Comments on: What makes a hat into hate?

What makes a hat into hate?

eriko — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 19:37:29 -0800

Warning, contains bad camera work, worse editing, a rather complicated homework problem, a few mathematical in-jokes, illegible chalkboard writing, and a 13 minute performance by Tom Lehrer.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:03:52 -0800

I cannot tell you how happy you've made me. Thank you.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:05:45 -0800

and a 13 minute performance by Tom Lehrer It was very decent of you to post that part. Many of us would have clicked on the link otherwise.

By: phrontist

phrontist — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:25:52 -0800

Tom Lehrer is the man. There are few joys greater then signing one only to be joined by like-minded nerds, breaking out into a jubilant chorus of reguritated wit.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:30:22 -0800

It has math jokes.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:46:24 -0800

Tom Lehrer is the man. Oh, my mistake. For some reason I was putting his name to the face and voice of Mark Russell. You can understand my comment in that context, I believe. Thirteen minutes of Mark Russell would certainly rank as a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Carry on.

By: ahimsakid

ahimsakid — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:49:35 -0800

He da man. Thanks Erikko!

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:59:33 -0800

That was fantastic. Is there a date on the performance anywhere? He sounds on that clip just as he did in the 50's and 60's. I didn't realize or know that he was still performing anywhere, for anyone. God, a full-blown Tom Lehrer concert would be the ultimate.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:12:59 -0800

The man is a genius. He must just poop this stuff. Had anyone else heard any of this material? Rhyming "tragic" with "adjec... tives". Brilliant.

By: fvw

fvw — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:20:00 -0800

Never mind that, the true genius is in getting up half way through a song and writing something on the blackboard.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:51:55 -0800

Oh, my mistake. For some reason I was putting his name to the face and voice of Mark Russell. Sacrilege! That's almost worse than your original comment! I can't see the movie cause it seems to be only in Windows Media, but trip and a half, the "tragic/adjectives" rhyme is from 1959's We Will All Go Together When We Go (from An Evening Wasted) - which I must assume he performs on this video?

By: CrunchyFrog

CrunchyFrog — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:15:01 -0800

Heh. Minimum, "Find the Fourier series."

By: cows of industry

cows of industry — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:15:38 -0800

I've been a Tom Lehrer freak for years but I've never seen any live footage. What an amazing talent. (digs out An Evening Wasted..., cues it up) Eriko: do you have any more?

By: Silky Slim

Silky Slim — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:31:08 -0800

"nothing rhymes with algebra..." doesn't he know mermaids wear algae bras?

By: Silky Slim

Silky Slim — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:35:09 -0800

lehrer is such a genius that that i find him hilarious even though i know deedley squoot about math.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 00:43:33 -0800

At least you know deedly squoot, Silky Slim. I didn't even go that far in school.

By: fvw

fvw — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 01:41:34 -0800

I did advanced deedly squoot.

By: darren

darren — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 03:49:43 -0800

"Base Eight is like Base 10 really .... if you're missing two fingers..."

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 04:44:08 -0800

For some reason I was putting his name to the face and voice of Mark Russell. You can understand my comment in that context, I believe. Yeah, and I forgive you. However, for penance, you should say 10 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Marys, and one Vatican Rag. He must just poop this stuff. Had anyone else heard any of this material? Rhyming "tragic" with "adjec... tives". The mathematics songs? No. But I've got most of his recorded canon -- and he's used that trick before, which does remove a bit of shine from that part.

When you attend a funeral, It is sad to think that sooner or Later those you love will do the same for you. And you may have thought it tragic, Not to mention other adjec- Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do. But don’t you worry. No more ashes, no more sackcloth. And an armband made of black cloth Will some day never more adorn a sleeve. For if the bomb that drops on you Gets your friends and neighbors too, There’ll be nobody left behind to grieve. We'll all go together when we go...

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 04:44:57 -0800

When you attend a funeral, It is sad to think that sooner or Later those you love will do the same for you. And you may have thought it tragic, Not to mention other adjec- Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do. But don’t you worry. No more ashes, no more sackcloth. And an armband made of black cloth Will some day never more adorn a sleeve. For if the bomb that drops on you Gets your friends and neighbors too, There’ll be nobody left behind to grieve. And we will all go together when we go...

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 04:47:01 -0800

Ru-roh. Sorry about that.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:30:53 -0800

Great as this is, it's a really bad introduction for the lehrerlayman. Try this, or better still one of the albums.

By: briank

briank — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:50:45 -0800

The best Tom Lehrer rhyme ever: "While we're attacking frontally Watch Brink-e-ley and Hunt-e-ley Describing contrapuntally The cities we have lost..." (Of course, it helps if you remember the "Huntley-Brinkley Report")

By: jlkr

jlkr — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:20:54 -0800

Yay! Mr R grabbed that over the weekend, and called me in "hey, watch this", with no further info. Two seconds into it, I said "Tom Lehrer!" Way cool. I grew up listening to Tom Lehrer...my mom has the first two or three albums in original vinyl - I should ask her if she ever saw him live. (but remember, please, to always call it ... research.)

By: cows of industry

cows of industry — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 07:32:53 -0800

"Take your cigarette from its holder; And burn your initials in my shoulder."

By: ObscureReferenceMan

ObscureReferenceMan — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 08:13:33 -0800

Tom Lehrer is indeed the man. As a true Lehrer nerd, I performed his "Elements" number in a goofy student-written high school production. "These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard, And there may be many others but they haven't been discarvered." Classic!

By: QIbHom

QIbHom — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:09:35 -0800

About 15 years ago, in a college survey English class, our professor instructed us to plagerize. Half the class (soon joined by the professor) promptly broke into the Tom Lehrer song and the other half looked really, really confused.

By: blindsam

blindsam — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:39:03 -0800

I was listening only yesterday to Tom Lehrer as I drove from London to its-grim-up-north preston and enjoyed myself no end singing along. These songs weren't really like his better know stuff and, following pretty_generic, they aren't a great introduction to Lehrer. However, it is really something for those of us who've only seen stills and heard voice separately to get the two together, and for that eriko, I thank you very much.

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:03:07 -0800

Fantastic. Wish I'd been at MSRI for this.

By: pmurray63

pmurray63 — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:04:42 -0800

BTW, "That's Mathematics" is available in Rhino's "The Remains of Tom Lehrer" box set, along with a few songs he did for The Electric Company and "(I'm Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica," which to my knowledge are not available anywhere else. It was so cool to hear some "new" Lehrer when I bought it.