Under the Radar Movies

Since prime time TV is pretty nil in the summer time, I usually like to catch up with movies and TV series I missed.  Below are three movies that came out relatively recently (in the last year or so), that didn't receive much buzz at the time, but are definitely worth seeking out.

Short Term 12 (2013):
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Initially I put off watching this movie, because the subject matter sounded rather depressing.  It's about a foster care home for neglected and troubled teens.  The film does have its dark moments, but there is enough humor and lightness to keep the movie from being downbeat.  Brie Lawson plays Grace, the lead councilor in charge of looking after the foster care home.  She's tough, but also very caring towards the teens staying under her care.  Her long term boyfriend Mason (a very bearded John Gallagher Jr.) also works as a counselor at the facility.   Marcus (Keith Stanfield) is on the verge and turning 18 and "graduating" out of foster care.  He is understandably apprehensive at the prospect of being returned to the streets where he grew up.  Meanwhile, a new teen, Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), arrives at the facility.  Jayden is a troublemaker, but comes from a slightly more privileged background than the other children.  However, she has some problems below the surface which Grace seems to be the only person who understands.

Even though the subject matter is somewhat bleak, I really enjoyed this movie.  Brie Lawson gives a standout performance as Grace.  It was also interesting to see John Gallagher Jr. play a character who is a world away from his preppy and somewhat wimpy Newsroom character.  He gives a really likeable performance here. I never quite knew where the plot was going and there were quite a few surprises.  However, the characters are drawn emphatically, so you wind up rooting for them in spite of their circumstances. 

Drinking Buddies (2013):
Find it in the catalog!

I'll admit I've always thought of Olivia Wilde as being an actress somewhat in the same category as Megan Fox:  very pretty, but not a whole lot of substance there.  Thankfully, I was wrong about Ms. Wilde, who gives a wonderful performance as the tomboyish Kate in this Joe Swanberg directed comedy.  Shot in Chicago (at Revolution Brewing Company, no less), this movie follows the friendship between two brewery employees, brewer Luke (Jake Johnston of New Girl) and the head of PR Kate.  Luke and Kate flirt like crazy and have a ton in common, but both are in relationships with other people.  Luke has a long term live-in girlfriend, Jill (Anna Kendrick).  And Kate has an older music producer beau, Chris (Ron Livingston). After the couples travel together for a long weekend, Chris decides to break up with Kate.  Afterwards, Kate's new found singleness causes some uneasiness with her friendship with Luke.

As a huge fan of craft beer and things set in Chicago, I was preordained to like this movie.  Drinking Buddies has a plot that is pretty true to life for a certain set of late 20/ early 30 somethings.  Johnston, Kendrick and Wilde all give pretty funny and nuanced performances.  I was particularly impressed by Wilde's take on Kate, a character who on paper seems like the perfect girl.  She's funny, smart, pretty, and can drink her weight in beer.  Yet she also has some intimacy and maturity issues underneath her bubbly exterior.

Frances Ha (2012):  
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Out of the movies on the list, this was the only one I really anticipated before watching.  Partly because of the director (Noah Baumbach) and the star (Greta Gerwig).  And partly because I will watch anything about an awkward, late 20-something girl trying to figure out her life.  I tried to catch the movie in theaters, but the run was so short that I missed it.  Frances (Gerwig) is a 27 year-old wannabe dancer, who decides to break up with her boyfriend to spend more time with her best friend and roommate, Sophie (Mickey Sumner).  Unfortunately for Frances, Sophie gets serious with her stock broker beau, Patch, and moves out of their apartment.  Without Sophie, Frances becomes increasing lost and struggles to find a place to rent in NYC that she can afford.  Throughout the movie, we follow Frances as she moves into several different apartments and attempts (feebly) to become a grown up.

This movie is immensely relatable for late boomers to adulthood.  As someone who had her fair share of addresses in her twenties, I could see myself in Frances immediately.  Still that makes it all that much harder to watch her struggle, fail, and occasionally make a huge fool out of herself.  Frances has somewhat limited social skills and sometimes she does or says things incredibly stupid or inappropriate.  I found myself covering my eyes to avoid the awkwardness occasionally while watching this movie.  That being said, overall this is quite an enjoyable movie.  I especially enjoyed Frances's friendship with one of her roommates Benji (Michael Zegen); a trust-fund kid who's equally lost and unrealistic about life as Frances.  Benji jokes frequently that they are both "undateable."  The movie is shot beautifully in black and white, so it's a pleasure to look at as well.

