder sheep-love tale one is played so straight its hard to tell if you want to laugh or cry. However, the inner workings of mans body during courtship, seduction and intercourse, steals it. Especially when the black sperm turns up!

Allen the Jester seduces the queen.....

Play It Again Sam

2009-12-14T17:26:00.002Z

After Bananas Woody Allen's next comedy classic was Play It Again Sam which he wrote but did not direct. This was his first film with Diane Keaton who would go on to co-star in six other Allen movies.

While the the physical and verbal gags still come pretty fast in Play It Again Sam I think its main difference is that the relationship between Allen and his love interest (Keaton in this instance) was more central to the plot rather than a series of sketches that dominated Allen's earlier output.

Allen plays another neurotic loser whose wife has left him and broken his fragile spirit in the process. Allen's best friends, Keaton and the brilliant Tony Roberts, try to help him out his lonely depression by getting him back into world of dating. Cue lots of clowning around on dates and lashings of self-depreciating humour from Allen while he also invokes the spirit of Humphrey Bogart to help him 'be a man.'

Slowly Allen and Keaton's characters fall for one another and the plot thickens....

Again I really enjoy this film whenever I see it. His self-diagnosis of having 'homosexual panic' is brilliant as well as his futile attempts to sweep an array of women of their feet.

I've included the trailer below and a scene from one of his dates when poor Allen gets all confused about what she wants. A very 1970s scene and not really a scene that would make it intact nowadays but I thnk Allen's face during the girls monologue his hysterical.

Bananas

2009-12-13T12:20:00.003Z

Woody Allen's third full feature as a director was Bananas. Very much in same mould as Take The Money And Run its one liners and visual gags come at you like a tornado.

Bananas tells the story of Fielding Mellish, a loser working as a product tester who is searching for his calling and some lady action. Desparate to impress a sexy young political activist Mellish heads to Central America to dip his toe into the country's revolutionary turmoil. Eventually he ends up in the leadership of the guerilla forces and becomes President following their successful insurrection.

No worries, this is more Groucho Marx than Karl Marx, as the politics are ridiculous and its all about Woody Allen trying to use his situation to win back the girl. Its funnier than Take The Money And Run with a successful joke ratio of about 88%. Highlights are Mellish helping his parents with some surgery, an uncredited Slyvester Stallone beating up Mellish on the subway and the final court room scene where Woody Allen represents and questions himself. Personally I love the sketch where Allen is asked to secure food supplies for the rebels and ends up in ordering sandwiches in a local deli.

At 85 mins its a lean, mean comedy machine.

This scene is from the beginning of the film and his Allen's loser character trying to buy porno mags in a busy magazine store.

Take The Money And Run

2009-12-11T19:32:00.002Z

Was chatting to Shatbass and Jaconelli in the workplace the other day and was really sad to hear that Shatbass had not seen any of Woody Allen's early output. So sad and a yes I am patronising.

But I thought it would be nice to have a Woody Allen theme for the next few posts and cover his output up to Manhattan.

Take The Money And Run was Allen's directorial debut and is a fabulously fake documentary about a notorious criminal who is totally hapless and destined for failure. The film is a blueprint for his 70s output with its extremely heavy doses of one liners, slapstick and sight gags. In this they come at a 100 mph and while not all them hit the mark its extremely close to Allen's stand up routines.

Highlights include Allen's character playing in a marching band armed with a cello and chair, his courtship of his wife and prison exploits. Below is the trailer.

Youtube had a small selection of clips but this is one of the ones I was hoping for. An example of Allen's twisted humour as Virgil desparately tries to rob a bank but none of the tellers can decide what his note says.

Miss Dolly & The Silver Lion

2009-12-08T23:39:00.002Z

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers that is. Was flicking in a digital style thru my country christmas orientated tunes and was reminded that this track was meant to close my comp last year. I even went to the trouble of fading it at the end and cutting about a minute of children singing "I believe in Santa Claus" along with with Dolly and Kenny. But like I said before I just do not think its either alternative, ironic or bare-able enough to use.

So like a piece of peeling skin I other it as a cut price pressie this Xmas period.

dolly parton & kenny rogers - I Believe in Santa Claus (edit)

Help The Hag This Christmas

2009-12-06T20:30:00.002Z

Jeezo and I thought I was a little grumpy this time of year. Thanks Merle for making me feel like Timmy Mallet compared to youself.

Merle Haggard - If We Make It Through December

Who Is That Ugly Old Woman Shrieking?

2009-12-05T22:06:00.003Z

Oh, its Rod fookin Stewart. I hate Rod fookin Stewart.

Its not just that he looked like an old woman when he was 21 and its not that he looks like an old croan today. Its that...plus the fact he is a cockney git who pretends to more Scottish that horizontal sleet, plus every west of scotland family seems obsessed with his old woman arse shaking...plus my upstairs neighbour is watching his pishy ITV special and playing it full volume.

I am currently sitting on the sofa listening to my xmas mix to chill out, watching a muted Enemy At The Gates and occasionally shouting "Rod Stewart Sucks!!!" at the top of my voice.

I think I need to get some Squarepusher out.

Country Christmas

2009-12-05T09:53:00.003Z

I would like to thank y'all for the positive feedback for the 2009 Xmas mix. There has been a couple of "best yet" reviews as well as few "Bob Dylan!!!" comments.

Well I thought that for the rest of December I would put up a few tracks which would not normally reach the annual comp. These will probably be country christmas tracks cause although I know I could get away with one or maybe two of them, they can be to much of an acquired sound and one whose novelty quickly wears off.

I have started with a beautifully sung track from Gram Parsons collaborator, Emmy Lou Harris. If the Cohen brothers made an xmas version of Oh Brother Where Art Thou this would be the title track.

Emmylou Harris - Christmas Time's a-Coming

A New Hope

2009-11-30T18:52:00.004Z

I stopped watching Family Guy about a season and a bit ago. Its sad addiction to jokes about rape, battering women and basic repetition of all the jokes from the previous six seasons meant that although I will still watch the older episodes, I aint interested in the new stuff.

But there is maybe a wee hope. A New Hope. Below is the trailer for Family Guy's follow up to Blue Harvest and it looks like just as much fun. Hope so.

No Platform

2009-11-20T19:19:00.002Z

Having some interesting fun at the moment. Noticed that someone in the building had started scribbling 'BNP' and 'Pakis Out' on the walls of our stairwell. Following my involvement in a successful anti-fascist action last weekend (which I will post about soon) I started using a chunky black marker to cover the offending statements.

After a small delay the 'BNP' declarations came back and I continued my sabotage. What I find funny is that the moron writing the grafitti is starting to get a lil' agitated. A few days ago he scrawled 'wa-nk' with an arrow to my black marker stains(I like how he felt the need to specifiy who the wa-nk was...haha). He wote that agin the following day and today he wrote to day 'benefit wa-nk'. I suppose anyone who would be angry at fascist grafitti would have to be on benefits???

Anyhoo, while he has been growing steadily frustrated I am patiently covering up anything he writes. I even bought a black spray can today for swift sweeps. Where is this heading? I dunno but I do not want my home where people visit and a variety of different folk stay to have this poison in the background.

BTW how do i know he is guy? Well its an informed judgement. I would reckon he is young guy, a rangers fan, scared of a society that does not share his fear of difference, ugly and a little ignorant.

Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove

It's Here!!!

2009-11-19T22:53:00.003Z

A year in making my latest Xmas comp has been finished, burned and packaged. Distribution will begin tomorrow and continue as and when I receive/find addresses for my more distant subscribers.

Called Kristmas ****'s Outsider Xmas Mix '09 its a break from previous comps where it was am explosive combo of anything I could scavenge and re-mould from the internet. I think a lot of you wont enjoy it as much as others but its what I wanted to do and isn't that the true meaning of christmas??

I do plan to put up a zip file of the comp as soon as i can find the time to get of my arse and do it. While you await your copy and the digital upload here is a track that never made it...and with good reason.

Kitt The Amazing Card Of Tomorrow - A Knight Rider Christmas

Snap!!!

2009-11-18T23:19:00.004Z

This is the song that would have been that penultimate epic mood maker track from Planes, Trains & Automobiles if it had been set today. Honestly, listen to it. As soon as I heard it I thought about Steve Martin sitting on that train thining about his highs and lows with John Candy, before suddenly putting together the fact that Candy's wife was dead and then returned to get him and take him home for his first real Thanksgiving in years.

