Bi-Annual Courses: Osher Online (through Northwestern
University OLLI National Resource Center), UCLA Extension
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Upcoming virtual appearance
Jan. 29 – March 5: Osher Online – 6 classes.
Wed., 6-7:30 PM CT. Tickets available Winter.
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“Fantastic; knowledgeable, fun and entertaining”
– Michelle Camacho, The Grammy Museum
“A true satire scholar” – The Houston Chronicle
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UCLA Extension evaluations
“A wonderful, wide-ranging selection of material. I loved the course!”
“Fascinating, unique and delightful; I never considered satire the way David presents it.”
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Satire is one of the oldest forms of humor, a way to set boundaries of behavior as well as chide malefactors without violence. Adding music seems to make it more powerful; in early Germanic and Celtic societies, people who were mocked in songs would break out in boils and even commit suicide.
Explore the art of musical satire in a variety of genres, cultures and eras, especially America since 1950. This multi-
media course covers “Yankee Doodle,” slave satire, Gilbert & Sullivan, the Gersh- wins, the Marx Brothers, Randy New-
man, Monty Python, Spinal Tap, “Saturday Night Live,” “South Park,” Key and Peele and a bountiful bevy of B’s: Leonard Bernstein, the Beatles, Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Bo Burnham and Bugs Bunny.
And the Crown King of caustic cultural commentary, Tom Lehrer, who once said “If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth-
while.”
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’ll also discuss the music and its interactions with lyrics. But please – no students who are prone to boils.
Includes exclusive (albeit very short) interviews with “Weird Al” Yankovic, Michael
Palin (Monty Python), Country Joe McDonald, Mike Stoller (Lieber &
Stoller), Terre Roche (The Roches), Ani DiFranco and more.
This course originated as an undergraduate seminar at UCLA’s Herb Alpert
School of Music, where one of the in-person guests was “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Single classes also available: “Jewish Musical Satire” (“Insightful and
hilarious” – The Jewish Journal) and “Political Musical Satire.”
“Greatest Satirical Songs: The Sequel” at The Whizin Center was a Weekly Pick in the L.A. Times,
L.A. Weekly and The LAist and, for the second consecutive year, drew over 300. (Video below)
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David Misch has been writing and producing comedy for more than 40 years. Among his credits are “Mork & Mindy,” the Emmy-nominated adult animated series “Duckman,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” and a wide variety of projects for film and television. He’s also an author, blogger, playwright, songwriter and recovered stand-up comic.
He’s taught and lectured at the Smithsonian Institute, Yale, Oxford University, University of Sydney (Australia), University of Auckland (New Zealand), UCLA, Columbia, the Actors Studio (New York); University of Southern California, the Grammy Museum, Austin Film Festival, American Film Institute (Los Angeles); Skirball Cultural Center, Second City (Chicago), SummerFest (Ft. Collins, Col.), and the Midwest Popular Culture Association, SATE Themed Entertainment and VIEW Cinema (Torino, Italy) conferences.
More UCLA Extension Evaluations (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)
“Fantastic. I learned so much and had such a good time.”
“One of the best classes I’ve ever taken.”
“David is brilliant, funny, and a scholar of his subject.”
“David is a marvelous instructor – knowledgeable, articulate, funny and insightful.”
“David couldn’t be more open, interesting and amusing. I would take this course again.”
“Better than I had imagined. Very well-organized; an exceptional presentation.”
“Fascinating on every level.”
“Keep offering this class until every Extension member has taken it!”
92nd St. Y (NYC)
“David showed that there’s far more to satire than I realized.
His knowledge and speaking style are real pluses.”
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)
“I haven’t laughed so much since the beginning of the pandemic.”
“Superb! Mr. Misch is knowledgeable, personable, engaging.”
“Took a fun subject and gave it an intellectual twist. Delightful learning!”
“The slides and clips were excellent, as were the
presenter’s depth and breadth of knowledge. And humor!”
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute National Resource Center / Osher Online (Northwestern University)
“Insightful, engaging and hugely entertaining. David was extremely
knowledgeable and opened my eyes to subtleties I hadn’t realized.”
“A marvelous course, brilliantly led. It greatly broadened my
knowledge in this area and brought laughter to my Mondays.
What a blessing that we’re able to take these classes online.”
“Entertaining, thought-provoking, well-paced – a great class.”
“One of the best Osher courses I’ve taken among
the dozens I’ve attended over the past ten years.”
“David is probably the best instructor I’ve ever had – funny, engaging,
great knowledge of the subject, great visuals, and very inclusive!”