He has performed at every Glastonbury Festival since 1982, and continues to write topical, satirical material on all kinds of subjects.

More important, he pulls off one of the most difficult songwriting stunts - writing topical material that doesn't come off as pedantic or trite.

One of the more important developments in television entertainment's co-opting, or exploiting, of reality is how fast producers are able to get topical material on the air.

"I think Tina has shown an astute ability to pick topical material," said Leo Scullin, an independent media consultant.

They have also had topical material performed on Radio Five Live.

Simon's characters also express many "serious and continuing concerns of mankind...rather than purely topical material," which are more transitory.

Due to the topical material and dialect songs, he wrote "studying this music gave me an opportunity early on to place past events in their historical context".

If more topical material tends to survive this process, Ms. Fey said, it's because audiences tend to react more strongly to it.

The mood in Detroit is so somber that local comedians say they have difficulty writing topical material.

His work varies from serious and technical, topical and religious material to children's books and congressional studies.