With so much that I have read in the press and media about how the likes of Jon Stewart are changing the face of US politics, and how the sea-change of brought about by blogging has permanently changed voter communication, this quote from Lehrer citing Cook brought me up short:
Tom LehrerWhen asked about his reasons for abandoning his musical career, he cited a simple lack of interest, a distaste for touring, and boredom with performing the same songs repeatedly. He has observed that when he was moved to write and perform songs, he did; when he wasn’t, he didn’t, and after a while the latter situation prevailed. It has been frequently observed that, though many of Lehrer’s songs satirized the Cold War political establishment of the day, that he stopped writing and performing just as the 1960s counterculture movement gained momentum. Lehrer has stated that he doubts his songs had an impact on those not already critical of the establishment: “I don’t think this kind of thing has an impact on the unconverted, frankly. It’s not even preaching to the converted; it’s titillating the converted… I’m fond of quoting Peter Cook, who talked about the satirical Berlin cabarets of the ’30s, which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the Second World War.”
(my italics)
Leave a Reply