Shatner!!!

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm real."

No prob, Bill.

William Shatner's new album is actually quality. Even Pitchfork agrees.

Has Been is the product of that weird friendship between Ben Folds and the Shat-man that you may recall hearing about a few years ago. The Shatner track off Ben Folds' pre-Ben-Folds-Singular "Ben Folds" album, Fear of Pop vol. 1, was certainly a highlight off that CD. While we all wanted to hear more of that type of thing, I don't think anyone expected that desire to ever manifest into something tangible. So, Has Been has hit secretly like a thief in the night. I know a guy who anticipates upcoming Star Trek novels based on their authors, and he was shocked yesterday when I suggested there was a new William Shatner album out. When I told him that it was good this time, his world was simply rocked from its axis.

The album works as novelty at its core... I mean, it's Shatner doing the Priceline thing for 40 minutes. But, Ben Folds' music makes it more than that, though, and a few of the songs just click as songs and not just spoken word bits. This should be encouraging for poets, who can be assured that they don't need to learn guitar or how to carry a tune to be in a rock band. (Not that anyone in a rock band ever felt the need for those skills.)

I don't know if that's good news for everybody. But as long as William Shatner is their captain, it can't be too bad.