Our Salute to Sidley Austin: "Eighteen Ways to Blow a Deadline"

 (NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

Last week, the Milbank Tweed law firm disgraced itself by abruptly canceling its $1 million program which had been funding lunches, conferences, and other events sponsored by student groups at Harvard Law School.

Remembering Justice Antonin Scalia: "Pour Some Souter on Me"

 (NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

Today at the Law School we will be remembering Justice Scalia. To mark the occasion, here is the video we posted in November, 2014, during Justice Scalia's final visit to the Law School, to judge the Ames moot court competition.

"Sweet Schemes": The Harvard Law Review's True Secret of Success

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

Today is the start of the Harvard Law Review's annual writing competition used to select new editors. The winners might end up in situations like this (more on that below):

"Bust a Moot" (ft. Elena Kagan and Eliot Spitzer")

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

To mark tonight's start of First-Year Ames Moot Court at Harvard Law School, and to offer students a few tips for performing well in Ames, here is a video (embedded below) featuring Elena Kagan and Eliot Spitzer, from the Drama Society's March, 2009, Parody production.

It's to the tune of the 1990 hip hop hit "Bust a Move" by Marvin Young, popularly known as "Young M.C." (YouTube video here).

The parody lyrics are below. Enjoy!

"Die In Harvard Square" (ft. William Desmond & Victoria White-Mason)

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

It's been ten years since the Harvard Law School Drama Society last mustered the courage to mock a black member of the Law School community in its annual Parody production.

In 2005, in our live production we included a reference to Professor Charles Ogletree being "stupid" for having hired incompetent ghostwriters who plagiarized from a Yale law professor. Later we elaborated on the point in a blog post.

Since then, no black on campus has done anything to draw as much negative attention, and invite ridicule, as Ogletree did with his use of inept ghostwriters. Until now.  Recently two black law students made themselves famous through their actions in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

President Obama Sings "Don't Take Care"

To commemorate President Barack Obama's controversial decision to use his executive powers to change the law so as to legalize previously illegal illegal aliens, we have composed a new parody song.

It's sung by President Obama and is entitled: "Don't Take Care." It's inspired in no small part by a fabulous book recently released by constitutional scholar (and former prosecutor) Andrew C. McCarthy, Faithless Execution.

For this parody, we've hijacked the tune of Madonna's two-minute  Pepsi commercial, "Like a Prayer," which premiered as a wholesome, innocent song on The Cosby Show on March 2, 1989 (YouTube video here).

This isn't the first time the tune's been hijacked. Madonna herself did so. After she pocketed $5 million on the commercial, she released an extended version of the song which included highly controversial scenes of a religious and racial nature which caused Pepsi to sever all ties with her. It became a # 1 hit (YouTube video here).

And, the tune was hijacked five years ago by our predecessor parodists, during the 2009 Parody show, which featured a spectacular primer on tort law entitled "Take Due Care." (We'll try to obtain a non-official, audience-recorded version of that masterpiece to post.)

The lyrics of "Don't Take Care" appear below. We will produce and post the video as soon as possible once final exams are done.

Justice Scalia sings "Pour Some Souter on Me"

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

To mark Justice Antonin Scalia's appearance this week at Harvard Law School, here is a video (embedded below) focusing on Justice Scalia, from the Drama Society's March, 2008, Parody production.

It features an epic duel between Justice Scalia and "The Gladiatort," to the tune of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (#2 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s) by Def Leppard (Youtube video here).

The parody lyrics are below. Enjoy!

UPDATE (11/18): By popular demand, here is a short version of the video (with just the song, and with captioned lyrics), entitled "Justice Scalia vs. The Gladiatort":

 

 

 

 

Ron Klain sings "December 1984 (Oh, What a Night)"

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

For your viewing enjoyment, here is our newest parody video (lead vocal by Damian Yonge).. It is Ron Klain's recounting of his "first time" (that is, his first time committing plagiarism, while ghostwriting for Laurence Tribe).

Klain recounts the evening he lost his innocence, by breaking out in song, to the tune of "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (Youtube video of that song here).

For more background, and the parody lyrics, see our post of June 16, 2005. Enjoy!

"Eve of Destruction: Ron Klain, Ebola Czar"

 (NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

Adding to Harvard Law School's already considerable reputation for producing "elite" lawyers who fill high-level government positions for which they are totally incompetent (in terms of the real-world practical skills and ethical character needed for the job), on October 17 President Barack Obama (HLS ‘91) named Ron Klain (HLS ‘87) as his "Ebola Czar."

To celebrate the occasion, we are pleased to announce the world premiere of a brand-new parody video, Eve of Destruction: Ron Klain, Ebola Czar" (lead vocal by Damian Yonge). The parody video is embedded below, followed by the parody lyrics.

Elena Kagan's "Runaround Suit"

For your further viewing enjoyment, we offer the following Youtube video, Elena Kagan's "Runaround Suit," from last year's Parody show (lyrics here). Commentary by AuthorSkeptics here.

"I'm Larry Tribe": The Story Behind the Parody

For your viewing enjoyment, we offer the following four-part Youtube mini-documentary on the genesis and impact of our 2005 "I'm Larry Tribe" parody song. It was prepared in conjunction with the AuthorSkeptics bloggers.

The entire mini-documentary can be viewed as a single video, in somewhat higher quality, on our new Wordpress.com platform, here.

Update (7/22): AuthorSkeptics have put together a synopsis of the mini-documentary, here.  A  transcript is here.

2006 Parody: Act 2, Song 5: "American Tribe"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 2, Song 5
"American Tribe"

(Based on Don McLean's "American Pie") (Youtube)

2006 Parody: Act 2, Song 4: "Velvel's Constant Yammer"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 2, Song 4
"Velvel's Constant Yammer"

(Based on the Beatles' "Maxwell's Silver Hammer") (Youtube)

2006 Parody: Act 2, Song 3: "Sleazy (Like Doris Goodwin)"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 2, Song 2
"Sleazy (Like  Doris Goodwin)"

(Based on the Commodores' 
"Easy (Like Sunday Morning)" (Youtube)

2006 Parody: Act 2, Song 2: "You're So Klain"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 2, Song 2
"You're So Klain"

(Based on Carly Simon's "You're So Vain") (Youtube)

2006 Parody: Act 2, Song 1: "December 1984 (Oh, What a Night)"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 2, Song 1
"December 1984 (Oh, What a Night)"

(Based on Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons,

"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)") (Youtube)

2006 Parody: Act 1, Song 4: "Write My Notes"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 1, Song 4
"Write My Notes"

(Based on The Doors' "Light My Fire") (Youtube)

2006 HLS Parody, Act 1, Song 3: "Hire Some Ghostwriters"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 1, Song 3
"Hire Some Ghostwriters"

(Based on Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger") (Youtube)

2006 HLS Parody, Act 1, Song 2: "I'm a Compiler"

 HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 1, Song 2

"I'm a Compiler"

(Based on The Monkees' "I'm a Believer") (Youtube)

2006 HLS Parody, Act 1, Song 1: "Book of Tribe"

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
PARODY 2006
"FINDING BLACHMAN CONTRIBUTORILY NEGLIGENT"

Act 1, Song 1
"Book of Tribe"

(Based on The Monotones' "Book of Love") (Youtube)