3 ms·

If you like Tom Lehrer then you might also enjoy his British contemporaries Flanders & Swann in "At the drop of a hat" and other albums. With rare exceptions (

If you like Tom Lehrer then you might also enjoy his British contemporaries Flanders & Swann in "At the drop of a hat" and other albums. With rare exceptions ("The laws of thermodynamics") they didn't write about the sciences, but they were musically a bit more sophisticated and just as witty. Their satire was far less biting but was present. Although Michael Flanders did monologue: "The purpose of Satire, it has been rightly said, is to strip off the veneer of comforting illusion and cosy half-truth - and our job, as I see it, is to put it back again." :) I recommend their delightful animal song "The Sloth" as having pertinence to my fellows in the HN audience who have trouble with procrastination... Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blDNO5qznjM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blDNO5qznjM

ghaff 6y ago
On PBS in the US, Mark Russell was also in a similar vein--but mostly political and IMO not as good. Doesn't seem to be readily available.
AndrewStephens 6y ago
On the topic of Flanders and Swann, their song about a gnu[0] (using the then non-standard pronunciation) was one of the inspirations for the naming the GNU project. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwJ4iKv0H70&list=OLAK5uy_m5zHSJOc2ma2npAbpM1ZeNJpu7w0dU7-0&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwJ4iKv0H70&list=OLAK5uy_m5z...
- dcminter 6y ago
  Nifty, I didn't know that connection, thanks!
sjcsjc 6y ago
Armstrong and Miller have several excellent parodies of Flanders and Swann on YouTube, if you happen to like their somewhat coarse humour.
vmilner 6y ago
"Slow Train" about UK railway stations shut in the 60s is great (though about a third of the 28 mentioned were reprieved or reopened so it can seem a bit odd if you visit Chester-le-Street, say.)