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William Shatner - Common People

William Shatner - Common People on HackerTube: recommended by 6 Hacker News commenters across 5 separate months, 2013–2023.

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William Shatner's spoken-word cover of Pulp's 'Common People', from his album Has Been.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters repeatedly recommend it as a surprisingly good cover that brings out the contempt in the lyrics.

people recommended it
6
separate months
5
strong recommendations
0
discussed on HN
2013–2023
“I really like William Shatner's cover. It brings out the contempt in the lyrics. And it rocks.”
— shimfish, Sep 2013, in “The CEO of Panera Bread attempts to live off food stamps for a week”

What HN commenters said

7 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

ur-whaleNov 2023Recommends

> Not to mention the Jarvis Cocker fascination If you like the Pulp (original AFAICT) version, you have to listen to this cover by Cap'n Kirk: [link] ▶ this video

in “From Aristocratic to Ordinary: Shifting Modes of Elite Distinction (2020)” · View on HN

svntOct 2022Recommends

“You will never understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control, and with nowhere left to go. You’re amazed that they exist, and they burn so bright that you can only wonder why?” —- Pulp, Common People The Shatner cover is something special: ▶ this video

in “From Burned Out Tech CEO to Amazon Warehouse Associate” · View on HN

ThePhysicistOct 2022Recommends

I like him, he seems to be a thoughtful person. I once listened to his album (which has a great cover of the song "Common People", that jokes about how rich people see the world [1]), in which he reflects on the death of his previous wife, who drowned in their pool, I found that quite touching as well 1: ▶ this video

in “My Trip to Space Filled Me with Overwhelming Sadness” · View on HN

simiasOct 2021Recommends

Glad you liked it, I also enjoy the cover of this song by William Shatner that's surprisingly good IMO: ▶ this video

in “Going from $110k to $24k for more skin in the game” · View on HN

BuildTheRobotsJun 2015Recommends

somewhat even more off topic, but: Thanks to William Shatner for lots of things; least of all demonstrating how to deliver a line of dialogue without it sounding like you're reading off the back of a cereal packet and left your glasses at home. His cover of Common People (Pulp) is an immense example of this. ▶ this video Yes Doctor Who, I'm staring you out whilst shaking a fist at you....

in “Chromium will no longer download/install the Hotword Shared Module” · View on HN

shimfishSep 2013Recommends

Incidentally, I really like William Shatner's cover. It brings out the contempt in the lyrics. And it rocks. ▶ this video

in “The CEO of Panera Bread attempts to live off food stamps for a week” · View on HN

Show 1 more comment
TomminnSep 2020Cites it

He later did an entire album called "Has Been" in this style, so I suspect so. Here's a taste: ▶ this video I know this because Ben Folds had a hand in it, and I'm a long-time Ben Folds fan.

in “Why aren’t you more serious?” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Music performance & songswilliam shatnercommon peoplepulpcoverspoken word