I think I need to watch P, T & A this weekend.

Washed Out - New Theory

X-Tunes (X is for Jesus)

2009-10-28T19:18:00.003Z

Hohoho. It is that time of year when I watching my wallet slowly empty in face of Mrs Pontiac's large family and their many festive gift requirements. It's also nearly time for fourth xmas compilation, uniquely called, Xmas 2009.

So pre-order now for your free copy. I will probably make it available for download but will also be making CD's. All the usual suspects will be catered for but if you do not consider yourself one of them let us know and I can pass your details to the Pontiac Warehouse.

What's in this years? Well there will be no xmas soul in 2009. Instead I am looking to have a different more crunchy sound, one that suggests walking in freshly fallen snow rather than swallowing sweet creamy soul pie. There will be less comedy tracks but still lots of twisted xmas cracker humour. And of course my favourite tribe will be giving us their take on the Christian Christ Mass.

So I am off to tweek, add and remove from the present line up. Hohoho.

Breaking Bad On Five US

2009-10-27T22:34:00.002Z

Just saw an advert on Five US that they are beginning to show Breaking Bad from next Tuesday and looks like they are showing the whole of season one as it had been rumoured that they would only show a condensed catchup before going onto season two.

As I think I have mentioned before I would put this series up there on the same level as The Sopranos or Deadwood. Brilliant writing and acting. Dark comedy and real heartbreaking drama. On the edge of your seat moments combined with jaw dropping snaps of violence. Best ongoing series on tv at the moment.

Watch it.

The King Of The Queens

2009-10-18T21:43:00.002+01:00

Big than of King Of Queens I am. And one of my favourite characters apart from the always brilliant Jerry Stiller, is Patton Oswalt who plays lovable geekish oath, Spence.

Oswalt is also a stand up comic and I got hold of his most recent release, My Weakness Is Strong. It's not gonna blow you away a la Bill Hicks but I tink its pretty funny and spent most of my lunch hour the other day walking about Glasgow laughing insanely like so many of the city's finest mentals. I have included a skit I really pished myself at.

Patton Oswalt - Orgy

Zombieland

2009-10-12T20:01:00.003+01:00

Crimson spray. Flesh eating drool. Cracking skulls. Big belly laughs. Zombieland has this and much more. The 'more' being of the great cinema cameos. Not gonna say much more. It has action, jokes, self-mocking digs, a love story, Woody Harrelson and on occasion some zombies.

8/10.

Here is a song from the soundtrack:

Paul Anka - Puppy Love

Scoop Dreams

2009-10-07T22:37:00.003+01:00

Since ESPN replaced the Setanta (Hurling, Gaelic Football and Blue Square Premiership!!)on Virgin cable tv I've been waiting for one sport in particular. Basketball.

Of America's main sports this is the one that I enjoy the most. Not sure why but I think that but unlike American Football and Baseball, basketball has a real pacey and obvious gymnastic dynamic about it. Yes, there are stops and starts but they let you take a breath rather than wander away for 5 hours only to return to same scene.

There also seems to a greater impact from the crowd. Most basketball fans seem to be about to pour onto the court at any moment given there close proximity.

Channel 4 used to show it about ten years but for whatever reason they did not stick with it. What was especially sad about that was that they had a Saturday morning highlights package which was preceded by an excellent show about basketball culture. The music, the fashion, the celebrity. It was mainly soundtrack'd by Ninja Tune and Mo'wax and was an excellent way to hear new sounds.

So anyway catch it if you can and for anyone who does not notice the pic about is of Kareem Abdul Barack Obama. Sweet.

Lord Of The Rings: Unseen Footage

2009-10-03T23:11:00.002+01:00

Just sat and watched the last of the Lord of the Rings movies, The Return Of The King. Did you know that after Frodo wakes up in bed, with an old man standing over him while his lil' people pals jump and tickle all over him, that the films goes on for about another 30 mins!!!! Yes, it does.

When I saw it at the cinema I walked out at the bedroom scene as the war was won, the ring destroyed and all seemed all well and homo-erotic. I thought this is silly but its the end atleast.

But sitting here the film goes on and on and on and on and on and on in duracel stylee. And its all totally pointless. You know if the orks had won that they would wouldn't have showboated in the way.

Anyway it s Saturday night and I've just put Rocky III on.

I Evolve

2009-09-29T19:12:00.003+01:00

At the turn of the year I put up a couple of posts up about science, knowledge etc and how I was really into it and was gonna ride the brainiac wave to grey matter expansion.

Did not happen then but since August I have been getting back into the ring, buying New Scientist, ordering Richard Dawkins literature from play.com and watching Carl Sagan on youtube. I also need to ask Shatbass for a lend of Sagen's book, Cosmos, which he reviewed a few months ago.

Anyway here is a transdimensionally beautiful look at how all life on Earth evolving from space dust. This is super-chilled. Check out youtube for more.

Htrae Tenalp

2009-09-12T12:58:00.002+01:00

Everybody knows that nature rocks. Everybody knows that over the last few years the BBC has produced some stunning documentaries about the natural world and millions of species that inhabit it. Planet Earth and Blue Planet are just two examples of programmes that were as fascinating as they were accessible.

So having read some of the hype for their new headline nature series, Lost Land Of The Volcano, I started to prepare the edge of my seat. The premise was simple. A bunch of scientists go into an unchartered jungle within a dormant volcano in New Guinea. Within the jungle they were to find kangaroos in trees, frogs with fangs, giant rats and tiny parrots.

WTF!!! After fifteen minutes of the show there no sign of any animal. Instead it was awash with dramatic scores, swooshing helicopters and all the scientists pushing and shoving to get on screen. This sadly continued for the whole hour.

There was Professor Abs who used any excuse to take his shirt of and show a ridiculously action-man moulded torso. A cameraman who took his role too literally and filmed himself constantly. An insane sounding Scottish insect expert who came across like a Super Gran desparate for validation. All wanting to be stars. All wanting to be a 21st Century David Attenborough. It was like variety show for phd's.

Of course the real stars are always the animal and plant life. And that's what Attenborough understood. When he was narrating or presenting he always made sure that he informed the viewer without becoming the central figure. That was for the swimming monkey, the lizard with no eyes, the buffalo gobbling alligator and the Lake Congo midgies.

Lost Land Of The Volcano was in reality the reverse of The Planet Earth series. For 45 mins it was the wonder of the natural world. Then we got a interesting fifteen minute insight to how the captured some of the most amazing clips. Lost Land Of The Volcano had a similar ratio but in favour of the fame hungry scientists.

What we really need is a new show. Cloning Attenborough.

Holy Irony

2009-09-07T23:19:00.003+01:00

Hahahaha. Oh man, sitting her watching Rambo III. Seen it before but it just gets funnier.

Even before America and Britland invaded Afghanistan in 2001 the third installment of Rambo was an ironic classic. Its insane vision of demonic commies, peace lovin' holy warriors and American rightousness is only topped with the number of women and children getting killed and times Rambo blows up very big things with very small things.

But now thanks to the Allied invasion of Afghanistan there is a delicious layer of irony in each act and word spoken. The Russians are reminded at every turn abotu how the Afghans will not accept foreign invaders and how all previous occupiers have been driven out. One American snarls to a commie "We've had our Vietnam." 15 years later and it's back baby!!

Aw, cynical? Yes, but just love watching Rambo teach the rebels how to fight with American made weapons. Just like the CIA did in the 1980s. I wonder if the Taliban like this film. They must pish themselves.

Anyway, back to film. Go Rambo Go. Do it for the mothers of the fallen, do it for the fathers of the poppie fields, do it for that Afghan boy in the village whose parents were killed a year and that made him speak with an American accent.

And if that was not enough, check out the revised synopsis for Rambo V.

Replacing the mundane original storyline of "Veteran John Rambo battles his way through human traffickers and drug lords to save a young girl kidnapped", is the stripped down genius off "a U.S. Military installation that is doing experiments on elite soldiers as part of some sort of program where they're attempting to tap into that SAVAGERY that we have deeply embedded into us. The plan is create brilliantly instinctual killer soldiers that have no qualms about taking life. They were children trained from the time they were infants to kill. The experiment is a success but then goes wrong, after the soldiers escape. Rambo is brought in with a Black Ops squad to hunt, capture or kill the genetically-altered-blood thirsty-super soldier." Ta aldo

Mayer Hawthorne

2009-09-06T11:55:00.003+01:00

Blog world is pretty much bulging with chat about Mayer Hawthorne and his old soul/new soul album, A Strange Arrangement. This singer-songwriter-multi-intrumentalist-chic-nerd is garnering (is that a word??) a lot of hype, much praise, many plaudits and desrved respect.

