Left to right: Henry Rollins, Adrian Belew, Ben Folds and William Effing Shatner.
I wish I’d been invited to this jam session!
If you haven’t yet picked up William Shatner’s album, Has Been, one of the best albums of last year, do it! It’s a great, offbeat collection of songs and spoken word tracks that more than makes up for the grevious sins of his first album, The Transformed Man (which features his now-classic manglings of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Mr. Tambourine Man).
One of the tracks I love on Has Been is I Can’t Get Behind That!, a call-and-response rant in which Shatner and Rollins take turns ranting about everyday things that drive them crazy, with drums providing a wild backbeat and Adrian Belew doing what he does best on guitar.
If you liked that track, like Henry Rollins or just like a story well told, you should give this a listen: it’s Henry Rollins telling the story of how I Can’t Get Behind That! got made [6.0MB, MP3]. Henry tells the story with his trademark intensity and energy as well as some oddball-but-enjoyable tangents. It’s 25 minutes long, but well worth it.
4 replies on “Henry Rollins’ “William Shatner” Story”
I saw him doing this bit on William Shatner live during his spoken word tour the last time he was in Toronto.
It looks like he will be back in town October 23rd at Convocation Hall, U of T
I heard this when he came to E-Town in March 2004; my girlfriend got me tickets for my 25th birthday. She’s not a big Rollins fan, but she absolutely LOVED this bit. Thanks for reminding me about it, and I’ve now got the mp3 on my computer to make her laugh the next time she comes over.
Also: I agree – Has Been is friggin’ amazing.
– The Doc
that was effin hilarious! thanks a lot!
You read it here first
whoops, and the link above to the Toronto show was me too.
-Eldon