#Tom Lehrer

[dunderbread]

finally. it's over. tom lehrer can live in peace.

[chungledown-bimothy]

I cannot overstate how much I love Tom Lehrer's story. It sounds so fake but is entirely real.

He's a goddamn genius- he started studying mathematics at Harvard when he was 15 and graduated magna cum laude. He worked at Los Alamos for a few years before being drafted and working for the NSA, where he claims to have invented jello shots to get around alcohol bans.

He then went back to Harvard for a couple years before starting to teach political science at MIT.

Through all of that, he was writing and performing both some of the funniest shit you'll ever hear (Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, Masochism Tango) and absolutely scathing political satire (Who's Next, Wernher von Braun, Send the Marines). Until the mid/late 60s counterculture gained momentum. He didn't like their aesthetic, so he stopped making music.

Shortly after, he moved to California and started teaching math and musical theater history at UC Santa Cruz for the next 30 years.

I don't know if non-Californians understand just how goddamn funny that is. It's where stoners and math (and now computer science) kids who couldn't get into Berkeley go. Leaving Harvard/MIT for UCSC is peak academic phoning it in. And by all accounts he had a blast.

Plus the whole putting all of his music in the public domain thing. That fucked.

[writernotwaiting]

Fearing such hits as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “National Brotherhood Week,” “The Masochism Tango,” “The Element Song,” “Be Prepared,” and “Lobachevsky”

[dailyhistoryposts]

"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize."

-American singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician Tom Lehrer

[iamanathemadevice]

Tom Lehrer puts all his songs into the public domain

Apparently also his website will shut down "at some date in the not too distant future" so now's a good time to download directly.

"In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money."

https://tomlehrersongs.com/

Source.

If you don’t know Tom Lehrer, you really, really should, no matter how old you are! Here’s one of my favourites - Werner von Braun:

[dykeseesgod]

WHO CHEERED

[biggusdichuss]

Great music by Tom Lehrer

[kiyrian]

I think i might be into something. just don't ask me what

[billboard-hotties-tourney]

Barry Gibb (1946-) Bee Gees - vocals, rhythm guitar Songs: "Night Fever," "To Love Somebody" Propaganda: none

Tom Lehrer (1928-) solo Songs: "The Elements," "The Old Dope Peddler" Propaganda: "What's hotter than comedy and satire? Putting it to music and playing and singing it yourself."

[dilfsuzanneyk]

what do you mean the masochism tango by tom lehrer isn't romantic

[deacblues]

noted mathematician and occasional humourist tom lehrer

[queenrepent]

she lehrer on my tom until i...masochism tango?

[twostepsfromtemerant]

Hozier wrote From Eden about Crowley this, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy was inspired by the ineffable husbands that, Tom Lehrer ran into Aziraphale and Crowley having a clandestine meeting at St James Park and instantly composed Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

[tenderbittersweet]

Hyperspecific Poll Time!

[chungledown-bimothy]

I hope Tom Lehrer is having an excellent day