First up I want to say that some of his tracks have already become classics on Pontiac Towers. If my Cowon could sing then it would probably pour out Maybe So, Maybe No. Hawthorne has managed to do that which seems near impossible for so many artists. To make soul that feels like a timeless 1969 classic even though it's only newborn. Too many new sould attempts sound to clean and polished and thoroughly 21st Century to feel nostalgic and original. While listening to Hawthorne you cannot help but remember Marvin Gaye, The Modulations or Donny Hathaway.

However, I do feel that managing that level of quality over a whole album to be near impossible and some of Hawthorne's output suffers from issues I mentioned above. Just a little neat and tidy for my liking. But hey, I aint no soul legend and so it's just my novice opinion.

I have included below his two best tracks so far. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out is a sweet as soul honey ballad with simple b&w video. Up second is the more upbeat head-nodder Maybe So, Maybe No, which has an epic video which makes you want to just run outside, sing to passers by and jump on some sort of transport be it bus, bmx or unicycle.

Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out

Mayer Hawthorne - Maybe So, Maybe No

Mayer Hawthorne "Maybe So, Maybe No" from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Sister...

2009-09-06T10:45:00.004+01:00

Mrs Pontiac is currently watching the 25 Most Stylish Transformations on E! Entertainment. One of the talking heads just said the word 'sister.' Now this may be only something that makes me giggle but whenever I hear anyone say this word seriously it jusy makes me think of Luke and Darth Vader's cockfight at the end of Return Of The Jedi.

Vader is trying to get his son to crack and Luke's feeble mind betrays the secret that Lea is his sister and Vader's daughter. Vader through the the legendery tones of James Earl Jones seizes on this and says, 'Siiiiiissterrrrrrr' and since then whenever I hear the word, that scene pops into my head. Check it out below from 2.40 to 2.55. Thanks as usual for youtube providing the clip below.

Kids In The What?

2009-08-27T19:49:00.004+01:00

The Hall. The who? Kids In The Hall was a Canadian comedy sketch series that Channel Four showed in early 1990s.

For a guy growing up in a small town in the North of Scotland KITH was a revelation. Only a handful of folk at school watched it and then only a few of them got it and laughed. I thought it was amazing and felt like what it must have been like to see Monty Python back in day. Really random, subversive and infantile.

Anyway I was reading on EZTV that they have a new show in production and given the lack of quality comedy out there (yeah, Entourage I'm looking at you) its something to foward to. So to celebrate this news here is some classic Kids In The Hall:

My favourite sketch. Still cracks me up.

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F**k You Ikea

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JIM!!!!!

This a scene from their movie Brain Candy.

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Try A Lil' Self-Depreciation

2009-08-25T22:58:00.009+01:00

Always like to think I am at the head of the queue to laugh at myself and so check out this video . It's some sort of banned or something but watching it I saved my biggest laugh for myself. Watch up to 2 mins 16-22 secs. I am that Simpsons Fan.

Stolen Beats

2009-08-24T23:12:00.002+01:00

Back in the day. A not very nice day. I kinda got burgled. Not really a tradtional burglary, more of a....well don't want to talk about it as it happened during a bad time and not in mood to bring those emotions back.

But as part of the burglary I had a load of CDs nicked. I have replaced most of them over time whilst others I have not been in rush to replace. Recently on a shopping trip in Torrent Town I stumbled across an album I had almost forgotten about. A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter was the debut album by Nightmares On Wax and released on Warp.

I had remembered really enjoying a few of the tracks but on listening to it again the whole album really hold ups. A mixture of Hip Hop beats & lyracism, downtempo breaks and early 1990s house attitude its good to listen to something that has not been produced by a brain surgeon but rather a happy-go-lucky jam doughnut maker.

I would reccommend Nightmares On Wax's next two albums, Smokers Delight and Carboot Soul, but in the last 10 years the output has been limited and at a lesser quality. The last album I heard sounded like a blow-dried version of Zero 7. Urgh!!

I did see them in...trying to remember....1999 or 2000 in G2 in Glasgow and it was an alright gig. They had a lovely red two seat couch which George Evelyn sat and chatted to the audience but it was only ok. BTW I know I say 'they' and that Nightmares...is more of 'he' but with so many collaborators its seems better to pluralise.

Anyway here is the albyum closer from Word Of Science. A real get up'n'jump tune to get you singin along. Its a flac file so hope you can play it. Peace.

Nightmares On Wax - How Ya Doin'

Move Over Cantona. I Love Nymark

2009-08-21T19:25:00.006+01:00

Trond Nymark to be exact. Was watching the athletics tonight, waiting for The King Of Queens to start and saw highlights of the walking race. Coming in a proud second and wearing at what first seemed a gorilla costume was Norwegian, Trond Nymark.

However, it was no costume but in fact the man's own untrimmed, lush, wavy, sheltering and sweat laden body, shoulder and back hair. As a hairy man it felt empowering to see a athlete so at ease with his ape heritage. Now if you excuse me I am off to braid my fat-back-hair.

Trond Nymark's Web Page

Justice Not Vengence

2009-08-20T19:18:00.002+01:00

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was found guilty, under Scottish law and through the evidence available at his trial, for the murder of victims of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. Today under Scottish law he was given a compassionate release and allowed to return home to Libya to die. He has three months to live.

I have been following this closely over the last few weeks, as well as having an obvious interst in the Lockerbie. I welcome that in this age of media reaction and pandering to so-called mobs, that a decision, in face of hostility from the American government and opportunist politicains, has been made to show mercy and compassion.

For me a justice system should be about exactly that. Justice. It allows us to show what separates us from the perpetrators of crime. We hear all the time that we must not allow terrorists to change our values because they hate them. And this is a perfect example of where we draw a line in the sand and say "You murder. You hate. We show justice. We show compassion."

There are obviously a lot of different opinions on this. There does appear a cultural divide between Scotland and America (and seeing the media tonight, a North-South divide jealous at Scotland's time on the world stage) but the point is that this should not be about one side having the louder voice, its about humanity and the what this costs.

The hysteria will pass and what will be left are the many questions that remain over the tragedy. Questions that relatives of those hurt or killed deserve. We have to remember that there was equal anger when prisoners were released on Northern Ireland, when the PLO was allowed into the Middle East peace process, when America and Britain re-opened lucrative trade links with Libya. The list could go on and the involvement of the American government in them and their comments today shows the usual Washington hypocrsy.

So I think this is a positive day for Scotland. Sad memories have resurfaced, emotions have boiled up but essentially there has been shown a real alternative to revenge and a role for compassion at a time when blaming and vilifying are the easy route.

Has Entourage Jumped The Shark?: Update

2009-08-19T00:01:00.002+01:00

Yes. Official.

Holiday Tales, Part Two: Viva La France

2009-08-14T16:28:00.003+01:00

Day Deux was all about France and its cinema.

First up was Audrey Tautou in Coco Before Chanel. I initially quite up for seeing this but the trailer filled me with dread. it looked like a brutal merchant-ivory type melodrama about pony riding gentry. But I liked it. Tautou is superb as Coco Chanel. There are only a few glimpses of devilish Amelie as she portrays the disciplined Chanel's struggle to find her path in life.

After dinner and ice cream it was time for Round Deux and French gangster epic Mesrine - Killer Instinct. Starring Vincent Cassel this was a film I was quite excited about. A gangster flick with the flash of Scorcese but brains of Truffaut. While Cassel was excellent and the story was a full of possibilities, I was a little disappointed. It felt a little rushed. Surprisingly there was limited scope for the character's motives. And trailerd criminal mastermind came across as a bit hapless. I now this is a four film cut in two but it feels like there must be much more left on the cutting room floor. Nevertheless I look forward to the next installment.

Holiday Tales, Part One: Edinburgh

2009-08-14T16:02:00.003+01:00

A week off for me and Lady Pontiac. And here's how it went.

Monday saw our first ever trip to see shows at the Edinburgh Festival. Now I do not really like Edinburgh. I blame a broken nose, getting started on too many times, its poshness, the mctartan tourism and the public school accents everywhere.

Well I braved that and we went to see Rich Hall's Campfire Stories, The A-Team Musical and the stand up of Janeane Garofalo.

