HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hjfeld@acs.bu.edu (harold feld)
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Instafilk
Date: 13 Nov 92 00:24:00 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <n0e19t@ofa123.fidonet.org> Dave.Aronson@p11.f120.n109.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>phydeaux@src4src.linet.org (Dave Weingart) writes:

> DW> And here's one my wife and I came up with in the car the other night,
> DW> following some SLOW moving tow truck...
>
> DW> Tow, tow, tow the car
> DW> Slowly down the street
> DW> Miserably, miserably, miserably, miserably
> DW> Life is really beat.

> DW> (in order for line 3 to work, you should pronouce it as "mizrahbly")
                                                              ^^^^^^
>(Hey Yaakov!  They're talkin' 'bout you!)---------------------'

It's not my fault you goyim can't pronounce the language of God. :-)
(I know it's God's language, he told me so! :-))

> Row row Roanoke
> In southwest V A
> Boring me, boring me, boring me, boring me
> Thank God for SCA!
>
>--- Maximus 2.01wb

Here's a bit of instafilk I did one real slow day
in my Corporate law class.  Makes a good study aid.

Tune: Danegeld by L.Fish

It is always a temptation, to attack a corporation
When they are undervalued and to say
I can win this proxy fight, you will lose your jobs tonight
Unless you give me cash to go away!

And that is called asking for greenmail
And corporate raiders explain
The Williams Act doesn't ban greenmail
So the SEC cannot complain

And it is always a temptation, to the BOD of the corporation
(After due consideration!) we do say:
Though our poison pill could beat you
Or self-tender would defeat you
We will gladly pay you cash to go away!

And that is called paying the greenmail
And the *Cheff* court said if there's due care
It is o.k. to pay off the greenmail
If the deal is intrinsicly fair

Harold -law school is devouring my brain- Feld

(Hell, first year I did my Contracts outline as a
parody of "Law of the Jungle"
Now this is the law of the Contract
Common and statute and Code
The attorney who keeps it shall prosper
The firm that forgets it shall fold)
From: J-Mag@p25.f2000.n106.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: copyrights
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 08 Nov 92  21:08:38

Wednesday November 04 1992, Joe Bethancourt writes to All:

 JB> On the matter of copyrights, here's something from the WRITERS echo that
 JB> should be appropriate:

 JB>  Area: Nat'lWRITI
 JB>   Msg#: 326                                          Date: 11-02-92
 JB> 17:40 From: J. Alec West                                 Read: Yes
 JB> Replied: No To: All                                          Mark: Subj:
 JB> to (c) or not to (c)

[...]

 JB> NOTE: THE FOLLOWING ARE _INVALID_ VARIANTS.   D O N ' T   U S E   T H E
 JB> M !

This was the last that made it through.  Can you re-send?

- J-Mag

--- GoldED 2.40
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Date: Sat,  7 Nov 1992 15:24:40 -0500 
From: Eli Brian Goldberg <eg1n+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Myth Debunking, Part 2 of 2

MYTH #2: Every filker should be able to sing any cliched filksong that 
everyone has already heard a billion times (and performed better most
of those times) and always expect an attentive and fascinated audience.  

At a con a while back, somebody who openly stated that he was tone-deaf
(I mean _LITERALLY_; not the meaning that seems to have become common
for, "I haven't _yet_ developed the ability to hear intervals and
pitches and don't sing well, so I must be tone-deaf".) was roaming
through a Westerfilk and said he was going to try to do _Darkness_ 
(Yes, by Jordin Kare); he then said that he had never heard the song
before and also couldn't read music.  We stopped him before he tried,
and got somebody else who knew the song to do it.  

Was it rude?  I don't think so, since it was done politely, and _needed_
to eventually be done --- I started improving my performances significantly
after a number of events, one of them being extremely negative responses to my
singing.  Rather than getting offended, I took the hint that if I expect an
attentive audience of 15-20 people to sit there (a 3 minute song comes to
a total of 1 manhour of time used w/20 people), I should at least spend the
time to learn how to ENTERTAIN the people listening.  An audience is only
human, and can only be expected to fight their "This is boring..." instinct
for so long.  

Improving one's performance abiities doesn't necessarily mean going out and
getting voice or guitar lessons at _all_ --- learning how to choose material
and learning when material is appropriate, IMHO, is even more important
than knowing how to sing it well.  I actually seem to have become an
adequate performer after sticking to rarely sung comic material; mostly
Heather Rose Jones and Kanefsky.  Xenofilkia normally has 3-4 gems per
month that people haven't yet heard, etc.  My (personal) policy is to 
stop singing a song after hearing other people sing it at filksings more
than once a year, but I probably take it further than is necessary.  

