Anyone here filk?
I tend to preform the stuff rather than write it, but I'm sure there must be 
some interesting filkers here, and what with the fido FILK/alt.music.filk 
gateway being intermitently down I NEED  MY FIX.  And meeting some new filkers 
(to me) wouldn't hurt either.

55 responses total.

Filk?  Please explain...

Speaking from limited knowledge, I think it's folk-style music with
sci-fi content.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  (I've never been
to a Con...)

Think of it as a folk-style Dr. Demento sing-along with a heavy
sf theme and fannish inside jokes... <goes of humming "You Can
Build a Mainframe From the Things You Find at Home">

I've heard some filk that was quite serious- Challenger memorials and 
romantic ballads.  Does that count as "filk" or is it something else? And
what if it has an original tune, too.

Yeah, I'd say it's filk.  Filk is hard to classify; it does include
serious ballads as well as humourous and punny songs.  Music for
all occasions...  Not sure what you mean about "original tune" (not
every song on Dr Demento is a parody...); some filk is based on
tunes from other genre, some is completely original.  (I guess you
can tell I like the humorous filk better than the serious).
Some filk is inspired by particular sf books, some is topical, some
is sf-related, some fantasy-related, some just plain silly (but fun).
  The reason I mentioned Dr. D. in relation to filk is that his
show exhibits the kind of variety in music that I find in filk.  (And
I'm sure many filk songs would be completely appropriate for a Dr D
show).  
  I'm not an expert on this music; I'm just sitting here surrounded
by my wife's filk cassette collection, and have been to several cons
and listened to filk sessions.  A couple local (Ann Arbor) filkers
I have heard and like are Mark Bernstein and Tom Smith.

Danke Schoen

Bitte.  
I have heard a Leslie Fish song on Dr. D. I thought that was pretty cool.

Pretty much, the only inclusive definition of filk is "verbal poetry
preformed at a filksing," including stories&poetry(rarely), and song.  It's 
usually SF related, and often related to cats, fandom, filkdom, science, 
politics, et cetera.  
        One of the most interesting parts of filkdom is the "parody war" where 
a parody will be written about a song (often, but not allways an original
one), and a parody will be written in response to that, with subsequent
songs falling fast behind, especially if more than two get into the act.
        I seem to be rather atypical among filkers, as I preform (but do not 
write) filks, and far more often do serious songs than humerous ones (though 
I admit to having a few of the latter in my repetoir, including the 
aformentioned "You can build a mainframe fro the things you find at home."
        I can't make head or tails of "Little Teeny Eyes," though.

Filk is quite a bit of fun.  I don't perform filk, just listen.  Anyone
that likes popular and folk music in general (including Dr. Demento-style
parody) should check out filk (there are filk tapes available at virtually
every SF convention and from what I've heard are worth the price).

Well, many of them are, anyway; some of my favorites are Leslie Fish, Tom 
Smith, Heather Rose Jones, Joey Shoji, etc.  Most dealers will let you listen 
to a tape before buying it, so get what you think sounds good.  
        As a preformer, I'm more likey to get a book than a tape, but every 
once in a while...

"Filk" is folk music from the Science fiction field and practices that
follow what is know as the "folk tradition". Folk music tends to be
constantly evolving as new people learn a song, incorporate their own style
, add a thing, delete a thing, chance the music , change the words , etc.
Folk music also tends to revolve around come genre or lifestyle or
geographical location. Cowboys wrote folk music about being cowboys,
coal miners wrote folk music about being coal miners, etc.

Science fiction fans wrote folk music about being science fiction fans
and about the stories they liked. The story goes that at some con in the
fities, the advertising flyers had a mispelling of the word "folk" into "filk".
It was just weird, and different enough that it stuck.

Filthy Folk = Filk ?

W{e did some filking at a party last night.  Had at least four really
good singers there, and a lot of amatuers.  Had a lot of fun.

Coolness!

re#13:  so filkers write songs about filking?

Among other things, yes.   Or songs about filkers.  It can get pretty 
hairy, like "Doppel-entendre," a song by Bob Kanefsky to the tune of
"Doppleganger"  (a filksong to an original tune by Kathy Mar), which
expresses, from Kathy's POV, her displeasure at her song "Doppleganger"
being twisted into "Dopple-entendre".

