William Shatner, Henry Rollins and TISM will handle it for me. Just found this album and instantly thought of an old favorite band called TISM. What I love about the Has Been album is the same reason I loved TISM, the middle aged proto old crockety mid-life crisis rantings and raging that musically come off almost as caustic as punk music... except a bit more conservative, less fist pumping more fist waving.

Here's a song with Shatner and Rollins, well... Rollins is no big deal we all know that he's a compact ball of rage so he's not surprising anyone. Hell, if anything he seems less angry than I've seen him on this track.

Here's a TISM song. big Fucking Whoopie. "The Internet: More crap at your fingertips than on them." And I love the five minute long rant at the end.

This song is a perfect example of what the older generation sees when they look at the youngins. Sure William Shatner could just be ranting about how he's only famous for his classic role in Star Trek and now what does he have? Well, other than that great show Boston Legal... which has been off the air for a while now actually. But the point is this anger is directed toward the young punks who think they're better than the older folks but they've yet to do RATS with their lives.

This song is great. What I love about TISM is how Anti-Punk they are. It's like they're rebelling against the rebellion. And this is the song that explains why and how they are right. Kids these days are all flash no substance, they don't even know what they're fighting for and what they're fighting against. I love the lines, "Rebellions not been tried before, we're the first in history if not I wasn't there. There was some sort of thing in France my teacher once did speak. It can't have ever come to much and I skipped school that week." The message is clear, how can you say you're going to improve a system if you don't know what's wrong with it. If you just throw out the old you'll never make any progress.

And there are other songs and poems to do with the existential angst that comes with getting older. Pining for what's lost and the disappointment of settling for a life that's not at all what we had hoped for.
We have Shatner lementing on when he believed that he'd be more than great... that he'd actually one day be happy. The point is this is what we all have to look forward to, in one way or another. It's not going to be. Even if you get everything you ever thought you wanted it's not going to be enough. All the money, all the fame, all the glory and... you may never be happy.

Of course if you were to find contentment it'll never be enough. Life becomes a dull disappointment either way. This little poetic bit by TISM explores the other end of the spectrum. But both pieces show us it's not tragedy that beats you down but that missing piece that you can never ever truly find. That emptiness that brings peace that no man or woman will ever be able to hold on to.

And finally we get to the root of the problem. What the kids never seem to realize, but we're all going to face it someday.
Shatner basically says live it to the fullest. You can't expect anything else to happen. The song sounds both macabre and hopeful. What it is, is just a matter of fact statement.

And an old favorite. I think I've featured this song before. It's a good one... another song about growing old and missing what we can never have back.
While the last song is some good advice this one mourns the loss of youth and innocence. And it points out the grim truth that looms ominously in every persons future, within the next forty years give or take a couple decades death is waiting.

What's the point of sharing these songs? Well... I find them interesting. We hear songs of heartache, dispear, desperation and depression from kids in their late teens and in their twenties... we hear songs of anger, frustration and rebellion from the same lot. But can we relate to those problems? Do they really have the right to be so mournful over a break up or so angry because their wifi connection isn't working or whatever. The real heartfelt anger and desperity comes when you're in your late thirties, your forties and your fifties. Struggling with the fact that you're only human, that your life may not be over but it's end is coming fast and all the while you're becoming obsolete. Your gonads will soon be sterile if they aren't yet. Did you commit genetic suicide? Well, in that case you'll realize that after you're gone their wont be anyone to continue your lineage. Or did you have put up with obnoxious children and ignorant teens the better part of a decade and a half, or longer! And you got very little appreciation, and they'll forget you when your gone. Even if they don't in five or six generations you'll be wiped from the memory of time. Death is coming fast, your body becomes frail and you start feeling like you're becoming useless. Loved ones have drifted apart, maybe you're lucky and you've got a special someone. Maybe you still have a few friendships... it's not easy to meet new people or make new friends as you get older. Everything becomes harder. And all you can seem to do is lay back and take it.

That's genuine anger, sincere hopelessness. Loneliness, ennui, discouragement and regret... a fuck load of regret. For the things you've done, for the things you haven't done. Things you were too stupid not to say, things you were to afraid to say. All you have are your memories and the bad ones burn brighter than the good ones. No one ever thinks, "Things could have been worse." They always longingly wonder, "What if things had been better?"