I think one of the reasons that so many people haven't honestly sat down,
heard how they sing, and thought about what material they can acceptably
pull offf is that it does require self-evaluation as a musician,
and thus somewhat of a realization of their personal weaknesses, which
is something many people have difficulty with, IMHO.
From: Mike.Liebmann@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Sandworm on the Roof.
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date:  8 Nov 92 11:34:29

OK, which of you loonies is going to write the WHOLE musical?  I can see it
now:
 
 
 
                        "DUNE, THE MUSICAL"
 
Paul Atriedes played by Chaim Topol


---
From: Uucp@ofa123.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: The Filking Times
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Oct  1 1992
Date: 03 Nov 92  12:54:02

From  ucivax!venus.medicine.rochester.edu!dmk
From: dmk@venus.medicine.rochester.edu (David Kushner)
To:   filk@ofa123.fidonet.org
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 13:06:51 EST

Does anyone know if Rick Weiss is on the net.  I sent him money more
than four months ago (which was cashed) and have yet to receive
anything from the Filking Times.

David Kushner
dmk@mit.edu

--- Squish v1.01
From: Kay.Shapero@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: New Filk
Date: 7 Nov 92 09:57:50 GMT
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992

On <Nov 05 09:22>, William Hughes (1:387/255) wrote to Mark Bernstein:

[long list of nasty experiences]

William, first off if you can please try and make it to a ConChord.  Second,
are you perhaps one of those quiet people who hide in the back of the room and 
never raise your voice above a whisper?  It IS possible to get lost in the
crowd if there is one.  The fear of being considered "rude" has been known to 
get the better of many a very good singer.

 WH>See above. The one time I stood up to present a 'filk' (a minor 
 WH>rewrite
 WH>of an old and little known military song), I was literally booed 
 WH>out of
 WH>the room. I found out later that it was because the 'quality' of 
 WH>my
 WH>presentation was not up to the snobs' "standards". I have never 
 WH>sung in
 WH>public since.

Well don't just sit there - filk the experience!  (Actually I'm not kidding;
one of my favorite songs of all time has got to be Suzette Elgin's "Song at
the Ready".  It's a country-western style description of one poor fan at a
chaos sing and 

"each time another song ended, 
he would raise his guitar towards his chin.  
He'd say"I've got a song, you can all sing along.."
and then somebody ELSE would begin"

The filkhogs get their comeuppance and the ending is very appropriate.  I just 
wish _I_ had written it!

Would you mind posting the song?  I'd kinda like to see it. 

--- msged 2.06
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
From: steve-b@access.digex.com (Steve Brinich)
Subject: Re: Slick willie
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 15:43:38 GMT

  >  Just think -- it'll still be useful when most of the campaign filks
  >are outdated.

  That's one good thing about "Raking Up The Sleaze", if I do say so myself:
I confidently predict that it will still be useful in 1994, 1996,..., 2094,
2096,....  <g>
From: phydeaux@src4src.linet.org (Dave Weingart)
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: ConCertino last year/etc
Date: 13 Nov 92 01:52:02 GMT
Organization: The Source for Source

Often, the simple thing to do when you wish to deal with filkhogs is go
off into another room.  People _will_ join you.  I ended up doing this as
Lunacon this year, not because of filkhogs, but because of overcrowding
and overheating.  Worked out well, IMHO.

-- 
73 de Dave Weingart   KB2CWF   phydeaux@src4src.linet.org

Particle Man, Particle Man, doing the things a particle can...
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
From: rhiannon@netcom.com (The Lady R)
Subject: Re: Phone Filk
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 22:41:27 GMT

Scott (Scott.Fridenberg@f901.n170.z1.fidonet.org) asked:

Ok,  How many people have filk on their answering machine?

Last Christmas, my son talked me into singing along with him as he
updated my answering machine tape with this one, sung to the tune of
"We Wish You A Merry Christmas".  I know it's not original, but it was
funny enough that we had trouble getting all the way through without
laughing.

"We wish you would leave a message!
 We wish you would leave a message!
 We wish you would leave a message,
 So wait for the beep.

 You got the machine,
 So wait for the tone,
 Then leave your name and number
 And hang up the phone."

(I'm still using, and now it's timely again.)