Rich Hall, aided by Shatbass lookalike Mike Wilmot and Tim Williams, provided exactly what we expected. Weird and whimsical tales from the riverbank in equally gravilly tones.

Next up was the DIY A-team musical. A small cast in small room with no air conditioning sang and danced there way through an episode of the show, which of course meant that all shows were covered given the shows never changing format. It was ok. A little too tongue in cheek at times and a couple of scenes that were just plain padding. But it was fun and the girl playing the blonde-in-distress was very very funny and out-shone the A-Team.

Finally we went to see Janeane Garofalo. Much criticised by some we thought she was good. While huge belly laughs were at a minimum, her chaotic style and various nonsensical detours meant there were plenty of jokes about America, Scotland, the world and herself. She even made jokes at her expense about her recent abortive performance at the Latitude festival where she walked off after 10 mins. Well she did the full hour and clearly could have went on and on, or atleast as long as her medication allowed.

So a good day one of the holiday. One lesson for edinburgh: Air Conditioning that works would be great.

Five Memorable Thoughts On John Hughes

2009-08-09T10:39:00.002+01:00

A bit delayed I know but wanted to expand on my previous post which was posted in the heat of the moment and I wanted to say something about the imact of the american film-makers impact on me.

5) The Class War
Pretty In Pink, Some Kind Of Wonderful and The Breakfast Club all give a uniquely Hollywood vision of class in America. You are either a chino and white linen wearing rich kid with big bouncy hair and mansion or some sort street scum dreaming of escaping an almost disney-fusion of text book lower class problems.

4) Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy
Humm-ana-humm-ana-hey!!!! That's the sort of ladies I would like to take to a Huey Lewis & The News concert.

3) Not Scottish
All John Hughes' films are fundamentally American. And that made them so appealing. America was and always will be some sort of promised land which for young boy growing up in Scotland meant they were a real escape to a world of plenty, pretty girls and excitement.

2) Snow Blindness
Can anyone remember a black character that talks in a John Hughes film? They are an almost exclusively white art medium, unless you include the patrons of the jazz bar in Weird Science. Fair enough there is a great joke in Ferris Bueller when he asks a garage attendant if he speaks English. His answer is along the lines of "Of course I do, what country do you think I am in?" Not making a big deal here just an interesting example of how so much American culture in the 1980s, such as MTV, failed to notice that not all people are WASP's.

1)Every Second Of Planes, Trains And Automobiles
Candy and Martin were never better. One the great comedies of all time. Nuff said.

And therefore I leave my brief memories of Hughes with two tracks from the Planes... Enjoy.

Emmylou Harris - Back In Baby's Arms

Sillicon Teens - Red River Rock

They're Not Pillows!!!

2009-08-06T23:51:00.007+01:00

John Hughes, the man behind 16 Candles, Pretty In Pink, Some Kind Of Wonderful, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, has died.

More to follow but tomorrow I will try and build up the courage to ask out a head cheerleader in honour of this sad occasion.

God Damn Sucking Suck Tuck

2009-08-05T23:17:00.003+01:00

I created Pontiac Dream to help release some of the creative and randomn thoughts I have to consistently crush each day in my mind-numbing office job where I basically do the thinking for a bunch of ignorant morans who wander through life in a bubble of self-satisfaction that they are free floating cogs in a machine which will run forever and make sure they never have to look and see the world.

Today was bad.

However Pontiac does the job when it puts its mind to it. Came across these New York dudes on one of the blog journeys the other night. Javelin sound pretty damn good. Check out their podcats here and I am sure you will fall in love with their own take on the electronic-sample-cum-brianwilsonwonderworld-via-ninjawarpism.

Has Entourage Jumped The Shark?

2009-08-01T09:25:00.006+01:00

I would consider myself a pretty loyal viewer of tv shows. Once I decide I like something I stick with it through any hard times through a mixture of potential for recovery and appreciation of previous effort.

I stayed with Sopranos after chaotic season six (that was easy though). Buffy after the equally rqually random season six. Northern Exposure throughout its car wreck season six.....hold on a minute do you see a pattern. Season 6 syndrome anybody?

Just entering its own season 6 is Entourage. This unusually un-HBO HBO hit was magnificient for its first four seasons. Despite the questionable acting ability of many of its participants, its tales of an upcoming Hollywood star and his entourage pulled in great cameos, made Jeremy Piven a legend and dished out big big laughs. It has been like the alter-ego of Sex In The City minus the self-therapy and introspection.

But after three episodes of season six I think I am ready to say Entourage has 'jumped the shark'. For a full breakdown of 'jumping the shark' check out an informative wiki page here and enjoy the original clip at the bottom of the post (fonzie + water-skiing + leather jacket + stock shark footage = shark jumping hilarity). But basically 'jumping the shark' refers to a tv show passing it peak and/or looking slightly ridiculous.

So why do I think E, Vince, Turtle and Drama have got their speedos on. Its not that each episode is samey. Thats part of its charm. E & Vince head off to deal with career issues, Drama & Turtle clown around. Ari shouts, Lloyd follows. And for four and half seasons that worked perfectly. What also helped were nice story themes and arcs going from Queens Boulevard to Aquaman and the desparate chase for Medellin.

But for me in season five thing started going wrong. Season four finished with the guys broke after Medllin flops at Cannes. Season five has each one wandering through each episode towards episode ending which rather than gift wrapped were drowned in cement. For example Turtle did nothing for most of season five leading me to start a short campaign to Save Turtle. The writers heard me and did give him someone to do. Too ittle to late. For a season that was meant to be about an actin career in crisis it felt a too much like a show in crisis.

What really killed me was that after a season five (which had all the hallmarks of confusion that cursed the season sixes mentioned above) it nearly had a brave, exciting and original ending. The Entourage was split between competing careers paths, hopes and directions. With only one minute remaining it looked like season six was going to the anti-entourage...but they blew it in way that smelled of creative cowardice and test screening scores.

Now three episodes into season six and yes, there are giggles and girls. Booze and boobs. But it feels like rehashed season two episodes. Drama is now a little tiring. Turtle is superfluous. Vince could not be anymore dull, E is E and Ari shouts, Lloyd follows.

I will keep watching it. Happy Days kept going for a 100 more episodes after fonzie jumped the shark. Not sure if Entourage can do that but out of loyalty I will see where the boys go. But if I miss an episode not sure how upset I will be?

Damn! They Feel Good

2009-07-26T17:26:00.004+01:00

Is there a sweeter sensation than buying new trainers?

When I remember I like to pop down to Glasgow's branch of Size? and check out new entrants and old flames. It was a couple of weeks ago I did just that and found there was a sale on. I have been looking for a pair of stripped down basic white trainers with mid to dark blue design. The simpler the better.

The first two I asked for were not available in my size. So after wandering across the road and back again I noticed the recently released Adidas Originals By Originals Ayasha Jagwire's. I had seen them before but their £90 tag scared me off...but not totally. They were now down to £50 and after the formality of the try-on they were mine.

Without a doubt the best pair of trainers I have bought since an impromptu purchase of a pair and white/red Puma Baskets in Ellesmere Port. The Jagwire fit like Mrs Addidas stuck my feet directly into the mould. They look super-sonic-cool if I do say so and are so so comfy.

More than a purchase. More than a style. More than a bargain. More than a.....

Boston - More Than A Feeling

Probably The Best Boxset In The World

2009-07-23T19:46:00.002+01:00

Happened across this the other night and started foaming at the ears. A truly wonderful sounding and looking piece of musical companion. Its the Warp boxset that is being released in September to celebrate 20 years of the Sheffield based label breaking new ground, genre twisting and making bodies twitch.

Here is breakdown of what is included. I warn you, reading this may cause you to smile so widely you may paralyse your face:

Warp20 (Box Set) comes beautifully packaged in a 10 inch square slipcase wrapped in charcoal Buckram embossed paper with tipped-on gloss-laminated cover photograph, designed by YES, photographed by Dan Holdsworth.

Warp20 (1989-2009) The Complete Catalogue: 192 page book -
10” square, 192 page full-colour, perfect-bound book. The complete-ist’s dream – a catalogue of artwork of every Warp release from its inception in 1989 to August 2009. Includes artwork from over 400 sleeves including work by the Designers Republic, Julian House, Build, Universal Everything and Kim Hiorthøy amongst others. Forward by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Black un-coated board cover with debossed and foiled typography.

