# Has Been by William Shatner

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Has Been by William Shatner and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Fans enjoy the spoken rants of Shatner and Henry Rollins over lively Belew and Chamberlain playing; the main caveat is it's worth only a couple of listens.

## Why people recommend it

- Spoken delivery over rock instrumentation (2 comments): "Shatner and Henry Rollins ranting while Adrian Belew and Matt Chamberlain go absolutely wild on guitar and drums respectively" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47131863)) "You wouldn't think someone just orating without singing is entertaining, but it worked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47138027))
- Energetic guitar and drum playing (1 comments): "Shatner and Henry Rollins ranting while Adrian Belew and Matt Chamberlain go absolutely wild on guitar and drums respectively" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47131863))
- Entertaining even without singing (1 comments): "You wouldn't think someone just orating without singing is entertaining, but it worked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47138027))
- Considered a great album (1 comments): "The entire Has Been album is a great work." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48054703))

## What people warn about

- Worth only a couple of listens (1 comments): "worth a couple of listens. Only a couple." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47131784))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ambient-1-music-for-airports.md): 10 recommend
- [In Rainbows by Radiohead](https://hackerapproved.com/p/in-rainbows.md): 7 recommend
- [OK Computer by Radiohead](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ok-computer.md): 6 recommend
- [Doom soundtrack by Bobby Prince](https://hackerapproved.com/p/doom-soundtrack.md): 6 recommend
- [Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich](https://hackerapproved.com/p/music-for-18-musicians.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Has Been by William Shatner", https://hackerapproved.com/p/has-been/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).