Har Mar Superstar: You Can Feel Me

Sean "Har Mar Superstar" Tillman looks as much like a sexy soul singer as Ron Jeremy looks like a typical porn star: not a bit. Each, however, is blessed with a magical combination of God-given assets and the chutzpah to put those special talents to use. (And, since Tillman has grown a porny mustache, the two even bear a resemblance.) Tillman played the indie-rock circuit for years, first with Calvin Krime and later as Sean Na-Na, but neither project could fully incorporate his goofiness and his love of smooth R&B. So out came the antithesis of indie aloofness, a one-man funk extravaganza complete with costume changes, a boastful sex obsession, and, perhaps surprisingly, a real ear for the music he lovingly and skillfully parodies. Har Mar Superstar—who Tillman still contends is actually the alter-ego of his nonexistent younger brother, Harold Martin Tillman—found appreciative audiences in rock clubs, slaying crowds with self-aggrandizing shit talk like "Give it up for me, I'm the fucking best!" He could easily have peaked there, but in a random twist of fate, fame (or at least the famous) has come calling. Both The Strokes and Incubus hand-picked Tillman to open recent tours, where he tested audiences not quite ready for his sharpened sarcasm and tendency to lose most of his clothing. In stranger news, Kelly Osbourne invited Tillman to perform on her debut album and be her date at the MTV Video Music Awards. Weirder yet: He was asked to write and submit a song for J. Lo to record, though it seems farfetched that she might sing anything like the oversexed jams on Har Mar Superstar's second album, You Can Feel Me. Naïve but funky beats accompany Tillman's Stevie Wonder-esque singing, as he skips through tracks about the joys of polygamy, partying, and just being himself. Pleasant detours include a funny cameo by sidekick Dirty Preston ("One Dirty Minute") and a seemingly reverent cover of "Sisters And Brothers," from the '70s children's album Free To Be You And Me. Like his cultural contemporary Andrew W.K., Har Mar Superstar can't help but inspire the question, "Is this guy for real" There's a simple answer: Yes and no.