OK, so one of Shatner’s new Priceline commercials came on the other night. I didn’t grab the remote fast enough to mute it, and I was trapped, staring in disbelief at the pile of steaming monkey vomit on the screen. Anyway, this was the one where he’s doing “Bust A Move.” Upon closer examination, is that Ben Folds eagerly playing the cowbell behind him? Please, say it ain’t so, but it sure looks like it. Anyone know?
Yeah, it’s Ben. I remember reading about a few musicians who were hired to do those ads a few months ago, and recently saw them. There are a bunch of indie-type musicians in that “band”, but the only one I recognised offhand was Ben.
God, I’m so disappointed. King Shatner doing “Bust A Move”; I was so in awe.
And now to find out that that Folds cretin was involved, oh the despair.
Who is Ben Folds and why do you all hate him so?
BUST A MOVE!
Huh. Sad, really. Waste of talent.
astro sez:
Ben Folds is the leader of the Ben Folds Five, a neat little band consisting of piano, bass and drums. They’ve had a couple of moderate hits including “Brick” and “Give Me My Money Back.” I don’t hate him, I’m just sad that he’s stooping to such crass commercialism.
Montfort: I don’t suppose you’d have a cite, so I can prove to my skeptical but lovable SO that it really is him? Regardless, thanks.
I seem to recall that Ben Folds had Shatner “sing” on a recent CD? Folds has asked Shatner to do one of his famous line reading type things and at first Shatner thought it was a joke. But when one of his daughters who is a Folds fan heard about it, she encouraged Bill to go for it. I am not a huge Ben Folds fan, so I don’t have the CD. Anyone else heard it?
yeah, the cd’s called Volume 1, the side project’s called Fear of Pop. should be under Ben Folds Five. can’t remember what the song is called, but there’s a reprise of it, so shatner’s on 2 tracks. on second thought i think the song’s called “i’m not in love” (not the 10cc song). it’s as shatner’s a playa, and he talks about doing the whole sensitive male act, which is just an act (in his case). pretty decent cd, it’s different than normal bf5
I! Finally! Found! A! Method! For! Punctuating! William! Shatner’s! Sentences!
Not to nitpick, but “Song for the Dumped” was actually the title of the second song. I think Ben looks funny back there, he’s really wailing away on that cowbell. I heard that the guitar players in the “Bust a Move” commercial were from the chick rock band Sleater-Kinney (sp?), whom I’ve heard of but couldn’t name any songs by.
Ben Folds Five is a great band by the way, and Ben Folds is a really fun name to yell out of car windows at innocent bystanders. As in “Ben Folds is your father.” My friends and I are all roving idiots.
A better way (IMO) would be:
I…finallyfound. A…method for… punctuating WilliamShatner’s…sentences!
Oh, for the love of Pete. Imagine a guy calls you up, says, “Dude, check this out. We want you to hammer on a cowbell behind Shatner while he’s singing ‘Bust a Move’ for this commercial we’re working on.” You’re telling me you wouldn’t jump on that chance, because it would make you a sell-out? You’re telling me that, concerned as you are that making too much money or being seen on too many television sets will somehow cripple your ability to write good music, you wouldn’t forgo payment just for the opportunity to wail gleefully on a cowbell while Shatner does a Young M.C. cover? What would you get out of bed for, if not that?
Unless I’ve gravely mistaken, Lisa Loeb is also in that commercial and the bass player with the wacky hair and outfit just screams “Fishbone” to me.
JSexton: I remember reading about it on Yahoo! News about two months ago. Feel free to search for “Ben Folds” in their archive.
More BF5 trivia: I first saw them way back in the fall of '95, at the original 930 Club in downtown DC, opening for Lisa Loeb. Synchronicity reigns.
Actually, I find the Shatner ads mildly amusing. It’s obvious that they are intended to be self-mocking, and there are far worse sell outs a “serious” musician can make than to goof about in an occasional commercial. A hard-sell “testimonial” approach by an artist, for instance, would be much more of a sell out.
Ben Folds clearly has some ability not to take himself too seriously when he names his trio the “Ben Folds Five”.
Shatner has been one lucky second-rate ham actor, though. I heard that his stake in Priceline is worth on the order of $200 million.
Well… Priceline is worth about $6B. I’d be mighty surprised if Shatner owns 3%. That’s an enormous hunk for even a senior VP who’s adding value to the company on a daily basis. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Shatner has 10’s of millions from the deal. He did set the deal up when the company was small and was paid purely in stock. He made a pretty smart move.
I don’t think the company has a long term value, though.
On Shatner’s slice of Priceline:
I heard that figure months ago. Priceline’s market cap is $6.7B at their current price of about $40. They were at nearly $100 back in March, and topped out over $150 in the months following their IPO. If the figure was true, it was probably quoted at some high-water mark for Priceline stock.
It DOES sound like a lot, though. That’s why I remembered the quote.
It would easily be feasible if Shatner were an angel investor when they were raising seed capital, but I doubt that’s the case. It’s not unusual for a startup to give up 40% to venture capitalists and private angel investors. 1-2% is typical for initial key employees, as you observed, though I’ve heard of people working for no salary in return for larger slices.
Well I love ole Capt. Kirk and his 1968 album The Transformed Man is so hilarius, particularly Mr. Tamborine Man, so his Priceline ads are just an extension of his over the top acting and singing style. I appreciate the fact that he is willing to poke fun at himself.