Warp20 (Chosen): Double CD album -
The definitive best of Warp on 2 x CDs. Ten songs chosen by you (Warp20.net), ten songs chosen by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Packaged in deluxe case-bound 10” folder, exclusive to this box set. Your personal messages and memories from Warp20.net featured on pullout poster.

Warp20 (Recreated): Double CD album -
2 x CDs featuring twenty brand new cover versions of Warp songs by Warp artists past and present; including tracks by Autechre, Harmonic 313, Jamie Lidell, Plaid, Clark, Maximo Park, Seefeel, Luke Vibert and more… Packaged in deluxe case-bound 10” folder exclusive to this box set.

Warp20 (Unheard): Triple 10” Vinyl -
Secret treasures newly rediscovered from the Warp vaults. Completely unheard tracks by Boards of Canada, Autechre, Broadcast, Elektroids and others cut to 3 x 10” vinyl. Housed in uncoated card sleeves with debossed typography. Vinyl exclusive to Warp20 (Box Set).

Warp20 (Elemental): CD album -
Specially-commissioned hour long piece by re-edit master Osymyso, made from sections, samples, and fragments of Warp music from the last 20 years. Exclusive to Warp20 (Box Set) and packaged in deluxe case bound 10” folder.

Warp20 (Infinite): Double 10” Vinyl -
2 x 10” vinyl cuts of hand-picked locked-groove loops from Warp tracks. Four sides of loops for mixing fun. Exclusive to Warp20 (Box Set) and housed in uncoated card sleeves with debossed covers.

The price £100. Maybe. Maybe......

While I think here is a track from the new album by Clark, Totem's Flare. As you would expect from Warp it does remind you of what a Spectrum 48K's brain would sound like when it explodes after being asked, "What is love?"

Clark -Growls Garden

Funk Vs Flunk

2009-07-22T19:36:00.006+01:00

Most remakes suck. Just look at this list. Its full of remakes that suck all the subtlety, originality and simplicity out of the first film.

Off the top of my head the only one I can think that really improves on the original is 1978's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

This summer sees a film that will offend my senses like no other. The remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123. The original 1974 effort is one the great seventies movies.

The story of four armed men taking control of of a New York City subway train. Holding the passengers hostage they wait for their ransom while the cops led by the brilliant performance of Walter Matthau try to work out how to stop them. Its got a sensational cast with Jerry Stiller, Robert Shaw, Hector Elizondo, Dick O'Neill and Tony Roberts supported by a wealth of New York character actors.

Its got action, drama, tension and big big laughs. New York has its classic urban nightmare feel with dirty streets, dirty flares and dirty accents. Under it all is David Shire's score which adds a perfect drop of funk. And its finale? One of the best. Honestly watch this film.

Fast forward to this summer. Dullard fat boy John Travolta is the bad man taking control of the train. Strangely he looks like a Village People reject (as above). Up against him? Our Denzel. Why is Denzel, one the great actors of his generation, in this? The film looks to have no humour, no characters, a different ending and has all the looks of a music video. Thanks Tony Scott you soul-less old man.

Check out the contrasting trailers and then listen to the main theme from the original. (ta, mario)

David Shire - The Taking Of Pelham 123 (main theme)

Best Beastie Wishes

2009-07-20T21:43:00.004+01:00

Just saw an announcement from Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch (in the beard above), where he explains how the upcoming album and tour dates will be postponed because he he will be getting treatment for a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland. He seems in good spirits but Pontiac would like to wish him all the best. I've included the clip below and one of those Beastie videos which they are rightly celebrated for.

Beauty & The Bird

2009-07-19T22:48:00.005+01:00

Alone in the land of the Pontiac tonight. And with nothing on the tv I watched a film.

Now the great thing about my V+ box is that I can hit the red button at anytime and it will record. With 90 hours of space on the hard drive running out of room is never an issue. However, that strength is also the V+ weakness. I continually choose to record a variety of weird and wonderful sounding films. But with little time to watch them and Mrs Pontiac's aversion to the sound of them (if not the actual viewing experience) they just sit there.

I recorded Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud last August and finally watched it tonight. The most fun and randomn film I have seen in a long time.

It bares all the common traits of themes of Altman's early ouput like MASH, Nashville, The Wedding and the Long Goodbye. Overlapping & conflicting dialogue, improvisation, a dis-jointed narrative, absurdist humour, parody, a disregard for a normal filmviewer relationship and highly individual characters who appear distant from those around and who all have their own quirk.

Brewster McCloud is bascially about a young misfit whose belief in the power of flight draws him into murder and obsession. Around him he has a mysterious guardian angel and a young tour guide he meets and falls for. With murders across the city hapless police chase the killer, a self serving local politician brings in a supercool detective from San Francisco who obsesses with the case. Around them are a host of bizarre and odd characters who ultimately revolve around the actions of Brewster.

From the the first few seconds of the film I was hooked as the film unravelled like a story scrumbled into tiny balls and thrown at the audience. There is a constant parody of Steve McQueen's Bullit throughout the film culminating with a Altman-take on the famous car chase. Sally Kellerman's guardian angel is mysterious and jester like. The horror of Brewster is masked by his growing love the a sensational Shelley Duvall. Sensational in her sweet-subversive and incredibley sexy performance. See the pic above. If you aint in love then I don't want to know what love is.

As it all climaxes the absurdism reaches a fitting finale with the cast taking their bow to the audience dressed as assorted film and circus characters (see below). This is what 21st Century fairy-tales should look like. Inspirational, unsettling but sweet as candy.

No accompanying music track with this post but I will say that I listened to the soundtrack for John Carpenter's Assualt On Precinct 13 while writing this.

The Jungle's Edge

2009-07-18T11:31:00.005+01:00

In bringing the jungle sessions to a close it would be a fatal not to say a little something about the nights out had by me and the rest of the Speirs Wharf Massive.

Stirling University offered few opportunities to regularly stretch our drums and basses. Paul DJ'd on a Wednesday/Thursday night at the student union and if we were lucky the guys at the local independent record store (can't remember the name) would put on a night in town.

So like most of Scotland we would head to Glasgow for some culture. There we could choose between the Art School, Elements @ Trash, Yang (Paul got some Djing time there too), downstairs in Bacchus and the Arches. That is where you really got to hear jungle in its real environment and dance dance DANCE!

There were so many great tracks around that time but one that really resonates with me was DJ Trace's Sonar. The mp3 below, like most mp3's of jungle does do it justice given digital's supression of the bass that vinyl celebrated. As soon as you heard the opening of the track you just waiting for that point 2 minutes into it when the bass would drop in and boil your intestines. I would recommend listening on headphones to try and feel the affect but really unless a large soundsystem is pulsing it through the air, it aint the same.

And for Aldo. You asked for Ed Rush and here he is. The likes Ed Rush, Optical, Andy C came from the dark corners of jungles but made some immense and very dancable tracks. Full loud cracks, metal grinding and machine gun breaks it was the sound that dominated the Glasgow jungle dancefloors. I was listening to some of my old records records from these guys and they sound so fresh. Mrs Pontiac hates them but that's what headphones are for.

Finally, the guys who brought jungle onto the wider public view. Roni Size & Reprazent made the, in my opinion, the only coherent jungle album with New Forms. But this wasn't some intellectualised attempt to go mainstream. The were were justy innovating at such a rate it was scary. As part of that their live show at the Arches in 2007 was the best gig I attended. The place was packed, everyone was up for it and the live performance including giant bass had everyone bouncing up and down and around and around. I am pretty sure I jumped so high I touched the roof. While the song it not a hidden gem Brown Paper Bag really sums up what they did for jungle. Still a great track.

So I leave the jungle memories with those tracks. Remember. Use your body as the bass and arms as the breaks.

DJ Trace - Sonar

Ed Rush - Sabotage

Roni Size & Reprazent - Brown Paper Bag

The Difficult Season

2009-07-13T21:44:00.002+01:00

Jungle will back in the next post with some old skool SWM floorfillers for Aldo. However, a nice surprise tonight when checking out Mininova. Entourage is back for season six. The difficult season.

Why a diffcult season? Well season five came off the back of four pretty hysterical, genuinely fresh and narratively coherent seasons. It was a real mish mash of rehashed stories, hysterics, a reliance on t & a, contradictory plotlines and a potentially good ending which sold out to the 'lets hug it out' machismo which it had spent time subverting. Kinda like Sopranos season six after the glorious season five.

