I’ve only ever heard a couple of covers of Hard ‘n Phirm songs but this one may be my fave.

via @JesseFromCanada

How can you not love Boing Boing Video for premiering this? They have a much larger version of it there, if you prefer a husky video.

TMBG never fails to deliver the goods and is MOST CERTAINLY one of the strongest influences on my nerdy-musical-comedy-duo Hard ‘n Phirm (Tom Lehrer being the other). As proof, here is the very first original song we ever recorded, “The Carbon Cycle” way back in 1996 on 4-track tape:

BUT, Gentle Nerd, if you want to go even further down the nerd hole, where light can’t escape, you can jump over to this page which holds what was undeniably the molecular influence on TMBG themselves: A series of late 50s/early 60s “Singing Science” records produced by “Unchained Melody” lyricist Hy Zaret and other-guy-whom-I-don’t-have-an-alternate-credit-for Lou Singer. Did you know that TMBG didn’t write “Why Does the Sun Shine?” I didn’t until I stumbled across this page, but you can hear the original along with countless other campy yet sincere songs about several different branches of science.

Many thanks to Jef Poskanzer, who diligently digitized all of the songs from albums he found in his parents’ basement.

There. This post should keep you occupied and inefficient for a while.

This song is what you would call a “deep cut.” It’s on our non-vinyl album “Horses and Grasses” but never gets any attention because we didn’t make a video for it, nor do we ever play it live because we don’t have the dough to lug a Baritone around the country. Unfortunate, really, because it happens to be my favorite song of ours. Musically it was inspired by the Haunted Mansion ride, courtesy of my Disneyland Annual Passport. Yeah, I’ve got one. Don’t judge me.

Much of the lyrics of the song were taken from an actual application to join the Moose Lodge which I was given after some friends of mine got married at one. They still make you certify that you’re not a Communist. I’m surprised they don’t also make you denounce the Whig Party while they’re at it.

In any case, here it is. For free. Just cuz I want to smear it on the fabric of the world.

If you like it, download and pass it on. If not, I believe you can show yourself out.

Merry Nerd Christmas! Make sure to French a nerd at 3/14 1:59:26! Phirm and I made this and like to pull it out every year for this joyous occasion. It accidentally taught us 180 digits of Pi.

Phirm and I made this last year as part of a series called CPBS, which stands for “Country Public Broadcasting System.” The concept is that Country Music Television launched a Public Broadcasting wing. The videos have popped on and off the Web but this one’s back up again so I’m posting it here.

The first in the series, “Trace Elements,” was written on a dare from our pal Brian Posehn, who threw down a challenge that it would be impossible to make fun of Country music star Trace Adkins, as he is a blatantly unapologetic redneck. “He does all the work FOR you!” was Posehn’s argument. Our solution was to adapt Trace’s style to sing about an ass-kicking scientist, a topic rarely covered in the vast tapestry of Country music. We hope you enjoy it.

PS – There’s swearing in it, so prepare to be offended or enjoy it more. You pick.

*If you like the song please help yourself to it by right-clicking + “Save As…” here. Then go share it with other nerds!

Or you can just download it here.

Hard ‘N Phirm’s first video, directed by Keith Schofield.