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I saw "Tomfoolery," a Lehrer revue, in 1980 or 1981 in SF. The actor singing "The Elements" had a periodic table and a pointer. He identified every element in
by OldGuyInTheClub 2y ago
I saw "Tomfoolery," a Lehrer revue, in 1980 or 1981 in SF. The actor singing "The Elements" had a periodic table and a pointer. He identified every element in time and at tempo without missing a one. Impressive.
- f_allwein 2y agoCheck out https://tomlehrersongs.com/albums/ https://tomlehrersongs.com/albums/ - he put all his works into public domain.
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoYes, indeed. Bookmarked that a while ago!
- lupire 2y agoDaniel Radcliffe sang it on Graham Norton, introducing Tom Lehrer to a crowd who didn't know him. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAaiYKF0cs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAaiYKF0cs
- space_oddity 2y agoWhen I saw that video back then my jaw dropped.Was fascinated by it
- bitwize 2y agoRadcliffe's geek cred was a factor in his casting as the title character in Weird:The Al Yankovic Story.
- sp332 2y agoHe said it was this specific performance that convinced Weird Al that he was the right guy. Also the movie is great.
- space_oddity 2y agoWanted to watch this one for a looong time
- eichin 2y agoWow. (Without the piano line it's clearly a lot harder to get in the pauses to breathe, even the comically large one that's in the original performance.) Back in the 80's, the MIT freshman chemistry class had A Thing where if you'd stand up in the lecture hall and sing The Elements, you'd get extra credit (I think it was an automatic A on the first quiz? something small.) I'd already placed out, but helped one of my housemates practice, which was fun (he did succeed, on the day.)
- I_am_uncreative 2y agoI remember singing this in my 8th grade physics class in middle school for extra credit. Circa 2007.
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoI acknowledge the effort but this didn't quite land for me. Don't know the performer or the tv show; the lava lamp background was distracting.
- Symbiote 2y agoHe was Harry Potter in all the films, so I assume he's one of the best-known actors in the world.
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoAh, thanks. I've not seen the movies or read the books.
- konstantinua00 2y ago...username checks out?
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoCan't spell "Ok, boomer" without "me".
- rkangel 2y agoSome years ago I did a production of Gilbert and Sullivan (I think Ruddigore - I've done a few). We had a talent night, and one of the guys did "The Elements" at full tempo while also solving a Rubiks cube and had it done before the end of the song. It put all the rest of our "talents" to shame!