Discovering the Soundtrack of Fandom
One of the most enjoyable aspects of attending a professional convention is discovering a new fact, idea, or way of thinking. Waiting to do an author reading at the Boskone 61 convention (where I’d power-performed twice already as a panelist), I decided to attend the {Song Circle) Celestial Bodies concert. After all, I reasoned, wouldn’t hearing some classical music, say Gustav Holst‘s The Planets, ease my performance anxieties?
Little did I suspect that this decision would provide my first encounter with a different form of geekdom–filk music. Everyone knows (or thinks they do) what a geek is–an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. However, how many know what a filk enthusiast is? I was about to find out.
History and Etymology of Filk Music
Part of my surprise about filk music stemmed from the uncertainty of what it is. The primary definition for Filk comes from aeroscientist Jordan Kare’s article in Sing Out magazine where he quotes musician Nick Smith of the Los Angeles Filkharmonics describing filk as “a mixture of song parodies and original music, humorous and serious, about subjects like science fiction, fantasy, computers, cats, politics, [etc.}” with the conclusion “almost anything goes at a Filksing.”
On the other hand, critics such as Jeff Suwak in Rawckus magazine credit filk as being more than a muscial genre but as a bona fide subculture. Like a band of ragtag heroes in a fantasy novel, Filkers challenge the suppression of the human creaative impulse. They may dress up as wookies and pirates to sing about their favorite sci-fi and fantasy films, but “Breaking the restraints of the imagination and embracing one’s true self, no matter how silly or socially-questionable that self may be, is the whole point.”
Given this lack of precision, it’s unsurprising that the term originated as a misprint in Lee Jacobs‘ essay “”The Influence of Science Fiction on Modern American Filk Music.” Cited repeatedly for amusement by the editor of the Amateur Press Society, the term became associated with the genre while still an informal occurrence at sci-fi and fantasy conventions. Only when writer Karen Anderson used it to describe a song written by her husband, sci-fi novelist Poul Anderson, did the term become formally recognized.
Filk Music Structure and Types
From those humble beginnings, filk music evolved into the more formal and systematic performances I witnessed at the Boskone convention on Sunday. Rather than impromptu sessions on hotel stairwells or out-of-the way nooks, filk music now serves as a designated feature in conention schedules. Its musicians play a variety of insturments, the acoustic guitar and keyboard predominating, and they perform in filk circles. Though loosely organized, this arrangement permits egalitarian access with each performer politely awaiting his or her turn to perform.
The most common types of performance are these three: Bardic, Chaos, and Token Bardic. Bardic structure permits each participant to perform in turn around the circle. Chaos provides no sequential structure; performers shout out to play after the previous perfromer has finished. Token Bardic combines the previous two by doling out poker chips to the performers which they can toss into the center of the circle to claim the next turn.
Regardless of structure, filk music emphasizes respect for all music and all performers, whatever their expertise or proficiency. Everyone can participate; tips and suggestions are the only criticism.
Cultural Impact of Filk Music
Over the years, filk has matured from ad hoc performances played and enjoyed by sci-fi fans to a distinctive genre with its own jargon (filkspeak, a subcategory of fanspeak) and subgenres. Some examples are hymnal speak (group singing from a hymnal), filkhogs (performers who sing more than their fair share of songs), and found filk (songs not written as filk but show a folkish love of incongruities). Filkers even have an award for the best example of their music–the Pegasus Award–given annually at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest.
Despite all the above, filk’s sense of ingenuousness and gentle satire remains. Amy Kucharik, the moderator of the song circle I attended, stated during our Messenger dialog that she remained “uncertain whether my music qualifies as ‘filk’ per se (vs music with nerdy concepts and pop culture references) but it was so much fun to be at Boskone.” Performers and listeners still do it for the enjoyment of the music and the rebelliousness of their self-expression. As ethnomusicologist Sally Childs-Helton puts it, “We have taken our right to be creative and to literally ‘play’ in the best sense of that word.” Given the recent political and sociological excesses attributed to overzealous fans, aren’t the orderly and egalitarian actions of devoted musical geeks something to celebrate?
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