Comfort Food Cinema: Broadcast News

 Cranky Network Manager:  "It must be nice to always believe that you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room."

Jane Craig:  "No. It's awful."


Broadcast News (1987).
Call No.:  DVD COMEDY BROADCAST
Find it in the catalog!

For many people the hey day of romantic comedies was in the 1930s and 40s.  And while I'm a huge fan of rom-coms from this period (His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, anything with Jimmy Stewart), I'm also partial to romantic comedies from the 1980s.  While Broadcast News doesn't exactly fit the mold of romantic comedy perfectly; it's one of my favorites of the era. 

The film follows Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), a gifted, but neurotic news producer.  Her friend and frequent collaborator is Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), a talented writer and investigative journalist who also has secret feelings for Jane.  However, her relationship with Altman, is challenged when her network hires the hunky, but less substantial journalist Tom Grunick (William Hurt).  Tom is a former sports reporter turned anchor  Though he is quickly promoted, he lacks the knowledge and integrity of a journalist like Jane or Aaron.  In spite of their different perspectives on journalism, Jane finds herself falling for Tom.

Albert Brooks really steals the show as Aaron Altman.  He's got some of the funniest lines in the movie.  Even though Altman can be smug and manipulative, it's really hard not to feel for the guy.  He's gifted, super smart, but gets passed over for a promotion because he lacks the charm and attractiveness of Tom.  This jealously towards Tom is only intensified because of his feelings for Jane, and her preference for Tom in spite of all the similarities she and Aaron share and their great chemistry as friends.  In one of the most cringe-inducing scenes of the movie, Aaron gets his shot at becoming an anchor, only to ruin it with an incredible flop sweat attack.

From the fashion to the technology, the film definitely is of the 80s.  Jane has one scene where she's dressed to impress, which does not translate at all to today's fashion.  However, the themes and relationships in the movie are still fresh today.  This is a wickedly funny movie that also has some real heartbreaking moments in it.  If you have not seen it before, or haven't watched it for a while, it's definitely worth checking out!

A Room With A View

 

A Room with A View (1985).
Call No.:  DVD DRAMA ROOM
Find it in the catalog!

 I've been on an Italy kick lately, because I have been planning a trip there later on this year.  So while I was initially worried that this Merchant Ivory film might be a little bit on the slow and tedious side, I decided to watch it anyway for the spectacular scenery in Florence.  Luckily, A Room with a View proved to be a lively and enjoyable film.  

Set during the Edwardian era and based off an E.M. Forester novel, this 1985 film adaption follows a young British woman, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), as she vacations in Florence for the first time under the supervision of her much older and tightly-wound cousin Charlotte (Maggie Smith).  At their hotel in Italy, Lucy and Charlotte become close with several other English travelers including novelist Eleanor Lavish (Judi Dench), Reverend Beebe (Simon Callow), and most importantly, the free-spirited Mr. Emerson (Denholm Elliot) and his son, George (Julian Sands).  While on the trip, Lucy begins to long for more freedom and finds herself increasing drawn to George, but she is confused by her feelings.  When George passionately kisses Lucy in a field, their embrace is interrupted by a horrified Charlotte, who insists Lucy must leave Florence at once and makes Lucy promise to keep the kiss a secret (lest she be blamed).

 After returning to England, Lucy accepts the proposal of the extremely nerdy Cyril Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis).   Cyril is a more socially suitable match for Lucy than George, but he lacks passion.  Lucy and Cyril share one of the most comically awkward kisses in cinema history, thanks in part to Cyril's pince-nez glasses.  However, her engagement gets tested when Mr. Emerson and George rent a cottage in Lucy's town.  Will Lucy choose George with his enviable bone-structure and vastly superior kisses?  Or stay true to her commitments and marry the annoyingly stuffy Cyril? 

