It seems like my local NPR affiliate has a fetish for performers and groups that take popular tunes, give them supposedly humorous political lyrics, and sing them with the accompaniment of an upright piano played with a jaunty beat. Every week, it’s Mark Russell, Capitol Steps, or some similar group, with songs like …
Larry Craig has a big wide stance
Doo dah, doo dah
Guy in the next stall, his name’s Lance
Oh the doo dah day
:rolleyes:
I don’t get them. They’re not in the least bit funny, the lyrics are oh-so-predictable, and … well, even a talentless hack like me can come up with inside-the-Beltway-themed lyrics to popular songs.
Does anyone on the SDMB find the likes of Mark Russell and the Capitol Steps funny? Why?
I think the Capitol Steps are among the best political satirists around (though, admittedly, they have lost something over the years – the early stuff with Bush I and Clinton were brilliant). Their various “Lirty Dies” routines are still hilarious (though the do depend on using some lines over and over).
Mark Russell is also a fine political comedian, but his songs are the weakest part of his act.
I like The Capitol Steps. I’ve seen them in concert, and I’ve bought several of their CDs. they’re not absurdly predictable, their singing is pretty good, and they’re topical. What’s not to like?
That about describes them. If you put their lyrics on paper without music, you can see how unclever they are. For some reason people think it’s funny if they put to a popular song tune. “Ha ha! They’re singing about Larry Craig in a bathroom! And it’s to the tune of Camptown Races! What will they come up with next!”
I have five or six CDs from the Capitol Steps and have seen them twice in concert. I also used to frequent their web site on a regular basis. A lot of their material was brilliant, well-performed, and hyperventilatingly funny. Once September 11 came along, politics ceased to be a topic that I wished to regard in a humorous light. From that point I just lost interest.
I found Mark Russell funny when I was a kid and young teenager in the late '80s and early '90s, when parody songs were the absolute height of highbrow comedy. Not coincidentally, that’s also when I was into Weird Al.
Eventually I got older, my tastes matured, and I completely outgrew them both. Now I don’t find them funny at all.
I never did find Mark Russell that funny - always seemed to me like a rather uninspired Tom Lehrer wannabe. Lehrer’s political songs are still funny, four decades later. Russell, not so much, in real time.
OTOH, despite being in my 50s, I still love Weird Al. I’ll outgrow him when I’m dead.
My experiences roughly parallel Lou’s, although I still find Weird Al amusing (but not so amusing that I’d actually buy any of his stuff). I thought Russel was hilarious the first several shows of his I saw. After that it dawned on me that his shows were a) pretty much carbon copies of each other and b) not particularly amusing.
But if you’re old enough to remember the context, it’s funny.
And with “Wernher von Braun,” the essential context is known by everyone this side of Dana Perino.
Don’t say that he’s hypocritical
just rather say he’s apolitical.
“Vunce the rockets are up,
who cares vhere they come down,
That’s not my department,”
says Wernher von Braun.
I was going to post the exact same thing - having grown up with Tom Lehrer, Mark Russell seems obvious and too tied to a specific event. An even more relevant line from Werner is
In German or English I know how to countdown
And I’m learning Chinese, says Werner von Braun.
Songs on “That was the Year that Was” were written for a topical TV show - that so many, like Pollution and Smut are still funny and relevant is amazing. Even today, there are many NY Times headlines that refer to Lehrer songs.
I’ve used “Smut” in a classroom presentation about obscenity. The room was filled with twentysomethings who’d never heard of Tom Lehrer, and they found it funny.
That said, I like the Capitol Steps and have seen them twice. You do have to be something of a political junkie to appreciate some of the jokes, though.
Mark Russell is 'way past his sell-by date, but the Capitol Steps still make me chuckle a bit. Or at least smile. Can’t hold a candle to the Reduced Shakespeare Co., though - they have some mad political comedy skilz.
I do like the Capitol Steps. Never seen them live, and I only infrequently hear new stuff, but I usually end up giggling, anyway. The most recent one that had me laughing was “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Scalia?”, so that tells you how long it’s been since I’ve been to the website.
I liked the episode of NewsRadio where Bill decided to become a Mark Russell-style comedian. Of course, in that case, being irritating was a GOOD thing.
I’m not old enough to remember, but I’m keyed enough to recognize context, and, more importantly, good satire. Tom Lehrer actually presented a new point of view, and composed original music. The Capital Steps just rehash what Leno said, and only then with an old pop tune.
This is their approach: “Wink wink, nod nod, Larry Craig was cited for disorderly conduct in a public restroom, and even though every one in the world has commented on this and joked about it, we’re going to make a song about it, and act like we’re so in on things that we know more that everyone else (even though we don’t). It will be funny because we make 'unanticipated”'rhymes."
They don’t ask themselves: “Have I actually questioned something new?”
I’m iffy on Capitol Steps. But I do have a sentimental attachment to Mark Russel. I used to watch his specials when I was a child and my political awareness was burgeoning. It made me feel good because I ‘got it’. Mind you, years later I have discovered that I had only a vague understanding of what Iran Contra was really all about. But I suspect at the time nobody had a clear perspective on it, especially not Regan. Anyhow, is Mark Russel still alive? Seems like he was old back then.
