Subject: New Filk 
Distribution: world
Organization: Keristor Systems
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 10:06:01 +0000


In article <1992Nov5.112717.6868@bradford.ac.uk>
           S.S.B.Glover@bradford.ac.uk writes:

>It depends how you #def british_filkers: there are folks who enjoy the stuff
>but have already been scared off. I'm afraid I can see parallels forming
>outside the filk world with the KTF school of fanzine reviewing in the late
>seventies -- and if filk ever does decline in britain, some fugghead is
>going to maintain that it was because of this perceived elitism (It's wrong
>to blame ktf for the decline of fanzines, so it's probably also going to be
>wrong to blame certain FoN's (or the "FoN system") for a decline in filk
>that hasn't happen yet -- I'm speculating and making a conditional prediction
>here, not casting blame!)

Well, I don't know the ones that have been 'scared off', but that seems
to prove the point!  Certainly there are some who are 'filk-fans' rather
than 'filkers' - i.e. they like listening but won't perform.  I can also
think of several who *were* in that category but are now not only
willing but eager to perform - and at least a couple are having or are
going to have music lessons.

Since I wan't around in the late seventies (as a fan, I mean) I don't
know anything about the KTF thing, but I can definitely see your
scenario.

>Singing off-key and badly in a large group is probably the filk equivalent
>of being in an apa rather than doing a zine of one's own... it's less
>difficult, and it gives you most of the fun, plus there's the sense of
>particip... ...ation that comes from when the noise of a chorus is better
>than any of the participants can make alone.

Singing on-key and well in a large group is even more fun - perhaps some
people should try it <g>...  No, seriously, I see what you (and other
people) mean by "even those who sing badly" can join in a big group of
singers and have fun.  However, the idea that "all filk is musically
bad" is one that puts a lot of people off, which is a shame when there
*are* a lot of good musicians around (heck it put *me* off for a long
time - that and the only activity was in London and I couldn't get
there...).

>: ...the ovewhelming tendency here is for individual performance in
>: the circle.
>
>This trend was beginning when I last had time to spare for filking at a con:
>I'm assuming the concert format at the beginning of Scone was a one-off,
>'cos the tail end of the filk I did catch (Hi, Chris) was good fun, and
>quite similar to the old style.

The one at the beginning of Scone was a follow-on from the Razing
Arizona concert.  Unfortunately, there were very few filkers there.  The
idea (Chris Malme's) was that since many people would like to play with
a band, and use powered equipment etc., to allow other people to join in
after the concert.  I was about the only person there interested - there
were only a few at the convention who were at all interested in filk -
so it didn't work.  I'm hoping (I'll have to suggest it) that they'll do
the same thing at Pentatonic (filkcon next February)...

The filking at that con was very small - the previous UniCon
(Mabinogicon) had been almost a filkcon.  Whether that had anything to
do with it...

>If only con bars closed earlier... (so that room parties would start earlier
>and one could carry out whatever transactions one had to before 2am and
>finding a dead filkroom...)

It doesn't help that 'traditionally' filking doesn't start until
everything else has finished, so a lot of people go to bed...

Chris

***********************************************************************
*  chris@keris.demon.co.uk      *                                     *
*  chriscr@cix.compulink.co.uk  *  FIAWOL (Filking Is A Way Of Life)  *
*  100014.3217@compuserve.com   *                                     *
***********************************************************************
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA