--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I find that if you take the various…" description: "\"I find that if you take the various popular song forms to their logical extremes, you can arrive at almost anything from the ridiculous to the obscene-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/tom-lehrer-3442_extremes_i-find-that-if-you-take-the-various-popu_2350454.jpg" --- # I find that if you take the various popular song forms to… ![“I find that if you take the various popular song forms to their logical extremes, you can arrive at almost anything from the ridiculous to the obscene-or, as they say in New York, sophisticated.” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/tom-lehrer-3442_extremes_i-find-that-if-you-take-the-various-popu_2350454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/tom-lehrer-3442_extremes_i-find-that-if-you-take-the-various-popu_2350454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/tom-lehrer-3442_extremes_i-find-that-if-you-take-the-various-popu_2350454.jpg) > “I find that if you take the various popular song forms to their logical extremes, you can arrive at almost anything from the ridiculous to the obscene-or, as they say in New York, sophisticated.” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exaggerating musical forms to extremes shows how art can be both absurd and refined, reflecting cultural paradoxes. **In simple terms:** Pushing art to extremes reveals absurdity and sophistication. Key Takeaway Explore creative limits. Themes art creativity paradox Mood thoughtful ironic Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - music composition - performance art - experimental theater Key Concepts aesthetics cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - When does absurdity become meaningless? - How to balance sophistication and silliness? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Extremes Arrive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes-arrive-5720895/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Logical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logical/) [Logical Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logical-extremes-5720893/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Obscene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscene/) [Popular song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-song/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sophisticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophisticated/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various/) [Various Popular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various-popular-5720894/) ## Related quotes > [I'm on the edge with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-m-on-the-edge-with-you/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [When a lovely flame dies, Smoke gets in your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-harbach/when-a-lovely-flame-dies-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes/) [Otto Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-harbach/) > [And if she asks you why you can tell her that I told you That I'm tired of Castles in the Air I've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/and-if-she-asks-you-why-you-can-tell-her-that-i-told-you-that-i-m/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [I moved to New York from California when I was 11, so initially I was seen as the California person for a while. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-moved-to-new-york-from-california-when-i-was-11-so-initially-i-was/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a coolibar tree, And he sang as he sat and waited for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banjo-paterson/once-a-jolly-swagman-camped-by-a-billabong-under-the-shade-of-a/) [Banjo Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banjo-paterson/) > [The moon upon the ocean is swept around in motion but without ever knowing the reason for its flowing in motion on the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enya/the-moon-upon-the-ocean-is-swept-around-in-motion-but-without-ever/) [Enya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enya/) > [My eyes adored ya Though I never laid a hand on you My eyes adored ya Like a million miles away from me you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-valli/my-eyes-adored-ya-though-i-never-laid-a-hand-on-you-my-eyes-adored-ya/) [Frankie Valli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-valli/) > [Memory. All alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days I was beautiful then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/memory-all-alone-in-the-moonlight-i-can-smile-at-the-old-days-i-was/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) > [You had my heart inside of your hand but you played it to the beat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/you-had-my-heart-inside-of-your-hand-but-you-played-it-to-the-beat/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [If you said good-bye to me tonight, There would still be music left to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/if-you-said-good-bye-to-me-tonight-there-would-still-be-music-left-to/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna work out fine if you only will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/shower-the-people-you-love-with-love-show-them-the-way-that-you-feel/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [I'm in the mood to get faded, so please bring your finest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-in-the-mood-to-get-faded-so-please-bring-your-finest/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose Once there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-afraid-to-love-you-but-more-afraid-to-loose-clinging-to-a-past/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [When it seems like the night will last forever, And there's nothing left to do but count the years, When the strings of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hunter/when-it-seems-like-the-night-will-last-forever-and-there-s-nothing/) [Robert Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hunter/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? 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In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Extremes quotes > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Playing for complications is an extreme measure that a player should adopt only when he cannot find a clear and logical plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/playing-for-complications-is-an-extreme-measure-that-a-player-should/) [Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/) > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [My childhood was extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-childhood-was-extreme/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I like to push characters to extremes so they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/i-like-to-push-characters-to-extremes-so-they-have-to-make-really/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. 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