Today, political satire shall be the order of the day. While there are no vintage YouTube clips of Jonathan "A Modest Proposal" Swift, William Hogarth or Honoré Daumier in action, take heart, here's one of the great satirists from the 20th century. . . Tom Lehrer.
The following is a complete performance of Tom Lehrer's from September 10, 1967. For this writer, it's only surpassed by a group of Copenhagen concerts jazz geniuses John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy headlined in the early 1960's.
Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. . .
Can Tom's great songs be topped? Well, not really, unless performed by Marty Feldman and Derek Griffiths!
Tom Lehrer did appear on the 1964 American version of That Was The Week That Was, the 1962-1963 English television program that offered a satiric take on the news and jabs at hallowed sacred cows. Lehrer's guest appearances on the show were compiled into a record album, featuring his well known tunes, along with a few new topical additions to his songbook.
For more of these literate and impeccably rhymed ditties, go to the Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel on YouTube. They are also available on the Tom Lehrer Collection DVD and CD set.
With that, the perpetrator of Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog shall deposit a carefully filled-out November 6, 2018 absentee ballot in the mailbox at San Mateo County headquarters and then plaster a cheesy I Voted sticker on his forehead. Quality time with standup philosopher videos by 20th century satirists/social commentators Richard Pryor, Dick Gregory, Bill Hicks, Robin Williams and George Carlin will be spent later.