Though the film is almost 30 years old, it still feels fresh.  The cast is superb and it was fun to see these big names actors when they were much younger.  I didn't recognize Daniel Day-Lewis at first and was totally jealous of Helena Bonham Carter's marvelously gigantic hair.  Not being a big Merchant Ivory fan, I was surprised by how much humor was in the film.  There are lots of laughs, including a famous bathing sequence featuring George, Reverend Beebe, and Lucy's brother Freddy (Rupert Graves).  The film is beautiful to look at, very romantic, and I appreciated how all of the characters were treated with empathy.   Even though Cyril's priggishness is often played for laughs, his character is not entirely dismissible and it's obvious that he does genuinely care for Lucy.   Whether you're a fan of well-acted historical dramas, want to armchair travel to Florence, or you just want an excuse to stare at Julian Sands's cheekbones for two hours, A Room With View is definitely worth watching!

Happy birthday, Will Ferrell!

Actor Will Ferrell turns 45 today. Ferrell is known for his hilarious and quotable film characters, from Buddy the Elf to anchorman Ron Burgundy to figure skater Chazz Michael Michaels. His latest movie to hit DVD is Casa de mi Padre, out tomorrow. Later this summer Ferrell can be seen in the comedy The Campaign co-starring Zach Galifianakis. Will Ferrell fans are undoubtedly looking forward to the Anchorman 2 movie due to be released in 2013, reuniting the cast from the original 2004 film, which also starred Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate.

I always enjoy the way Ferrell plays off his co-stars, and he had great chemistry with his news team in Anchorman. I especially loved the back and forth insult slinging between Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Applegate). Ferrell and John C. Reilly were a great partnership as NASCAR drivers in Talladega Nights, and as rivals who become best friends in Step Brothers:

Brennan: Listen, I know that we started out as foe. But after that courageous act that you showed me against the one they call Derek, maybe someday we could become friends. Friends who ride majestic, translucent steeds, shooting flaming arrows across the bridge of Hemdale.

Dale: I would follow you into the mists of Avalon if that's what you mean.

Ferrell also shared hilarious scenes with Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys. Wahlberg, as NYC police detective Terry, couldn't stand to be around Ferrell's character Allen Gamble, who he saw as weak and a "fake cop." Terry used a metaphor comparing himself to a lion and Allen to a tuna, and told Allen that he would even go outside the food chain to attack him. Allen came right back at Terry and explained why a tuna could take a lion in the ocean "9 times out of 10":

OK, first off: a lion, swimming in the ocean. Lions don't like water. If you placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, 20 foot wave, I'm assuming off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full grown 800 pound tuna with his 20 or 30 friends, you lose that battle, you lose that battle 9 times out of 10. And guess what, you've wandered into our school of tuna and we now have a taste of lion. We've talked to ourselves. We've communicated and said 'You know what, lion tastes good, let's go get some more lion'. We've developed a system to establish a beach-head and aggressively hunt you and your family and we will corner your pride, your children, your offspring.

And that's not even the end of that scene. Another one of my favorite Will Ferrell roles was Buddy in Elf. A "human raised by elves," Buddy was happy all of the time, saw the good in everyone, and loved candy: "We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup."

Ferrell is also not afraid to let loose and sing, which he's done in several of his films. Check out a clip of his performance of "Something to Talk About" in Step Brothers:


Happy birthday to the songbird of his generation, Will Ferrell!

I named a few of my favorite Will Ferrell moments. What is your favorite Will Ferrell scene and/or quote?

Time Capsule Album Obsessions: High School

My high school years aren’t really a period I’m nostalgic about.  Like a lot of people from a small town, I spent much of  high school looking forward to leaving home and going to college.  I was more of an honor students than a rebel, but I did experiment with punk rock and light subversion.  After spending my freshman and sophomore years listening to emo (Bright Eyes, mostly) and glam rock (thanks to Ewan McGregor) I discovered the Cure and 80s post punk (which would dominate my playlists until grad school).  Below are five albums that I listened to way too much during high school:  

 

The Smiths- The Queen Is Dead.
Find it in the catalog!  
The Smiths are basically required listening for every angst-ridden high school student.  At the time, I could certainly relate to Morrissey’s sizable amount of self-pity on songs like “I Know It’s Over” and “Never Had No One Ever.”  But it was more than just adolescent woefulness that drew me to the Smiths.  Morrissey has one of best voices in rock, and he can be pretty funny at times.  Also, Johnny Marr’s excellent guitar work makes the music still sound fresh today.  
 

