Sensible!
When 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. 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."[1]
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer
It is not counter-culture that moves mountains, but the redirecting of the original culture. The Civil Rights movement was firmly grounded in the dominant culture. It was a conservative christian organization that demanded the protection of pre-existing rights. Protestors wore their sunday best and were highly organized and sensitive to what image they projected. Contrast that with the middle class snivelling of the 60's 'hippie' counter-culture, filthy, outlandish, and entirely unrealistic in both goals and views of reality.
I'm not saying it wasn't fun. They did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex and made some pretty good music. I'm just saying it didn't have a meaningful impact on the thinking of the dominant culture. The flappers and yes, the berlin cabarets as well were not the cause of changing social attitudes... far from it. Rather, they were the disorganized and pretentious middle-class element that was produced after the dominant social attitudes had changed, and they were unable to accomplish anything of value.
For womens rights, everything is owed to the organized and dignified 'spinsters', and nothing is owed to the bourgois whore-house mentality of the middle and upper class. A rich girl smoking cigarettes in a revealing outfit is a threat to no-one. It is useful, however, as an indicator for when social ideas have changed, as it invariably appears after the revolution is complete, and not before or during.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer
It is not counter-culture that moves mountains, but the redirecting of the original culture. The Civil Rights movement was firmly grounded in the dominant culture. It was a conservative christian organization that demanded the protection of pre-existing rights. Protestors wore their sunday best and were highly organized and sensitive to what image they projected. Contrast that with the middle class snivelling of the 60's 'hippie' counter-culture, filthy, outlandish, and entirely unrealistic in both goals and views of reality.
I'm not saying it wasn't fun. They did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex and made some pretty good music. I'm just saying it didn't have a meaningful impact on the thinking of the dominant culture. The flappers and yes, the berlin cabarets as well were not the cause of changing social attitudes... far from it. Rather, they were the disorganized and pretentious middle-class element that was produced after the dominant social attitudes had changed, and they were unable to accomplish anything of value.
For womens rights, everything is owed to the organized and dignified 'spinsters', and nothing is owed to the bourgois whore-house mentality of the middle and upper class. A rich girl smoking cigarettes in a revealing outfit is a threat to no-one. It is useful, however, as an indicator for when social ideas have changed, as it invariably appears after the revolution is complete, and not before or during.
posted by Tristan Tzara at 9:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home