Music of the Day, 9 April 2024

happy 96th birthday to my favorite musician-mathematician

Today’s MotD has been weeks in the making. I knew months ago whom I’d feature today; the difficulty lay in what song to select and what to say about this singular musician. I’m still a bit lost for words and am dithering over the piece, but will forge ahead as best I can.

I discovered the brilliant Tom Lehrer’s music courtesy of a friend who shared a warped sense of humor with me. According to Lehrer’s Wikipedia page, in the 1970s the Dr. Demento Show featured his music; my guess is that’s how my friend discovered it. Even at some 20 years’ remove from his peak production at that time, Lehrer’s songs retained the power to amuse while also cleverly packing some punches. Today, they still do for me.

This live performance of “Smut” was recorded during a 1967 performance at the Copenhagen student association, which was part of a Scandinavian tour. I’ve not been able to uncover many details of this tour, including how it came about—but the why seems clear: Scandinavian culture has long been more tolerant than mainstream American culture, and more appreciative of humorous social commentary.

Much of Lehrer’s oeuvre focuses on skewering genres of music and, as is the case with “Smut,” addressing controversial topics of the day. He also wrote many songs that were deemed “tasteless” or “sick” by more prudish people; an example is “I Hold Your Hand in Mine,” which sounds sweetly romantic until it becomes clear that the title is grossly literal.

Nearly all of Lehrer’s extensive catalog has lost much of its shock value these days for all but the most conservative, but the cleverness of composition remains. His near-rhymes and unusual phrasing to highlight them still delight me; and I’d bet more money than I have saved that it took him less than five minutes to come up with “philately” as a rhyme for “Chatterley.” Lehrer also wrote 10 songs in the 1970s for The Electric Company, an educational program. Although rated G, they are replete with his wit.

I’m sure I got the 2000 release The Remains of Tom Lehrer from my friend. It’s been far too long since I’ve listened to it, but I will be doing so at some point today. It’s still good for many laughs and for prompting lots of happy memories of listening to it and laughing with my kids.

If you’re interested in exploring Lehrer’s discography, the best place to start is probably Tom Lehrer Songs, where it’s all offered for free: PDFs of sheet music and lyrics, and where available, streams of albums and song MP3s to download. Or check out The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel, which features his original performances and some other interesting videos. Happy 96th birthday to Tom Lehrer!