Elie's Expositions

A bereaved father blogging for catharsis... and for distraction. Accordingly, you'll see a diverse set of topics and posts here, from the affecting to the analytical to the absurd. Something for everyone, but all, at the core, meeting a personal need.


Powered by WebAds

Friday, February 10, 2006

Humor: Gas Stations and Tom Lehrer

Hat tip to May Cuties for a link to this hilarious sketch! It's in Hebrew, but even if you're not fluent in the modern lingo (as I'm not) you will get it anyway - trust me!

I loved this video in its own right, but the punch line also reminded me of one of my favorite Tom Lehrer songs, The Irish Ballad. Which motivated me to re-listen to the latter. What twisted genius! In addition to The Irish Ballad, he also wrote and sang The Masochism Tango, Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, and other perverse gems. Not to mention his many other not quite as sick, but just as hilarious songs, too numerous to list. Gotta love Professor Lehrer!

BTW, I recently discovered that Lehrer also wrote and sang several ditties for one of my favorite childhood shows, PBS's Sesame Street successor "The Electric Company" - e.g., "Silent E", "The -LY Song". I used to love those songs! Never realized it was Tom Lehrer. Neat.

Addendum: Did some more research and I learned and/or was reminded that quite a few talented folks were involved with The Electric Company. Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno were regulars, as were Morgan Freeman and Hattie Winston, both of whom pretty much got their start on the show and became major stars later. And now here's a trivia question: Name a significant connection between The Electric Company and The Producers. No fair looking it up on Wikipedia or IMDB!

2 Comments:

At 2/11/06, 1:12 PM, Blogger SS said...

Didn't Lehrer write "I hold your hand in mine"? What a crazy poem! We used to recite it by heart in high school (just one friend and me, but we did it all the time) so often that I htink my father might remember it by heart as well! Shavua tov.

 
At 2/12/06, 12:00 AM, Blogger Elie said...

"I hold your hand in mine" is another great sick Lehrer song! Thanks for reminding me.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home