Filk Music

What the filk is filk music, you wonder? You think maybe it's a typo for folk, right? Well, truth be told, that's how it started, but, as Inspector Clouseau would say, not any more! It's now a distinct subgenre, composed (so to speak) mainly of parodies, but also including most other humorous songs, songs about computers, politics, technology, etc. It is sometimes referred to as "the indigenous music of the science fiction community", but it goes way beyond that. The "sound" of it can be anything from folk to rock to pop to classical (yes, even some purely instrumental music can still be filk!) and lots more; it's more the subject that matters.

Further explanation can be found in the Fidonet FILK Echo FAQ List, and a definition by filker Tom Smith.

Ones I've written include:

• A Day in the Life of Bruno Bunkleyutz
• At Pennsic
• Blowin' in the Window
• Can't Buy Me Lunch
• DOOM.WAD Ditty
• FILK Echo Rules
• Hacking the Tivo
• How Will They Know
• I'm a Spammer
• I'm a User
• If I Only Had a Cray
• Inside Barney
• Least Favorite Foods
• Ode to a Grey Parrot
• Pinhead Wizz-ard
• Pinstripe Samurai
• Recursive Flaming
• Revolutionary Spacecraft
• Swing on a Politician
• Virtual Monday
• Whiskey In My Brain
• Xmas Dirge
• Additional verses to other people's filks
• An idea for a whole slew of parodies
• More filks in progress (snippets, titles, etc.)
• Many more, coming soon

I used to not bother keeping my filks. If anybody out there has copies of any more of mine, I'd really appreciate it being sent back to me. Thanks!

And now some legal gobbledygook:

TERMS OF USAGE FOR ALL REPRODUCTION (including, but not limited to, performance (whether live or recorded), printing, emailing, news-posting, and using as web page content):

• If you intend to make a profit by using my material, whether alone or in combination with other people's material, you must negotiate a fee with me beforehand. This may be a flat amount, a percentage of revenue, a percent of profit, or whatever else we can agree on.

• If you do not intend to make a profit, Just Do It.

• If you don't intend to make a profit, but do anyway, you must contact me afterward (within one calendar month of discovery of profit) to negotiate a cut. My cut will not exceed 10% of the portion of your revenue that is attributable to my works (by portion of time, space, or whatever).

NOTICE: In cases where I have used an existing copyrighted tune, this does not grant you permission to use the tune! You must still contact that copyright owner; it is beyond my control.

Similar artists/groups that don't necessarily consider themselves filkers:

• The Bobs
• Weird Al Yankovich

And a collector of parodies, parody links from all over, and mondegreens (misheard lyrics): Am I Right?

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