Tom Lehrer Full Copenhagen Performance
Why Hacker News recommends it
Posted whenever Lehrer comes up, as the best way to see him perform, and treated as a complete stand-up-style set.
What it is
A full-length recording of Tom Lehrer's 1967 concert in Copenhagen, mixing his satirical songs with spoken comedy between numbers. It runs about 51 minutes with good audio for its age.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2020 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec schiffern · 2022-12 · on “Tom Lehrer has released all of his songs into the public domain”
If you never got the chance, give his full albums a listen. He intersperses song and spoken comedy, with the whole performance hanging together masterfully. An Evening (Wasted) with Tom Lehrer (1959, 42m) [LINK] Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia (And Vice-Versa) (1960, 49m) [LINK] That Was The Year That Was (1965, 38m) [LINK] Live in Copenhagen (1967, 51m) [this video]
Strong rec schiffern · 2022-12 · on “Tom Lehrer has released all of his songs into the public domain”
If you haven't had a chance, give his full performances a listen. He intersperses song and spoken comedy, with the whole arc hanging together masterfully. Think of one of the great stand-up specials. I'd say it "feels very modern," but the truth is that Lehrer (re-)invented the modern form. An Evening (Wasted) with Tom Lehrer (1959, 42m) [LINK] Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia (And Vice-Versa) (1960, 49m) [LINK] That Was The Year That Was (1965, 38m) [LINK] Live in Copenhagen (1967, 51m) [this video]
Recommends archagon · 2025-07 · on “Tom Lehrer has died”
May he rest in peace. In memoriam, this hourlong recording of a concert in Copenhagen is a joy to watch: [this video]
Cites BuildTheRobots · 2020-10 · on “Tom Lehrer releases song lyrics to public domain”
Somewhat off topic, but he did a concert in Copenhagen of which there's a full recording on Youtube [1] For something filmed in 1967 the audio quality is absolutely stunning. I wonder what equipment they used? My suspicion is that it's a piezoelectric microphone which had fantastic reputation for picking up a wide range of sound (especially for things like multiple people around a table) but fell out of favour as they worked best with valve amplifiers. [1] [this video]