'Trek' Talk: Why Was Young Kirk Listening to the Beastie Boys?
Filed under: Action, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
If you've already seen Star Trek (and don't worry, this really isn't a spoiler), then you remember the part where young Kirk steals his stepdad's car, throws on the Beastie Boys' Sabotage and races down a few dirt roads before launching the car off a cliff. When the song came on, I immediately thought to myself: "Really? He's listening to Beastie Boys that far into the future?" But then I waved it off, thinking The Boys were probably their version of old time, classic rock and roll. And heck, it's an awesome song -- I'd hope folks will still be listening to it hundreds of years from now.
Anyway, according to a post over on Topless Robot, director J.J. Abrams may have used the song not out of complete randomness, but as a nod to the original Kirk, William Shatner. See, Shatner always had a problem pronouncing the word sabotage, and, while on set for Trek, would insist on saying it his way: "sabo-taj." Could this be why Abrams used the song? If so, I think that's pretty awesome. Check out the video below of Shatner trying to pronounce sabotage, and some dude actually attempting to correct him (as if The Shat doesn't know what he's saying) -- it's pretty hilarious. Good on you Abrams ... this little nod to the original Trek is wayyy random; I hope it's true.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-12-2009 @ 1:24PM
Premaximum said...
I don't know what the reason is, but either way that song was a badass addition.
As soon as it started up I turned to my friend and uttered, "Beastie Boys". It set the tone of the whole movie. =D
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5-12-2009 @ 1:41PM
Chupacabra said...
That part was incredible. The Beastie Boys are the greatest!
They are also reference Star Trek (and Star Wars), in their lyrics.
Lyrics from Crawl Space:
"No I'm not Herman Munster or Dr. Spock
I go by the name of the King Adrock"
Lyrics from Intergalactic:
"Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop
Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock"
I know there are more references, just can't think of them right now.
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5-12-2009 @ 2:27PM
Batzarro said...
Maybe "Intergalactic" was far too obvious...
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5-12-2009 @ 3:56PM
Polowy said...
Haha. Good one. Loved that scene, too. The Beasties will never go out of style...
5-12-2009 @ 3:08PM
Kyle s said...
I also thought it was funny when they included Slusho into the movie.
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5-12-2009 @ 3:20PM
Astin said...
Cute reason if it's true. Another inside joke in the movie to find.
But it does speak to something seldom visited in Sci-Fi - what DO people listen to in the future? It seems that everyone falls back on classical music, jazz, or some alien variation of it (outside of Klingon bar songs and opera, do they have any popular music?). Seems to ignore the second half of the 20th century.
So it was nice to know the Beasties survived 200 years and the near-destruction of humanity. Strange that a 14 year-old would listen to something 200 years old though.
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5-12-2009 @ 6:06PM
Kanwar said...
Actually, it seems like the entire movie is an homage to the following line in the video, a message from J.J. and his mainstream sensibilities to the Star Trek fan boys: "Oh it has not been sabotaged, we just had to make some changes in it to adjust it to us..."
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5-14-2009 @ 12:05PM
Scott Weinberg said...
What I found so interesting (as a lifelong Beastie Boys fan) is that they almost N E V E R give their songs up for movies, so when I heard "Sabotage" kick in, I knew they musta been psyched to get that tune in a Trek flick. As other commenters have mentioned, the Boys are clearly big fans of the Trek.
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5-14-2009 @ 2:47PM
girlonthepark said...
Of course they'd still be getting played years from now -Did no one here see the episode of Futurama in which they guest starred? They'll be popular into the 3000s! :)
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5-14-2009 @ 6:47PM
Tom Gerlick said...
I just figured vintage car, vintage music. But hey, if the Intergalactic single exists in Star Trek that means that they reference KSpock centuries before he' even born.
Anyone else smell sequel plant?
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5-15-2009 @ 12:06PM
Jim Dorey said...
Shatner was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Very French area - and sabotage is a very french term.
He says it correctly. :-)
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