| "R U Professional" | |
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The Mae Shi performing in August 2008 |
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| Song by The Mae Shi | |
| Published | YouTube, MediaFire |
| Released | February 3, 2009 |
| Recorded | Los Angeles, California |
| Genre | Experimental rock |
| Language | English |
| Length | 2:53 |
| Writer | The Mae Shi |
| Producer | The Mae Shi |
"R U Professional" is a song by the indie rock band The Mae Shi, inspired by the audio of a July 2008 outburst of actor Christian Bale on the set of Terminator Salvation. The song was written and released by the group twenty-four hours after the February 2, 2009 appearance of the Bale outburst on the internet. In a statement released from The Mae Shi, the group explained that the audio from the Bale outburst "was so crazy" that they were inspired to record a song about it, further stating "it's a tribute song we made to celebrate the epic-ness of Christian Bale". The piece was made available on YouTube and via download on MediaFire on February 3, 2009.
The song has received generally positive reception. MTV.com characterized it as "a Devo-esque slice of new wave fun", and Dose called it an "electro jam". Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times called it "a jaunty pop ode to Bale". Music sites including Pitchfork Media were impressed with the group's ability to write, record and release the video within twenty-four hours after the audio of the Bale outburst appeared on the internet.
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While Christian Bale was acting in a scene for the film Terminator Salvation with actress Bryce Dallas Howard, Bale yelled at the film's director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, for walking into his line of sight.[1][2] During the four-minute audio recording, Bale can be heard screaming obscenities at Hurlbut and threatening to quit the film if Hurlbut did it again and was not fired.[1][3] Hurlbut responded calmly and apologized several times to Bale, and continued shooting for seven hours after the incident.[1][4][5]
The incident occurred in July 2008 during shooting for the film in New Mexico, and an audio recording of Bale yelling at Hurlbut appeared on the website TMZ.com on February 2, 2009.[2][3] Prior to releasing the audio on the internet, TMZ.com had reported on the incident on their website in July 2008.[6] TMZ.com reported that film executives for Terminator Salvation sent a copy of the audio recording to the film's insurance company, in case Bale did quit the film.[1][4]
In a statement to Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM on February 6, 2009, Bale said he "acted like a punk", and that he and Hurlbut talked after the incident and "resolved this completely".[7] Bale acknowledged the two worked together for several hours after the incident, and "at least a month after that", and noted "I've seen a rough cut of the movie and he has done a wonderful job. It looks fantastic".[7]
A statement released by The Mae Shi explained the group's inspiration to write the song: "We thought it [the tape] was so crazy that we, The Mae Shi, wrote and recorded a song about it. We should clarify and say that this isn't really a Mae Shi song, it's a tribute song we made to celebrate the epic-ness of Christian Bale."[8][9] Band drummer Brad Breeck commented in an interview, "It was a late-night, spur-of-the-moment experiment. We heard the Bale thing, wrote and recorded a song in about two hours, posted it to the Internet. That’s it!"[10]
The lyrics of the song include references to films Bale has appeared in including Newsies,[11] Swing Kids,[12] and American Psycho.[13] The song begins with the phrase, "He is the Dark Knight, he is professional."[14] The chorus of the song is "Oh, whoo wow/ He is professional/ But I think he's lost control",[9][15] and the lyrics include: "Swing Kid with a violent streak",[12] "Step back, stay out of his light/Better not try to put up a fight/Newsies will get you tonight/'Cause they're professional!",[11] and "Don't look too deep in his eyes/he can't hide what's inside of his mind/and it might get a little bit ugly/and you might meet an American Psycho".[13] The piece incorporates audio clips from Bale's outburst.[16] The song was made available for listening on YouTube or via download on MediaFire on February 3, 2009.[17] The video description on YouTube by the group stated, "Song By The Mae Shi celebrating the life and work of Xtian Bale. Bale's performance as John Connor in the upcoming Terminator 4 'Redemption' Film will no doubt be one of the greatest of all time. He will win every Oscar for his performance, even the special effects and animation ones."[18]
"But the corker has to be a fresh tune from indie rockers The Mae Shi that’s an homage to Bale’s notorious on-set intensity, “R U Professional,” a Devo-esque slice of new wave fun..."
Gil Kaufman of MTV.com characterized the song as "a Devo-esque slice of new wave fun".[15] Leah Collins of Dose magazine commented "L.A.'s The Mae Shi take things to another level, not just sampling Bale but turning around an electro jam, 'R U Professional'".[12] Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times called the piece "a jaunty pop ode to Bale".[19] Whitney Matheson of USA Today called the song "a danceable and inspired track", and commented "I smell a hit."[11]
Darryl Sterdan of The Toronto Sun commented about the remixes which appeared after the Bale rant, "Here's one of the first, and one of the best: A danceable little electro-pop ditty from L.A.'s Mae Shi, complete with original lyrics and peppered with snippet's from Bale's rant. What else can you say but: Oh, good for you!"[20] New Musical Express recommended the piece, and described it as "an electro-rock song ... sampling Bale".[21] Kevin Harley of The Independent reported that the ban would appear at a music festival, "The Fans Strike Back", and commented that they "must play their Christian Bale mash-up. They are professional, yes?"[22] Derek Bledsoe of Boing Boing called the song "a tasty Christian Bale tribute".[23]
Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club called the piece "a hastily written, but pretty amusing, original song".[24] Rhodri Marsden of the Irish Independent commented "one suspects it was a pre-existing tune hastily adapted" for the Bale outburst.[25] Matt Fernandes of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described the piece as a "new wave ditty using the jerkiest clips of Bale's on-set rant", and commented "The results are pretty funny."[26] El País described the piece as an electropop song that contributed to the viral spread of the Christian Bale rant after its release on the Internet.[27] C7nema commented on the fallout from the actor's rant, "The furor was such that even the band The Mae Shi made a hilarious song called 'R U Professional' dedicated to the madness of Bale.[28]
Kristin Hunt of The Celebrity Cafe wrote that the piece "gets my vote for best Bale parody", and commented that in her view it was better than "Bale Out" by RevoLucian.[29] Chicagoist wrote that the song by The Mae Shi was their favorite of the Christian Bale remixes, commenting "There are lots of remixes floating around there but this track by The Mae Shi is our current favorite treatment."[30] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork Media was impressed that "R U Professional" was compiled in twenty-four hours, noting "Props for putting it all together in a day".[31] Mark Lore of Chico News & Review called the piece "a loving nod to the prima donna rant of Christian Bale".[10]
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