Porsches on the Autobahn

The shtickiness of Porsches on the Autobahn (joined at Bender's by Mr. Pacman) argues against taking the alleged "facts" about this musical vehicle as gospel. For instance, the group's members supposedly hail from Germany -- a background that, if it were true, might lend a certain legitimacy to their cheeky twist on post-Kraftwerk electro-pop. Yet the monikers used by Otto Jayayyemmri, Dezeiter Abbler, Hans Brunst and Volker Dassler seem like something from an unused Mike Myers skit, and their penchant for dressing like the Beastie Boys circa the "Sabotage" video further reinforces their fondness for satire. So, too, does their first DVD, conveniently titled DVD #1, which features energetically goofy clips for tracks that celebrate movement in the simplest terms; they include "Dance Americans," "Everybody Dance," "New Song Happy Dance" and, for a change of pace, "Just Flip That Bitch Off." This material is laughable by design. Clearly, Otto, Dezeiter, Hans and Volker (or whatever their real names are) care a helluva lot more about giggles than they do about authenticity.