Anyway enough of the big ideas. It's back and I'm watching it. First episode set up the season pretty much while returning to some of the themes from season five. No suprises, no big laugh but its earned enough respect for me to watch without too much grumbling. Lloyd, Gary Cole and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are still there so nuff said.

Download illegally if thats your thing or watch on ITV2 @ 10pm from this Thursday.

Speirs Wharf Massive

2009-07-09T19:15:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned before my jungle experience would not have been half as exciting if had not been for the my drum n bass cronies. The posse that started in Stirling University campus soon moved through to Glasgow where we had a larger choice of drum n bass nights.

Myself and Lee had set up home in Speirs Wharf and the flat was a regular destination before and after nights out. In the area around the flats there was loads of tags from local gangs like YGX, YQX and YPF (Young Georges Cross, Queens Cross and Possil Fleet). We took it upon ourselves to form our own ultra-ironic gang. The Speirs Wharf Massive. SWM!!

Largely our gang actvity was about giving rival gangs' tags the finger, laughing about how crap we were and maybe, just maybe getting a pen and writing SWM beside YGX on the nearby steps. So not really Jets & Sharks but fun n bass. I have no photoss of SWM but I think the above pic represents our style and swagger. Left to right: Paul, Allan, Myself and Lee.

However, SWM managed to reach national levels when we went to Fabio & Grooverider's live One In The Jungle set at the Glasgow School of Art. Paul wandered up and asked for a shout out to SWM which Fabio or the MC, I cannot remember which, duly did. Live on Radio One. haha, them were the days.

Got a couple of tracks to share. Roni Size's big BIG pal DJ Krust with the ferociously clinical Warhead and Lemon D's immense Manhattan Melody with its elastic bass shaking your body into tribal movements.

DJ Krust - Warhead

Lemon D - Manhattan Melody

Swords 'n' Bass

2009-07-04T10:25:00.002+01:00

I want to apologise to Photek because as I write this I am listening to Journey 'Don't Stop Believing' because I feel it will help wake up Mrs Pontiac. So not really the appropriate soundtrack for a post about one of most memorable drum n bass producers but its Saturday morning, so hey!

Photek stood in the crowded jungle because you always recognised his tracks. His signature clinical production was like music made in cleansed laboratory by an army of Ipswich clone scientists piecing each beat, break and tweek with titanium tweezers. Clean and clinical thats my belated point.

That is not a criticism of other producers. Back in the day all the key players were doing some amazing stuff and more often than not they would fill a dancefloor well before any Photek track. But a Photek remained an anticipated event.

Not sure what he doing now. i did read on the bio in his site that he has been in the USofA producing and remixing. Good luck to him. The last Photek product I got was in the form of a present. Jackson gave me his excellent Solaris for my 24th birthday. Solaris was a break from his previous cold, paranoid style....in that a couple of house orientated tracks felt a little, not a lot, more friendly.

So anyway its Saturday morning and the sun is burning down. Kenny Loggins in now on!!! So on to the tracks. I have included two tracks from Photeks 1997 album Modus Operandi and one from Solaris. I think they show his minimalist complexity perfectly. BREAK!!

Smoke Rings (Modus Operandi)
Axiom (Modus Operandi)
Junk (Solaris)

Mind Your Tech Step

2009-07-01T22:27:00.004+01:00

Back to the jungle after my liberal America gushing.

While our little collection of junglists did a pretty good job of picking up quality drum n bass from Stirling's few decent music outlets and on trips into Glasgow, we could only touch the tip of the rapidly developing and innovating jungle scene.

So radio was vital to cath up with the latest tracks and happenings. Stirling did not have a Kool FM but we had One In The Jungle on Radio 1. Predominately hosted by Fabio and Grooverider (pictured above) it was an essential listen when we stottered back in from the pub. I used have hunners of taped shows to listen but they all disappeared years ago.

However, I recently stumbled across a One In The Jungle archive which has loads of the shows and in reasonable quality. I was relistening to the 14 March 2007, A Guy Called Gerald, MC Normski & Navigator recording. Always remember it for some reason. Hopefully the other shows will have Fabio hysterical monologues about Eastenders, Pete Beale and Arsenal.

One In The Jungle Archive

Senator Al Franken

2009-07-01T19:29:00.003+01:00

Yesterday Al Franken became Senator Al Franken eight months after winning the senatorial election in the American state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court judged that he won the election by 312 votes.

I've been following this regularly and I'm delighted to see him get some justice. While I would not agree with a lot his political viewpoints, he is Pro Choice (edit: haha & OMG! I originally typed Pro Life when in fact Al is clear supporter of a woman's right to choose), Pro Gay Rights and Pro working class.

Most of all he has spent much of his time tearing into the rabid conservative right, be it Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly or Anne Coulter. His book Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right is a funny and passionate rejection of right wing lies.

Well done Al.

Lick My Dubplate

2009-06-30T22:19:00.002+01:00

Not sure why its been on my mind but been thinking about my days in the jungle. Drum n Bass. Dancing like a crazed witch doctor with the body representing the bass and the hands and arms the breaks and beats.

The interest started in early 1996 if I remember. I was bored one day and picked up a copy of a compilation which had a massive impact on my musical horizons. Then it was a matter of buying more and more cd's and more importantly records. Jungle made my collection explode from a minor hamlet to a large cosmopolitan town. The guys, Allan, Mark, Paul and Lee to name a few all had jungle fever and it meant some great nights, epic gigs, so-so gigs, supercool clothes and a pair of teflon combats!!!

So Pontiac will be celebrating jungle this week from my perspective as a proud former junglist.

So what was that first comp? LTJ Bukem's Logical Progression. Muzik magazine, which in its hey day between 1995-98 was a passionate supporter of jungle, gave an excellent review of the compilation and had a great pic of Bukem wearing he trademark funky specs and a thick silver winter jacket. Did not run out to FOPP then and there but it nestled in my head and on a bored trip to town to avoid some annoying flatmates I bought.

It was unbelievable and I just kept listening to it again and again. The 1st CD was indiviual tracks and the 2nd was a mix by Bukem. A total revelation. And from there I bought Moving Shadow, No U-Turn, Reprezent, Metalheadz, Ram, V and so on. This week I am going to remember some of the highlights of my time in the jungle. When it threatened to break into the mainstream before retreating back to where it worked best. The dirty end of experimental dance music.

My first track is from the Logical Progression. No going for a Bukem track as they are everywhere. But wanted to give a shout to Peshay. This track is a belter. Drum n Bass to drag you onto the dancefloor combined with a soulsister vocal.

Peshay - Vocal Tune

NEWS FLASH Michael J Fox Is Alive

2009-06-25T23:17:00.003+01:00

Pontiac Dream can confirm that the reports of Michael J Fox's death due to an exposure to plutonium are unfounded. Michael continues to be a much loved star whose campaigning for greater stem cell research is an inspiration to millions.

Canadian Baking

2009-06-22T21:29:00.004+01:00

Since its mid-season in tv land and there is absolutely nothing to watch in the evenings (not even Admiral Baby) I have started to roam the channels beyond Come Done With Me marathons and Virgin's on demand section.

On Friday there appeared to be one of BBC Four theme evenings. Friday was Leonard Cohen, the bruising canadian dark poet. before you could say 'rusty razor blade slicing frantically' I was listening to the big man on Spotify.

I aint one to assume the position of number one fan. I also will admit that I only own a single best of album. Furthermore I will swear on the Koran that there is loads of Leonard which is totally unlistenable. But from the one best of...and from the other tracks I have picked up through blog rummaging, I can confidently say I think he is immense.

He is not some miserablist as some would paint him. For me he just starts in the shadows and moves to the darkness. It's not about tricking you and taking you with him. They're small glimpses of like in Cohen-world, and that world aint Disney Land. Who would want that?

The picture above is of Warren Beatty from Robert Altman's Mr McCabe & Mrs Miller, one of the great 70s anti-westerns. The score is 100% Cohen and gives the film are more dream like quality.

Of the two tracks I have chosen one is my favourite Cohen track, Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye and a prominent track from the above mentioned western, Sisters Of Mercy. Hey, That's No... is beautiful with its acoustic intro, devasting opening line and sirens singing the chorus behind Cohen. A song to hear before you die.

Leonard Cohen - Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

Leonard Cohen - Sisters Of Mercy

Pimp My Wheelchair

2009-06-21T09:57:00.004+01:00

So last Monday I had the day off work to recover from an excessive Sunday afternoon and evening of drinking. Part of the recovery programme was a daytime visit to the cinema. A time where the cinema as a whole is more serene than its normal atmos of an infestation of gremlins.

