Pornosonic
Cream Streets
J-Bird
Don’t get me wrong, I like a good joke as much as the next person, but there’s such a thing as taking the joke too far. Pornosonic’s first album, Unreleased 70s Porno Music was funny stuff – authentic-sounding ’70s funk that purported to be tracks from non-existent ’70s skin flicks, wrapped up in a neat little package topped with hilarious introductions from porn king Ron Jeremy. While the music was well-played and certainly evoked its inspiration, the real appeal was the wit behind the project.
Stretch the joke out to two albums, and that joke just doesn’t seem that funny anymore. Absent Jeremy’s shenanigans (easily a highlight of the first album), Cream Streets purports to be the original soundtrack to the non-existent porno of the same name. While the package itself is a bit of fun, with its faux movie poster, “plot” synopsis (as if porn flicks have a plot), and credits for non-existent stars like Dick Dagger, Peach Fuzz, Cum Lin Santiago, and director Dixon Toofar (say it out loud), the music is just more of the same, less the fun of Jeremy’s voiceovers. While it’s again all very authentic and well-played, let’s face it – there’s a reason that you only ever heard this kind of stuff in ’70s porn, ‘cause as funk goes, it ain’t exactly Parliament. They try to bring a glimmer of the humor back in with the last track, a phony trailer for the movie, but by that time, it’s too little, too late. I’d really like to see Pornosonic main man Don Argott turn his skills toward making some real funk, ‘cause I think he’s got the chops for it, but unless he’s gonna make it fun again with cameos like Jeremy’s on the first album or some other twist, he should probably quit whacking off. Musically, I mean. No, really!
J-Bird, http://www.j-birdrecords.com, http://www.pornosonic.com