Favorite tracks: The Boy with the Thorn In His Side, There is a Light (That Never Goes Out), Some Girls are Bigger Than Others

Joy Division- Closer

Find Closer in the catalog! 

I think I definitely enjoy this album more now than I did in high school. Back then, I thought liking Joy Division made me dark and edgy, so I pretended to enjoy it more than I did.  And I liked the cryptic but bleak lyrics.  It wasn’t until college, when a lot of bands started to emulate Joy Division’s sound that I began to appreciate how spare and yet awesomely rocking they were.  Still, I listened to this album a lot in high school for only sort of liking it.  Perhaps, I just wanted to scare my parents.

 

Favorite tracks:  Isolation, Heart and Soul, The Eternal.  

  Joni Mitchell-Blue

Find it in the catalog! 

My sophomore year of high school, I bought a turntable.  I had a cheap box record player before this, but the turntable was a definite step up.  To build up my record collection, I'd buy pretty much anything from the 60s and 70s that was reasonably cool or had a spiffy cover. This was one of those records.  I bought it for it's pretty blue cover, but played it over and over again for its mellow vibe and romantic angst.  At 15, I hadn't really lived enough to understand the complex emotions on the album.  But I was naive enough to think that I did.

Favorite Tracks: California, River, A Case of You.

Simon and Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water

Find it in the catalog!

I went to high school about 30 years after it was cool to like this album.  Thankfully, none of my classmates knew who S and G were and therefore were clueless as to how much of a geek I was.  I started listening to S and G after hearing that Paul Simon was a big influence on my then rock-God, Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes.  My dad didn’t have Graceland, but I permanently borrowed his copies of Bookends and BOTW.  Paul Simon’s witty, literate, and offbeat lyrics really appealed to me.  I also liked the band’s quirky folk rock sound.  BOTW is an ambitious but fun album.  S and G played around with a bunch of sounds, including gospel (“Bridge Over Troubled Water,”) straight rock ‘n’ roll (“Baby Driver”) and even Bossa Nova (“So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”- not my favorite).  There are lots of classic songs on the this album, including the title track, “The Boxer” and “Cecilia,” but my all-time favorite song is the haunting “Only Living Boy in New York.”

 

Favorite Tracks:  Cecilia, Keep the Customer Satisfied, Baby Driver, Only Living Boy in New York, and Song for the Asking. 

Belle and Sebastian- If You're Feeling Sinister

Find it in the catalog! 

I discovered this band from one of my friends who was much hipper than me.  From their cool, retro red cover to their jangly, 60s inspired folk pop, Belle and Sebastian were pretty much perfect in my book.  Stuart Murdoch's lyrics were smart and funny, but a little wistful.  Belle and Sebastian were more or less the sonic equivalent of watching a Wes Anderson movie.   What more could a pretentious, old soul 17 year old want in a band?  Even with their post-Juno popularity and accusations of tweeness, If You're Feeling Sinister and Tigermilk are still favorites of mine. 

Favorite Tracks: The Fox in the Snow; Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying; If You're Feeling Sinister

Check out my whole list of high school album obsessions. 

Get stuck in "The Middle"

The Middle is a comedy about the Heck family set in the small town of Orson, Indiana. The characters are among my favorite on TV, and the cast is extremely talented and funny. Parents Frankie (Patricia Heaton), a car salesperson, and Mike (Neil Flynn), manager of a limestone quarry, face the everyday madness and exhaustion of raising three kids. Sixteen-year-old Axl (Charlie McDermott) lounges around the house in his boxers and is in a phase where "everyone and everything is lame." Even though he is almost always picking on his younger siblings, he occasionally shows how much he cares for them-- giving Sue his old football jersey, or telling Brick how much he loves him when he briefly loses him in a corn maze. Thirteen-year-old Sue (Eden Sher) is in junior high and very enthusiastic about school clubs, even though she never makes the cut. A running joke throughout the series is how nobody, from teachers to fellow students, is able to remember her. Eden Sher does a great job of portraying Sue's awkwardness, and you can't help but admire her positive attitude and root for her. Nine-year-old Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is happiest buried in a book and doesn't try to hide or apologize for his antisocial personality. "Okay. I'm done talking to you now," he tells a boy his age. He often whispers the last word of a sentence to himself, which everyone else finds really weird but he thinks is soothing (soothing!).