My choice was Star Trek. I aint a trekkie. I do not really enjoy the original series that much. But I appreciate its campness, enjoy the movies and from time to time will admit the chemistry between the main characters to a be joyful.

The new reimaging of the franchise was pretty good. Kirk is a flawed hero-goofball, Spock is logical, Bones moans, Scottie auch's & recalibrates and a guy in red gets killed. While the time vortex stylee plot was a 'lil unoriginal and the appearance of Leonard Nimoy was annoyingly self knowing, it was a solid 7/10.

But I need to address something. As far as I can see one of Star Trek's strongest points is its relatively complex environment. Warp speed, phasers, klingons, romulans, teleportation, different languages, vulcan culture, 23rd century medicine, time travel, androids, flying cars etc etc. you get the point. A whole new universe which has its roots in a contemporary vision of what may be.

Its strange then that at the end when Kirk and co are getting medals and praise from the Federation that the captain that they save enters stage left. Sitting in and being pushed along in, a wheelchair.

Bizarrely someone took the effort to pimp that ride by giving it bigger wheel trims but given the technology available why does the wheelchair still exist. Why is being pushed? Why does he not have a joystick. Even wheelchairs in 1997 had user control!!! Why did he not float in on some hoverboard thing? Why not mechanical leg joints? Why was he not walking because of some tool Bones attached to his spine?

I aint being smart or smug by pointing out continuity errors or something like that. People who do that are baaaad ok.

Its just feels like someone went to bed early.

Super Troupers

2009-06-17T19:57:00.004+01:00

Well its been too long in coming and by golly what a way to launch themselves on Pontiac Dream.

While I hosted a Camera Obscura track last week, little did I know that would prompt ex-Scottish comedian and know superstar in the field of American chatshows, Craig Ferguson, to give them a slot on his show.

Seriously, when Allan (ta Aldo) posted this on Facebook I was in awe and more than a little impressed with C Ob (as we call them on the street). Please spend some time watching the below clip:

Impressed. Well if not then here is another taster. Straight from their latest album I am glad to host the title track, My Maudlin Career, and album closer, Honey In The Sun.

Both show C Ob at their best. Production that improves which each album and they're comfortable slowing it down to make you nod and sway, or the usual album finale which has you shuffling and clapping. Take a good listen. Craig Freekin' Ferguson!!!

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura - Honey In The Sun

West End Festivus

2009-06-14T12:43:00.003+01:00

The sun is out...technically. But there is also some cloud activity to be wary of. Why the concern over the weather?

It's the West End Festival today so that means we're off to Kelvin Way for a bit of a street party with music, rides, balloon salesmen and barbacues. I know the West End festival is actually on over a few weeks but for most of us we only wander along to this as its a good excuse to get drunk, see friends and watch the always funny badger parade.

The photo above is some of the gang at the 2007(?) party but I am willing to be corrected. It captures the essence of the day. Friends. Beer. Shades. Tshirts. Crowds.

Me, Mrs Pontiac and elements of her family are all wandering along but I will be making a sharp exit at some point to drink and be merry. And unlike last year when I had a fookin job interview the following day, this year I am off work tomorrow.

Now I know some you, like Shatbass, will want to remind me I a potential carrier of the Pork Virus. But it's the West End so everyone has probably been travelling recently and just as likely to have it. There is also a childrens, maternity and general hospital all within 10 mins. Simply - I aint missing out because I touched paper touched by someone who touched someone with pandemic fever.

Musically I am sure there will be proto-hi-land-funk-fling, 60's tribute band for old hippies, country & westend, shat-rock and maybe ska-skiffle. Personally the soundtrack I would be like to hear would include these:

Brute Force - The Deacon

Graeme Allwright - Dommage

Tito Puente - Fancy Feet

Just chose them randomly from my 'Festivus Folder' however I am sure you will agree that would be the greatest god-damn festivus of all time.

Porky Pig's Revenge

2009-06-12T21:49:00.002+01:00

Well piggy flu is standing at my door and it feels great.

Today it was confirmed that the mother of a colleague in my team has swine flu. My colleague has the symptons. As I was told I turned to look at the pile of documents said colleague has passed me a day earlier and which I had been closely sifting through.

Fantastic. For once a global pandemic is taking an interest in me. I am one more step closer to be being a witness on Sky News. Hell, I may even get on CNN. HELL!!! I may even get the super flu and get some time of work. Wish I'd licked those documents.

So watch this space. I may soon be blogging from a sterile pirex bubble.

In honour of this event I am posting a track from Camera Obscura's latest album, My Maudlin Career. No idea why I have not mentioned this superb album (since I know the drummer....and boyfriend of the bassist...i'm such a whore) earlier but what the hey! I will post a few tracks from it soon but in the meantime this is the sickest track on the album.

Camera Obscura - French Navy

Red Army Misfit Joins White Army

2009-06-11T19:20:00.004+01:00

Well the inevitable has happened. Ronnie has stopped whispering, hinting, grunting, humming and hawwing about his love for Manchester Utd and equal desire to move to Real Madrid.

Why? Because Fergie has looked to the future and seen are best served with Ronaldo being sold to Franco's Fascists for a sweet £80 million and the squad being enhanced by two or maybe three new heroes.

I am sad to see Ronnie leave my team. There is no other player with his variety of talent and attacking options. He cannot be replaced but the team as it has done time and time again, will transform and continue in our march to victory through attack. And it wont harm us NOT having the most brattish player in the world embarrassing us.

So goodbye Ronnie. I will always remember your 2007-2008 season. 42 glorious goals...and here they are:

So Many Things

2009-06-04T22:31:00.003+01:00

Not really got a focus except to say.....

All the best to Dr Nick and his attempt to become a MEP. I decided against Spectre and voted for the Scottish Socialist Party. Not because I am a member of that party. Not because I agree with its decision or rational to stand in the election. Not because I will have to donate some sort of cash for the adventure.

But because my friend Nicky is on the list of candidates who could get elected. How? Well for Nick to get elected about three quarters of Scotland would have to vote SSP or atleast a 6th of them (with the first three candidates for the SSP dying of shock). So good luck Nicky.

And another thing......

In my recent praise of Shatbass and Miss Russian Army I failed to notice that was my 100th post. Well done Pontiac Dream. Thanks for stealing my thunder Shatbass!!!

Nearly finally.....

Just finished watching the season finale of Breaking Bad. Its by far the best show on TV, even if I did think the last episode had one bit 'pushing it'. More in another post.

Finally, at last...

A few months ago an italian we'll call Mazio Fragonelli sent me an email telling me to get on board with a thing called Spotify. Well I had a little look and thought, "More shit for my laptop to deal with." I was wrong. Mucho wrong as italians would say. I am no expert on these things. I am sure there are other similar things out there (Shatbass may want to big up last.fm). But it was easy to join, simple to download, childs play to use and I am listening to it now. More to folllow on this story.....Spotify, spelt S.P.O.T.I.F.Y.

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

2009-05-30T16:02:00.003+01:00

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

2009-05-25T16:00:00.003+01:00

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

2009-05-22T21:23:00.003+01:00

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

2009-05-19T21:02:00.003+01:00

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?

2009-05-14T19:02:00.003+01:00

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

2009-05-01T11:31:00.009+01:00

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

New York Fever

2009-04-30T10:09:00.005+01:00

Well me and Mrs Pontiac and are back from the Big Pork and can confirm that after a long and deep nights sleep recovering from a return to Scottish time, we are showing no signs of the three-way we had with Miss Piggy.

So no bacon flu yet but a lot of good memories and slick shopping stays with us. Of course this is all about holiday to New York where the mantra was "we will not retread" and "we want to visit 'New' New York." And pretty much we managed that.

Main tourist spots where side stepped and new corners missed last time where exploited to the fullest. We did the lower east side, alphabet city, coney island, williamsburg, brooklyn heights, fort greene, chelsea etc etc. You get the point.

The highlights.........

1) Is That Bruce Springstein?
While lining up to get into a comedy club everyone was sitting or standing on the sidewalk waiting for the doors to open. Suddenly we hear a few muffled screams, hoops and movement. Is it a comedy star like Steve Guttenberg or a movie star like Steven Guttenburg? The screams got louder and the queue parted as if Moses himself was parted it. Out of the gloom charged a pretty big rat racing at me!!!!...or near me. As I jumped up into Mrs Pontiac's arms, Pussy (as we later named the rat bastard), dashed into some nearby shrubbery.

