Tom Lehrer, an influential musical satirist who came to fame with songs addressing topical events in the '50s and '60s, has died at age 97.
variety.com
Yep, saw that. Another comedic loss but, of course, everyone eventually dies.
I guess some unscrupulous "
artists" were using his works without permission (the copyrights still being in effect), and he had some rather ... umm... forthright observations about it. Rather than a futile pursuit of redress, he decided in 2022 (I think that is the year) )to release all his works in the public domain.
Nowadays he could not have gotten away with singing 90% of the songs he wrote because people (not understanding satire) would take offense.
Soon there will be only tepid (and thus unfunny) "humor" or scatalogical (bathroom) and incredibly gross sexual "humor".
If GBS or Swift or Shakespeare or Chaucer or Juvenal tried to release their works today, no publisher would touch them.
It is sad. A people who cannot laugh at themselves lack the ability to build trust within their community, and thus cannot build it [prudently] with outsiders.
The result is disharmony and isolation.
Can you imagine being married to someone who has no sense of humor? Extrapolate that life to an entire community.
Sorry didn't mean to digress like that, but..... some folks (most, really) should watch the original SNL, /Monty Python/ Mel Brooks, Laugh-In, Seinfeld, etc (as it is probably asking too much for them to read Shakespeare or Chaucer).
They might learn not to take themselves too seriously, which can only be a good thing.
Life is a jest, and all things show it.
I thought so once, but now I know it.
...........................................-- John Gay (1685-1732)
