This post, about Tom Lehrer, might help explain where I am coming from. In 1965 Tom Leher said that if we were going to get any songs about World War 3 “we’d better start writing them now.” Ditto for the Anthropocene (others have made a start - I will blog separately on that). So I... Continue Reading →
Tom Lehrer as the first great song-writer of the Anthropocene
The 37 or so songs of American satirist Tom Lehrer (1928- ) should all be part of the vocabulary of, well, everyone. They are dirty (Smut, I’m a market they can’t glut), sick (I hold your hand in mind and “Be Prepared” - “don’t solicit for your sister, that’s not nice; unless you get a... Continue Reading →
Words we will need for the Anthropocene #01: “thermokarst”
Dan Savage, the advice columnist, often tells people with problems because of an impasse with their significant other(s) [too much sex, not enough sex, the wrong kind of too much sex, whatevs] that they should 'use their words.' It's good advice, and doubtless the Habermasians in the cheap seats will heckle something about Gricean maxims,... Continue Reading →
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