Enjoy Stuff: The Genius of Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer was an American songwriter and satirist whose songs have been making audiences laugh for decades. His dark humor and sharp wit made people think about some heavy issues of the day, from war to politics. Let's learn about Tom Lehrer on Enjoy Stuff - A TechnoRetro Podcast   If you listened to the Dr. Demento show in the 80’s, you probably heard some of the comedy stylings of Tom Lehrer. His clever song parodies paved the way for greats such as Weird Al Yankovic. Jay and Shua take a look at his work and why we love it.    News -Frogger Game Show Trailer Released by Peacock -Get ready to get down to 3 tunes inspired by Lucky’s magical charms.  -Starbucks PSL Makes Its Earliest Return Ever -Charlie Watts: Rolling Stones drummer dies at 80 What we’re Enjoying Shua checked out the dark, thought provoking, Arthurian legend The Green Knight. If you dig thinking about the movies you watch and tons of symbolism you might want to check it out. Jay just finished Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” book. Another fun one that he has been enjoying.   Enjoy Music Tom Lehrer has an educational background in math, but he is best known for his songs he performed in the 50’s and 60’s. It was a time in history that our culture really needed some humor to help us understand and cope with some pretty nasty stuff happening in the world.    Even the threat of World War III wasn’t off limits to Lehrer’s wit. Plus, he accessed the deepest, darkest, depths of his imagination by writing about some truly disturbing topics like Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. He once said, "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."   He even wrote songs that helped educate a generation of Electric Company viewers. We learned important rules like Silent-e, L-Y, and O-U (The Hound Song). Let’s check out Tom Lehrer.    Have you ever heard a Tom Lehrer song? Did we inspire you to check him out? Let us know in the Discord channel or send us an email to [email protected]