Rhia
From: Kay.Shapero@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: from ne.jobs
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Oct  1 1992
Date: 02 Nov 92  08:59:43

On <Oct 31 05:43>, mgw@world.std.com (maryanne g wolf) wrote to All:

 mg>Ne.jobs is a newsgroup for jobs offered/wanted in the 
 mg>northeastern United States.  I posted this filk there, and 
 mg>chris@keris.demon.co.uk suggested that I repost it here
 mg>for your amusement.  I've shortened the header, but not changed

Thanks!  most entertaining.  Let us know if it works, will you?

           Ye Moderator/Designated Topic Cop, Kay Shapero 

--- msged 2.06
From: Allan.Burrows@f432.n250.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Hosing Down The Fridge
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Oct  1 1992
Date: 02 Nov 92  00:30:44

 * Original to Charlotte Jerscheid @ 1:102/524 in eagle
 * Forwarded Mon Nov 02 1992  08:51:47 by Kay Shapero @ 1:102/524

 CJ>  Hosing Down The Fridge
 CJ>  by A.D. Burrows
 CJ>  (Tune: "Bringing In The Sheaves(sp)", trad.)

 CJ> Tell him I'm printing this out and posting it on the 
 CJ> refrigerator at church. 

        Thanks, Kay, and please let her know that's she's very welcome to it. 
(I suppose I should get back onto Filk and tell her myself. The sysop kicked
me off that board for being absent before I could tell him I was going to be
away, though. Oh well....)

               Allan

--- Maximus 2.01wb
From: Owen.E..Oulton@f45.n243.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Copyright questions, and a filk.
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Oct  1 1992
Date: 01 Nov 92  23:12:56

 KD> I heard an interview with Weird Al Yankovic speaking on the topic.
 KD> He said he asks permission, although he says he technically doesn't
 KD> need to.  He doesn't need any enemies in the music business.  Most
 KD> people are HAPPY to give their approval. My recollection is that
 KD> the interviewer asked if anyone ever denied him approval.  He said
 KD> yes, there was one person.  "A short, thin, black man with no sense
 KD> of humor, who wears purple and will remain nameless."

Actually, although Yankovic doesn't need to secure permission for the parody
of the WORDS, he does need a license to record the tune.  He could do this
through any of several dodges, just licensing it anonymously, but he prefers
to have the target of his parodies enjoy the process.

CFN, O

--- Maximus 2.01wb
From: Kay.Shapero@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Filk hogs, fact or fiction
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 06 Nov 92  08:38:51

On <Nov 04 07:01>,hjfeld@acs.bu.edu (harold feld) wrote to all:

 hf>more than welcome from my point of view.  Side note,
 hf>I am a big fan of poetic/filk debate.  Leslie and I have had
 hf>a debate for the last 2 years over *Break The Law* (Garnet 
 hf>Rogers?)
 hf>Which I think just got resolved with my latest effort at 
 hf>Magicon. (We reached a point of agreemnent)  Also, those from the
 hf>Rialto will remember my standing poetic debate challenge.)

Hmm... sorry I missed THAT.  Sounds vastly entertaining.

 hf>Julia's fault? No. But, by the same token, if it had been Leslie,
 hf>she would have pointed to me and said:'You got something?'
 hf>(Of course, Leslie has an ulterior motive, she wants to smoke
 hf>a cigarette. :-))

Parenthetical note - it is not solely the responsibility of the currently
singing BNF to see to it that everybody else gets a turn.  It is the
responsibility of the entire sing.  So watch that quiet person next to your
elbow - they may just be too shy to join in without encouragement.
 

--- msged 2.06
From: Bruce.Tomlin@f555.n387.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Rainbow variations
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 07 Nov 92  09:18:00

 > From: rafe@cix.compulink.co.uk (Rafe Culpin)
 > The second line, with slightly forced scansion, also goes:
 >        Purple and octarine, orange and blue

The Terry Pratchett discworld version?  :)

---
From: Joe.Bethancourt@f72.n114.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: copyright questions,
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 04 Nov 92  14:40:00

 -=> Dave Aronson said to Kim Dyer on 11-02-92  16:53 <=-

 DA> 21329KAD@MSU (Kim Dyer) writes:

 KD> I seem to recall reading a story about one of the founders of MAD
 KD> magazine printed shortly after his death.  (I *think* it was
 KD> Sergio Agronnes ... but I don't honestly remember.)

 DA> FAIK, SA is alive and well and drawing "Groo the Wanderer".

And still the next best thing to Wonder Warthog!

