Tom Lehrer - An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer

An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer (1959)

A classic - In 1959, when the so-called "sick humor" of Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Shelley Berman was the new rage among America's hipsters (and would-be hipsters), the acid-penned musical satire of Tom Lehrer doubtless seemed to be daring indeed, as he worked his audiences for laughs with tunes like "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," "Oedipus Rex," and "The Masochism Tango." Thankfully Lehrer's humor still works well thanks to its considerable skill and its charm, even if its ability to shock isn't what it once was. Recorded before an enthusiastic audience at a concert at Harvard University (where Lehrer spent his days teaching mathematics), An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer finds him in superb form as a performer, able to dissect various musical forms for their comic potential with the skill of a surgeon and displaying not merely dead-on comic timing in his vocals but a easy élan as a pianist; for a guy who picked musical comedy as a part-time job, he sure had a knack for the trade. And while Lehrer's songs no longer shock, that's not to say they've entirely lost their sting, as the bitter twists of "Bright College Days," "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier," and "A Christmas Carol" hit their target just as well as ever, while inspiring no small amount of laughter. And it's worth noting that the album's final punch line, "We Will All Go Together When We Go," is just as apt today as it was in 1959, for good or ill. While the work of many of his contemporaries today sound like the products of their time and place, Lehrer's best songs are still slyly funny and corrosively charming, and An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer ranks with his finest work on record. Highly Recommended.

1 Poisoning Pigeons in the Park
2 Bright College Days
3 A Christmas Carol
4 The Elements
5 Oedipus Rex
6 In Old Mexico
7 Clementine
8 It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier
9 She's My Girl
10 The Masochism Tango
11 We Will All Go Together When We Go

tomisfunny

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

I'd like to thank everyone who has made this blog so much fun to do and share.

Thanks to my followers who keep checking in and commenting on the posts and enjoying them.

Thanks to my fellow bloggers who post their goodies and improve my stock.

Thanks to the 1st time readers, who stumble upon the Lounge or are referred here by someone else. I hope you expand your musical tastes and get some new things to feed your head with.

Thanks to my friends in the blogosphere who inspire and challenge me to scout out new and different music for myself and post it for sharing.

And even thanks to the infamous RIAA for getting off thier high horse and coming down to earth with reasonable veiws on music sharing. It's about damn time!!!!

And finally, thanks to the bands, the musicians, songwriters, composers, and publishers who make all this great music possible.

2009 is going to be a blst here in the Lounge. Going much more eclectic than last year - so - hang on the rail and let me know what you like, don't like and want more of.

Cheers

George

Hot Time At The Lounge

Gotta tell ya folks, it’s been a wild time at the ol’ lounge. Last Sunday, DaBoss and Trustar met up – live and in person – and had a killer of an afternoon. Tru was in town for real (gagh!) work and conspired to hook up. We have been chatting and blog blathering for a long time and are very similar in musical ideology and life experience and tastes.

What a treat! We had a great time. He took the subway to my hood near Washington D.C. and we hit the sights. Not the usual tourist trap crap – oh no – we went FCL style to some of the cooler, way out places. We went A/V and visited the National Museum of Radio and Television, where the very knowledgeable guides talked our ears off on the history and styles of radio and tv. Some way rad stuff like hundreds of radios ranging from the huge art deco inlaid wood consoles that some of us listened to when we were kids (the infamous Philcos), to table top sets shaped like tombstones, to classy colored 50’s plastic beauties, to the original shirt pocket transistor boxes made in Japan to modern day minis.
We saw the first fax machine – built in 1928 – and a first try at a home acetate disc recorder – circa 1935. that’s right – direct to disc recording. What is new is old. Of course, the tv’s were slammin’. One of the Philcos had a detachable picture tube that you could carry around with you from room to room on a long cable. Miniature tv tubes from the 50’s with a magnifying lens to make the picture look bigger. Hey – a big screen back then was all of 14”.

After cruizin’ down memory lane, we went for some local eats – homemade Maryland crabcakes (what else) and a quick stop at Belair Stables – the birthplace of American thoroughbred horse racing. That’s right, boys and girls, it ain’t Kentucky.

Then we arrived at FCL proper. We spent some time in the lounge checking out tons of new music, file arranging and tagging methods, some of my collection of original comic art and comics, antique Carnival glass and the infamous antique hood ornaments which pretty much take over about ½ of the wall and surface space in the lounge.

All good things must end, tho – and we said – so long until next time.

Tru is a true gentleman – exactly like you see on his blog. Smart, fun and unpretentious and TRULY a great person to be around. Here’s a long tall Blue Hawiian hoisted for you, my friend – hang ten for me.