2) Sunday Service
Until Sunday I had never been on a rollercoaster. But we took a trip to Coney Island to escape the record breaking heat of the city and I had a wee look at the Cyclone and thought, "hey its small and got some wooden bits...how bad can that be??"

Well I am not in a rush to go on another. My scrambled eggs went up and down i perfect symmetry to to the ride, the wheels where square, the corners right angles. Mummy.

3) We're All Gonna Die
American TV is worth a holiday in itself. Swine Flu, adverts for immortality drugs, murderers, Swine Flu, out of control children, Swine Flue and things coming up, up, up!

4) Western Wet Dream
I got to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at an open air drive-in style event by a sun soaked Hudson River. Excellent.

5) The Chelsea Star Hotel
Great hotel. Great staff. Great Location. Great drunken jakes across the street each morning letting the world know what was what. Great room. See the pic below. each room had a theme and ours was the Wizard of Oz.

There is more. Tomorrow I will post details of the stars we saw and I how excited that made us. One is a genuine cinema legend.

Bleep, Bleep, Crunch, Scratch & Wirl

2009-04-18T10:08:00.002+01:00

Not sure when it happened. It started before I had my own taste, i know that for sure. It has sometimes been an obsession. Sometimes it just lies about in the dusty attic of brain. But every once in a while its steps forward.

No, not my invisble friend, Harry Fercklesteinbergblum, but my fascination of electronic beat/bleep-scapes. Be it the sound u-zip, Luke Vibert, Tom Jenkinson, Richard James, Vadim and the mountain of records I picked up in the late 90s searching for the new chunk of electronic junk, its very apparent inaccessbility is its sweetest sound. Finding a moment where you hear a sound you aint heard in a record before is a discovery worth waiting for.

So to the new album from Prefuse 73. Just like Dan Deacon I am not in a position to give a biography of the guy or even historical background to his musical devlopment but I have....or had a few of his albums lying around the flat or PC. While they were more conventional (in the sense of accessibility rather than experimental adventure), his new album Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian plays like an epic electronic track broke into smaller electrons known as tracks.

I have not had the time to sit and listen to in one session but heard most of it while getting ready last week and with the exception of a harpsichord-like sound that I can do without, it is triumph in random electronic inchoherent coherency (I should have worked for Muzik magazine!!). Not many tracks that would make sense alone but I have added a couple below for your enjoyment/interest.

Prefuse 73 - Regato

Prefuse 73 - Natures Uplifting Revenge

For Mr & Mrs Chivas

2009-04-13T11:14:00.003+01:00

VOGUE!!!!!

Goodbye Film Memories, Hello....Music?

2009-04-11T11:42:00.003+01:00

I will not pretend to know a lot about Dan Deacon.

I am aware from the blog the blog grapevine that his noises are experimental, electronic, childlike and dance conscious. I know his live shows are meant to awesome-o. And I know his new album and pretty sweet.

Bromst is his latest album and I've been enjoying it the last few weeks. It's hard to pin down what it's like. At times you feel you've stumbled across a gem from Warp as there is tastes of Squarepusher and Aphex Twin in there. But there are not, if any, dark edges or shadows that the aforementioned couple use to such disorientating effect. Sometimes it feels like a lullaby for a 22 Century kid deep in a techno induced coma. It's a lot of fun. And at times it's a little exhausting but in terms of quality electronic noises, voices and beats I would recommend visting it.

Dan Deacon - Red F

Here is a wee example of Deacon's live experience......

Now Post-Apocalyptic 75

2009-04-05T09:22:00.003+01:00

Well I think I have made it clear how important and how much I enjoyed the midnight hour movie treats of pre cable tv. All the channels chipped in. Even Channel Five.

So before I move onto to playing some new music I have been listening to and my latest obsessions, I have one more film to give a big olde clut shout out.

Now sci-fi is a genre I can take or leave. For me it seems hard that a genre that demands such an expression of imagination can throw up so many tepid visions of our future or aliens that are human but with a third ear.

However, one sub-genre of sci fi I have always had an interest in is the Post Apocalyptic vision of the future. Films such as Delicatessen, Hardware, The Omega Man, Soylent Green, Logan's Run, Mad Max 2, Plant Of The Apes, Day Of The Dead, 1984, Death Race 2000, Esacape From New York and Rollerball.

Now I know some might say that some of those are Dystopias. But I aint going there. Like I said I like these films, I don't obssess over them.

My favourite Post Apocalyptic (love that word) movie has to be A Boy And His Dog. Starring a yougn Don Johnson and directed by Peckinpah stock actor LQ Jones its the story of earth after World War Four. Walking through the nuclear desert and amongst the savage remnants of humanity is Don and his dog. His dog and him can talk telepathically. A side effect of the radiation. Don finds food. The dog warns of danger and seeks out women. And in this vision the women are not for companionship or babies. As the film develops we meet an insane community based on Philip Sousa, marching bands and town hall meetings that meet out capital punishment. I don't need to say anymore.

I have included the original trailer below and then the re-release trailer. Why two? No idea but I would the guess the incoherent marching band music, flashing images and lack of narrative meant nobidy understood it. It certainly does not mention the talking dog.

The Last American Hero

2009-04-02T20:38:00.003+01:00

Been a while since the last post but want to keep the theme of late night movie treasures going on and since the last post there has only been one movie I have wanted to talk about.

Vanishing Point.

Starring Barry Newman (TV's Petrocelli) this existential descent through the repressive urges and progressive fractures of Nixon's America seen through the destructive eyes of Kowalski, a guy whose American Dream has left him trying to drive from Denver to Frisco in 24 hrs with only a big bag of speed, a disc jockeys words and memories of loss. I know I really pretentionised that right up but my god this is a great film. Booming soundtrack. Car chases. Easy Rider's dream turned nightmare theme. A hero.

Check out the trailer below. I saw this on the Mark Cousin's shift as Moviedrome presenter. Instantly and just like a first listen to Neil Diamond, you say 'how did i live without this???'

And as an extra treat here is a couple of the tracks from the soundtrack. The first is followers one of the more manic car chases while the second gets us ready for the inevitable. Sorry that the rips are little poor.

The J.B. Pickers - Freedom of Expression
Segarini & Bishop - Over Me

Moviedrone

2009-03-26T22:33:00.003Z

Of course when we talk TV movies there are three words which must be celebrated and respected. Alex Moviedrome Cox.

I still have no idea why but when I was younger my folks would get to me to go to bed (for school in the morning) at a regular time but let that slide when I was watching some particular films and this spread into the age of Moviedrome. This was BBC2's cult and long lost film show which was presented by director Alex Cox over the late 1980s and 1990s.

Now my folks were not big movie fans, far from it. But maybe they saw something in that which was more beneficial than Gary Davies on Radio 1. Anyway Alex Cox always gave good intro. Letting into some of the background, myths, themes and politics of the films. Moviedrome was the ultimate in eclectic viewing. Spaghetti Westerns, Horror, Comedy, Paranoid Thrillers, Grindhouse, Arthouse and Sci-punk-fi were all on the bill.

One film that always stayed with me was Alligator. As the below trailer will let you know, this was about an alligator. A big one. It comes up form sewers. It eats people and causing some class based carnage. The old guy from Jackie Brown is in it. And a big alligator. A really fun and nasty tail....haha

After Dark Pleasures

2009-03-25T19:47:00.003Z

All that talk and boyish gushing over Warren Oates got me thinking and surfing. Remember the days before the proliferation of satellite or cable tv when the terrestial channels would show forgotten classics, cults wonders and weirdo cinema as the midnight hours descended.

It seems to me that that just doesn't happen anymore. The main channels would rather show repeats of tv shows, straight to video faux drama and hollywood halfbakes.

When I was young I saw some films that really influenced my life choices in later life. I do not mean that they directly influenced opinions, decisions or choices but just if you grow up enjoying Warren Oates, Alan Paluka or Jason Robards then you are less likely to like Angelina Jolie, Billy Joel and Joey.

So I thought why not talk about some of these and let you see the trailer...which of course means great 70s/80s trailers!! First up and thanks to Mr Oates, its Race With The Devil. Two men. Two women. Satanists. A sacrifice. And a Winnebago. I repeat. A Winnebago!!!