It's been nearly 30 years since Harvard alum Tom Lehrer hit the charts with his biting satirical songs, but the four man group The Foremen has taken up the mantle he left behind.
The play on words run through this album from start to finish, beginning with the group's name (you did catch it, didn't you?) and bouncing off witty lyrics poking fun at the left and right in our nation. Lead singer (and writer) Roy Zimmerman has come up with a new term for masturbation - "Firing The Surgeon General" (which used to be "freeing the willy / used to Pat the Robertson"), a new dance ("Do The Clinton" - where you "lean it to the left a little / now lean a lot to the right"), and a new song for the 40 year olds who used to protest ("Peace Is Out").
It's folk music, as all members sing vocals while playing guitar and some banjo and mandolin. If you've seen Mark Russell on PBS (or, 20 years ago, the television show "Real People"), you'll have a clue what The Foremen are all about. Now add in some real vocals, and more biting lyrics, and you'll be right on the mark.
It'll have a short, but frequently played, life in your stereo system. Nearly everything is sung tongue-in-cheek, so it won't offend your favorite political friends. And the music is different on each song, so you won't be bored within the first ten minutes.
Political satire never sounded so good.