In one of the special features, "Raising a Sitcom Family," co-creators Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline talk about how the show is their "love letter to the Midwest." I think they did a great job on these season 1 episodes. Axl, Sue, and Brick actually look like kids you'd see in the neighborhood. Their near constant bickering is almost too real, as it reminds me of when I fought with my younger sister and brother over the tiniest things. I love Mike's honest reactions to the often ridiculous drama of teenagers. The relationship between Frankie and Mike is great to watch because unlike many shows where the husband and wife whine about each other's shortfalls, this is a marriage where they try to solve problems together. I also appreciate the details in the show's set design, with its messy kitchen table and counters. You know, I think it is the messiness of The Middle that makes the show so easy to relate to and so entertaining to watch. If you haven't already checkout out this show, now in its second season on ABC, I recommend you watch these season 1 episodes!

The Middle - Season 1
Find it in the catalog!

The Dundees: Our Alternative Oscars

The Oscar nominations this year are kind of a snoozefest. Is there anyone that was nominated that was really a surprise?  Though big yays for Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, and John Hawkes, even though none of them will probably win.  Also, Ryan Gosling, Andrew Garfield, and Matt Damon snubbed; the Academy is clearly biased against the dreamy!

So in opposition to the stodgy and predictable Oscars, I created my own alternative Oscars with slightly different categories. Also, some TV awards are thrown in for good measure:

Funniest Movie of the Year:  The Other Guys.  If this was best comedy, Easy A would win hands down.  It's a better executed film, but it's hard to resist the silliness of a Will Ferrell and Adam McKay joint. Which is why it's the movie that I laughed the most at this year.  Mark Wahlberg gives a hilarious performance as Will Ferrell's side kick.  And Michael Keaton is straight up awesome in this!

Find it in the catalog!

Best Romantic Comedy: Going the Distance.  Granted there's not a lot of competition for this slot- Killers?  The Bounty Hunter?  Come on!  But romantic comedy or not, this is a pretty hilarious movie.  I love the scene with Jim Gaffigan and his sandwich!

Find it in the catalog!

Most Enviable Wardrobe, Female Performance:  Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olsen on Mad Men.  Secretarial goddess Joan (Christina Hendricks) used to have the wardrobe to envy, but Peggy seemed to have a gotten a makeover between Seasons 2 and 3.  She now has a flirty and fun work wardrobe that seems more modern than Joan's.

Just Ain't Gonna Work Out- Songs of Rejection

There are plenty of good songs out there for the recently dumped- whether they are bitterly hostile or desperate to rekindle their relationship (or both). However, it can be just as hard to let someone down gently (especially if they are the clingy type) as it is to be kicked to the curb. So here are songs written from the perspective of the dumper, not the dumpee.  Making a mix tape of these songs to give to your not-so-special someone is probably not the kindest way to break it off, but it's nicer than what Arthur Russell would do!

Side note: I found it funny that most of the songs on the list were written by adorably geeky guys (minus, of course, Robyn), so I included their pictures. Unsurprisingly, most of these dudes have also written some pretty excellent songs about being dumped too. Expect that list shortly.

Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out- Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne is so smooth.  Not only can he pull off a hipster Dwight Shrute look, but he made a break up song that still sounds seductive.  Some people may be put off by Hawthorne's whiteboy retro soul shtick, but his album makes for pleasant listening and is surprisingly un-ironic. Check out the video for the song, which shows that sometimes ladies can be undateable too.

Nerdy and Amazing Men of Rock

Celebrating rock's most unlikely heroes:

Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal.  Barnes is a true indie rock diva.  He has his own glam rock alter-ego, Georgie Fruit, and usually will switch outfits multiple times per performance, occasionally opting to go without any clothes.  However, he also references French literature, Wong Kar-wai films, and Greek Mythology in his lyrics.
 

David Byrne, Talking Heads/ Various and Sundry.  Byrne is a music icon, cycling advocate, artist and author. Early on in his career, Byrne stood out for his quirky vocals and wiry, spastic energy. It's hard not to be impressed by Byrne's weirdness and seemingly boundless energy during his performance in the concert film Stop Making Sense.  Nearly 30 years later, Byrne is still making interesting and enjoyable music. 

Kings of Convenience at Metro, 6/10/10

Norwegian folk duo the Kings of Convenience played at Chicago's Metro theater last Thursday. The concert was originally scheduled for last February, but had to be postponed because band member Eirik Glambek Bøe came down with swine flu.  The show was definitely worth the wait.

I'm a moderate fan of the Kings of Convenience.  I was first introduced to the band because band member Erlend Øye toured a couple years ago with my Scandinavian indie rock crush, Jens Lekman.  Erlend's awkward charisma and awesomely bad dancing intrigued me.  I am a fan of the Kings' two older albums, Riot in an Empty Street and Quiet is the New Loud.  They have a quiet, peaceful, melancholy sound that is really nice when you're in the right mood.  I also enjoyed Erlend Øye's techno side projects including the Whitest Boy Alive and his solo album Unrest.  However, I haven't really gotten around to listening to the Kings' new album, Declaration of Independence, even though it's their first record in five years and has been out for almost a year. Which is to say that I wasn't the biggest fan there or the most familiar with the material, but I was interested to see how Erlend's charms held up with material that was darker and less danceable than his solo efforts.

A Californian band called Franklin for Short opened for the group. I had not heard of them before, but they were very impressively bearded.  I half-expected them to sound like Leonard Skynyrd, but they had more of a conventional indie pop rock sound mixed with some alt-country twang.  The band is sort of a blend of twee indie (they have a song named after everyone's least favorite gift, "Electric Blanket") and neo-hippie (hence the beards).  I started out tolerating them, but their general affability, good lead guitar work, and use of the theremin won me over enough.

The audience for the show was different than I envisioned.  Somehow I didn't think that a semi-obscure, Scandinavian folk duo that sounds vaguely like Simon and Garfunkel would have a mostly male, mostly preppy fan base (polo shirts abounded).  Especially not one that loudly shouted and wooed like they were attending a sporting event.  There were times, several in fact, that the audience was louder than the band.

The Kings took the stage a little bit before 8:30 and played for over an hour and half.  Musically, the show was a little less than perfect.  Metro is a larger concert venue and was packed full of rowdy super fans; the King's delicate sound wasn't quite big enough to fill the room.  They also had some technical problems, including Øye's guitar making an irritating feedback noise.  Still, that wasn't really my draw to this show.  Bøe and Øye have known each other since they were fifteen (both are in their mid-30s now), so they had a lived-in onstage chemistry and peppered their performance with humorous stories about each other.  Gangly and bespectacled, Erlend Øye looks like one of the least likely rock stars in the world.  However, he is probably one of the most charismatic performers in indie rock.  Øye's persona definitely emphasizes his awkwardness.  However, he was able to captivate the audience with his off kilter comments and nerdy enthusiasm. At one point, he made the comment, "You are a very strange audience," prompting an audience member to yell back, "You are very strange too!"  Erlend could only nod his head in agreement.

The band played a variety of songs from their different albums, but material from their most popular album, Riot on an Empty Street, was best received by the audience.  Later during the show, Franklin for Short joined the Kings to play back up and finally gave them enough sound to fill up the room.  Additionally, it allowed Erlend to showcase some of his awkward dancing skills.  The highlight of the evening was the closer, a cover of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al."  During which, Erlend encourage the audience to form a dancing circle which he jumped off stage to join.  Along side with Dan Deacon and Greg Gillis (aka. Girl Talk), Øye is one of the few indie rockers with enough pizazz and lunacy to be a genuine rock star.