(It was Wm. Gaines, for those who so soon forget....)


... Brady Bill? "A right DELAYED is a right DENIED."  -Martin Luther King


--- WM v2.04/92-0475
From: Uucp@ofa123.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Reality Checks
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 11 Nov 92  06:38:30

From  ucivax!heifetz.msen.com!dgsi!puck!markb
From: markb@puck (Mark Bernstein)
To:   filk@ofa123.fidonet.org
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 08:31:56 EST

Lola McCrary (lola@lucid.com) wrote:
: 
: I'd like to do a few reality checks here.

Hmmm.  I understand what you're saying, and agree with a fair amount of it.
I do have a few minor disagreements, though.

: Many people who go to filks go to see/hear/perform with talented
: performers and writers.  Otherwise there would not be "guests of honor" who 
are
: used precisely to draw people to a filk.  

That's certainly a factor, but I don't think it's the only one.  In my view,
a good part of the reason for having a Guest of Honor is to do exactly what
the name implies, and *honor* someone, and not necessarily for their talent
alone.  The last couple of OVFFs have had Listener GoHs.  I doubt many
attended on the basis of who held that slot, but honoring the support and
participation of the more active non-performers strikes me as a Good Thing.

: I'd really like to see how many
: people would pay money to go to a filk that was advertised as "a weekend to 
get
: together with as of yet unnamed people to perform and/or listen."  

More than you think, I'd bet.  Most of the filkers I know go to cons to hear
and be heard by *everyone*, not just the guest.

: So, from my experience, the idea that BNF are filk hogs is a myth.

Agreed.
: 
: Second point.  In some people's minds, there seems to be an unspoken rule
that
: the BNF who graciously accepts an invitation to be guest at a con must, as
part
: of their duties, listen to and applaud the efforts of the untalented or
: clueless.  Say what?  

Here I disagree.  If I'm just attending a con, at my expense, my time is my
own.  If the con is paying my way as GoH (which happened for the first time
at this year's Consonance), I personally feel an obligation to do as much as
I can to make that con a success.  That includes spending more time at the
filks than I usually do.  Other people's mileage may vary.

: 
: Lola
: 

Mark Bernstein
markb@cimage.com


--- Squish v1.01
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
From: figmo@netcom.com (Lynn Gold)
Subject: BNFs vs "Filk Elitists"
Organization: The Burn the Candle at Both Ends Club
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 02:52:39 GMT

Yes, there's a star system evolving in filking.  There are a few BNFs
who consistently get concert slots while non-BNF filkers with more
talent are ignored.  I saw the ultimate in filk elitism at one con
where the one-shots, aka the only time non-BNF filkers have a chance
to be seen and heard with recording equipment going (and make the
transition to BNF), were scheduled opposite a concert by the GOH (I
won't name names, but those of us who did one-shots at that con were
rather upset and know which one it was).  On the other hand, the
ultimate in non-filk-elitism I've seen was at year's OVFF, where they
continued the one-shots past the first 15 people on the list and
pretty much everyone stayed to hear the remaining performers on the
list.

In the realm of filking, I've seen both BNFs and filk elitists.

The difference?

BNFs are people who are well-known within the filk community.  They
sometimes have hordes of groupies hanging around them.  SOME BNFs can
barely carry a tune; instead, they're known for their writing or
playing.  Some can barely carry a tune but are BNFs because they've
put out a tape or two.

Some well-known filkers are filk elitists; most are not.  By "filk
elitists," I mean those people who will only hang out with the "creme
de la creme" of filking and stick their noses up to lesser-known
filkers.

BNFs, on the other hand, are unafraid to encourage people other than
themselves to sing, and will often encourage non-BNF filkers to do so.
BNF filkers are people like Leslie Fish, Bob Kanefsky, Kathy Mar,
Cindy McQuillin and Jane Robinson, and Colleen and Steve Savitzky.
There are many others I haven't named; I just picked a few bay
area-based (and former bay-area based) examples.  You won't see any of
them turning up their noses at lesser-known or lesser-accomplished
performers.

It isn't just me who's observed this, either.  I've been to quite a
few cons in the last year where the topic has come up; rarely will
anyone ever name the Filk Elitists, but anyone who's ever been snubbed
or seen someone get snubbed knows who they are.

