Aiming a sharp wit at the pop scene

Singing satirist Roy Zimmerman, founder of comedy folk quartet the Foremen, has long been known for targeting society’s foibles and ills with guitar and go-for-the-jugular wit. His latest CD, “Faulty Intelligence,” takes aim at the Iraq war and America’s escalating clashes of culture and class. Deceptively mild in appearance, Zimmerman can be seen in numerous YouTube offerings, including his most viewed, “Creation Science 101,” with nearly 750,000 hits and thousands of comments, many heated. His next gig: Feb. 9 at Temple Akiba in Culver City.

Zimmerman shared his pop-culture picks with Lynne Heffley.

IN HEAVY ROTATION ON iPOD

Springsteen’s “Seeger Sessions,” L.A. songwriter Kristina Olsen, the Aquabats, the Clash, Emmylou Harris’ “Songbird” and a collection of audio ephemera including an infamous bootleg featuring the Troggs. (“Split your hands. . . . “)

SOUNDTRACK FOR COMMUTE

All of the above, plus the subtle percussion of my own nail-biting and a compelling cadence of four-letter words.

IN THE NETFLIX QUEUE

I’ve been Netflix-ing and watching in order every episode of “The West Wing,” otherwise known as “porn for liberals.”

YOUTUBE PICKS

“Gene Sheldon Classic Tenor Banjo on Jackie Gleason Show” for its shtick, Odetta doing “There Ain’t No Hammer on This Mountain” for its otherworldly soulfulness, “Crazy Horses -- The Osmonds” for its jubilant, bandy-legged evocation of the apocalypse.

BEDSTAND LIBRARY

An advance copy of “All Aboard for Dreamland,” a children’s book by my wife Melanie Harby; “That Was Satire, That Was” by Humphrey Carpenter; “Cruciverbalism: A Crossword Fanatic’s Guide to Life in the Grid” by Stanley Newman.

TOP INTERNET DESTINATIONS

YouTube, the great democratic experiment proving that democracy is a bad idea; YouTUB.com, a webcam on eight naked hippies in Marin. (OK, I invented that as a joke, but now I find there is such a site, established by someone who was typo-squatting.)

GUILTY PLEASURE

“The L Word.” I watch for the storytelling. And the fashion.

SECRET WEAPON FOR NAVIGATING THE CULTURE

I have two sons, 16 and 17. Those aren’t their names. Their names are Six and Nine. I need their guidance, and what’s more, America needs them and their generation. If you’re 18 years old and haven’t registered to vote, put this paper down immediately and go to www.declare yourself.com.