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The World of Musical Satire

Satire is one of the oldest forms of humor. Adding music seems to make it even more powerful. In early Germanic and Celtic societies, people who were mocked in songs would break out in boils and even commit suicide. In this course, we will explore the art of musical satire in a variety of genres, cultures, and eras, especially America since 1950. This multimedia course covers Yankee Doodle, Gilbert and Sullivan, the Gershwins, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, South Park, and Key and Peele. We will also cover a bountiful bevy of B’s: Leonard Bernstein, the Beatles, Bo Burnham, and Bugs Bunny. Because satire is often dependent on social and historical events, this course is as much cultural history as music appreciation. And while words are preeminent in musical satire, we will also discuss the music and its interactions with lyrics. But please—no students who are prone to boils.

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