Well filk is the music that I was rased on.  I'm what you would refer to as 
a "filker baby".  This is all becouse my dad is Mark Bernstein.  I go to filk
sings all the time.  Some of the puns that come from those people makes you 
wish you had a bag of stones next to you.  But it cen get prety sierous at t
times.  If there are any filk sings in my area(Ann Arbor) I will post if you
will will like?
        But mainly filk is what ever you want it to be.  From "Domino Death"
(Tom Smith) to "Lady Hawk".  If any one is a contraption '95 I will be there.

Cool, 'traption looks like fun.  Wow, the next generation of fen comes of
age (at least of age to be messing with computers) what ever is the world 
coming to...
<g>

Well hell, Patri ap Cariadoc is online, and the SCA is younger than filk.
How old are you, anyway, Allen?  Do you get to cons outside of the 
Ann Arbor area?  I tend to get to Worldcon, Lunacon, Arisia, and I've been 
tempted by the occasional philcon or balticon.

No dear, I really don't travel for cons.  It has become too hard even to
get to SCA events afield.  Sigh.  Just so much time in a year, and Michael
too tied up with school really to do that much.  well, and he's kinda 
disillusioned with the SCA- burned out and all.  Actually, we're getting more i
into going to Pagan festivals lately.  In some ways, they are like the SCA
ten years ago.

Gee, it would be fun to talk with Patri, he's a delightful young man. Hm,
I wonder if Diana Honeyhair (Aelfwine Dunedain's daughter) had email-oh,
yes, I remember getting something from her a long time back.  This could
be fun. Let's eavesdrop from our rocking chairs, shall we?...

Kami, do not miss Starwood in western New York, end of July.

Actually, Kami, the questions were more trageted towards Allen than you; I
know you don't ususually travel for science fiction cons, even if you'll travel
to other types I could meantion.  What about worldcons  How far (if at all) 
will you travel for those?
        As far as rocking chairs go, I don't think I qualify yet; mabye when 
your kids are on the net (how are they, anyway; were neither at Pennsic this 
year?), bt not until then.
        Greg: what's Starwood?  Pagan thang?  It rings a bell, but not a loud 
one at all.

Trust me, gregc, kami *never* misses Starwood.

(And yes, it's a pagan thingie.)

Interesting, I've been going since 1984, though I missed the last 2 years
because of life/work/stuff. Maybe I've bumped into you guys there?

YOu HAVE????? Innnnter-esting.  Actually, last year was my first.  wonderful.
Going again, don't worry, it's just the beginning of season waffling we
seem  to go through around here.  that, and the usual money worries and all.
Gee, Greg, how come you go to a pagan festival, but I never see you in
the synth conference, eh? (hint hint)

Josh, thanks for asking, the boys are well and driving me suitably crazy.
Gareth is 2, VERY two some days, and beginning to talk more.  Timothy was
at Pennsic last year, while the little critter stayed home with papa.  I
want to bring them both this year, if I can get reliable helpers, but
Michael is pretty completely turned of from the SCA these days, even
Pennsic.  I have dragged him to one or two sf cons, and he sort of had
fun but didn't exactly change his life over them...To my surprise, he
seems to prefer pagan festivals; maybe they remind him of what Pennsic
was like about 10 years ago...

I consider myself a skeptic pagan. I get along with alot of the mindsets
of many pagan folk, but I am still very skeptical of most forms of pagan
spiritual practice. Let's just say I follow my own path, and havn't found
anyone who sees the same road. So I go to the festivals to listen and
to watch and to think, but not to join.

that works.  gee, it's not for the pleasure of hanging out with a bunch
of happy naked pagans, dancing around a bonfire? <g>

<throat clearing noises> Well, umm, that too of course. :-)

oh, good. I am reassured as to your humanity.  if that's not presumptuous.<g>

I'm back.  I've been out of it for some time now.  sorry.  but It looks like no
one is looked at this one for a long time.  If so resopond?!?!?

Would the Rush song "Rivendell" be an example of this genre?

I guess it would, from my knowing

Well, it's not exactly Folk Music.

Dunno, haven't heard it.  But if it can be sung at a circle, and is apropriate
to the tastes of at least some filkers, I can easily be considered Filk Music:)

Filk is what ever you can sing, or are willing to sing.  My dads been filking
for years  for years and still is.  Some of the weirdest song you will ever
here have  come from filk sings and the Dorrsi :)

   Technically, the song is Heavy Metal.

I love filk!  So does my wife.  We listen to it all the time, well, between
the folk music we do.  

They just came did a Dorrsi Filk consert a 'clave '95.  It was the weirest
thing I've herd and seen In along time!!

A Dorsai Filk concert? Sounds lke fun, though I've only heard mabye 2 Dorsai
filks, all told.
.s

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss