The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car) (2006)

**1/2 (of four)



I'm stating the obvious and the already-stated-a-million-times, but we all know every kid who gets picked on in school dreams of becoming a famous rock star and showing all those little bully bastards who's boss. So, when I saw goober-looking lead singer Isaac Slade's adult face dissolve into the very similar visage (same criss-cross, vertical hairstyle and everything) of a little uniformed schoolboy, I thought I'd be in for another music video rendering of the outcast emerging triumphant.

Imagine my surprise when this kid seemed to get along with his peers, who didn't even make fun of him for religiously studying sheet music for his piano recital. They were all laughing with him, not at him! Then the kid has the opportunity to cheat on a standardized test, and he doesn't. Instead, he finishes the test, takes center stage in his school's empty auditorium and belts out the chorus to this song. And gets a glimpse of his illustrious future - playing in a band and performing to packed crowds.

It's almost as if this Elliot Lester video is saying that, if you study hard enough and are tenacious with your dreams, you'll amount to something. What the hell has happened to MTV? And, for that matter, what's happened to me? I used to dismiss pap like this out of turn. Instead I'm singing along and hoping the kid gets to hold onto his lunch money after all. Man, am I old and soft.