--Lynn
From: Uucp@ofa123.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: "Outside" vs "Inside"
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992
Date: 11 Nov 92  06:39:01

From  ucivax!heifetz.msen.com!dgsi!puck!markb
From: markb@puck (Mark Bernstein)
To:   filk@ofa123.fidonet.org
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 08:33:02 EST


Deborah.Weiss@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org wrote:
: I agree with what you & Clyf both say.  However, there is also another facet
: to this issue, that of feeling of being on the "outside" & wanting to joi
the 
: folks on the "inside," Whether or not the impression is true/valid. 

An important point.  Pardon the psychobabble, but everyone likes to feel
like they belong.  I've had that feeling myself--I think most filkers do,
when they first get involved and want to get more involved.

It's also a difficult point.  I do try to encourage newcomers.  I try to stay
aware of the dynamics of the sing, and on occasion will, if I notice someone
who's obviously been trying to break in, say something to help them.  What I
don't do is help the same person repeatedly.  My own view (and I emphasize 
that this is my own, personal take, not necessarily shared by anyone else)
is that there comes a time when you have to take responsibility for yourself,
and get up the nerve to break in on your own power, no matter how pushy you
have to be.  (I'm working under the assumption here that what you want to
get "inside" of is the social/performance group that naturally forms among
the regular performers.  You're already "inside" the larger group of filkfen
in general, which includes everyone who attends the filks.  If I've 
misconstrued your intent, please let me know.)

So how do you end up "inside"?   Two ways I can think of.  First, of course,
is by performing.  Keep at it, and you'll get noticed.  The second, if your
intent is primarily social, is to talk to the people you want to get to know.
Got a question about guitar technique, or the source of a particular song, or
the availability of a tape?  Got a comment on a song, or a parody you wrote
but don't want to perform?  Find the person when they're not busy, and talk
to them, same as you would with anyone with whom you'd like to strike up a
friendship.

:  The small, private sings do indicate a great degree of friendship 
: & camaderie, often at a level quite enviable to others not so included. 
:  
Keep in mind that most of those friendships took *years* to develop to their
current levels, and often include a level of communication that extends well
outside of cons and filksings.  Sometimes, you have to be a little patient.
Be cool, be patient, and it'll come.

Mark Bernstein
markb@cimage.com


--- Squish v1.01
From: hjfeld@acs.bu.edu (harold feld)
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Filk hogs, fact or fiction
Date: 8 Nov 92 23:08:42 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <n0ddbt@ofa123.fidonet.org> Kay.Shapero@f524.n102.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>On <Nov 04 07:01>,hjfeld@acs.bu.edu (harold feld) wrote to all:

 hf>more than welcome from my point of view.  Side note,
 hf>I am a big fan of poetic/filk debate.  Leslie and I have had
 hf>a debate for the last 2 years over *Break The Law* (Garnet 
 hf>Rogers?)
 hf>Which I think just got resolved with my latest effort at 
 hf>Magicon. (We reached a point of agreemnent)  Also, those from the
 hf>Rialto will remember my standing poetic debate challenge.)

>Hmm... sorry I missed THAT.  Sounds vastly entertaining.

Words available on request.  If there's enough interest I'll post
it.
 
 hf>Julia's fault? No. But, by the same token, if it had been Leslie,
 hf>she would have pointed to me and said:'You got something?'
 hf>(Of course, Leslie has an ulterior motive, she wants to smoke
 hf>a cigarette. :-))

>Parenthetical note - it is not solely the responsibility of the currently
>singing BNF to see to it that everybody else gets a turn.  It is the
>responsibility of the entire sing.  So watch that quiet person next to your
>elbow - they may just be too shy to join in without encouragement.
 

>--- msged 2.06

I know.  I try, at least when I'm in the circle, to point out
other people who are waiting (although I'll confess to failing
at this goal on too many occassions).  This is one of the big
problems with East Coast Chaos, people who don't leap in and
trample down the hordrdes get shunted to the side. (Just ask
Kanef about Concertino.)  To my shame, I find that I will
frequently succumb to the urge to go: I'm at least going to
get MINE in dammit!   I wonder if there is a solution to the
problem of filk-domination at chaos filks.

Harold
From: William.Hughes@f255.n387.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.music.filk
Subject: Re: Hosing down the fridge
Date: 5 Nov 92 05:18:00 GMT
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov  5 1992

KS> RJ>  "Something Lingers In the Fridge....."
KS>Hey, don't stop there - let's hear the REST of it.
KS>(Yeah - I thought of it too and never got past the first line.  Though
  >my 6 1/2 year old Vicky, who had been watching "Dinosaurs" overheard me
  >sing that and turned it into: "Something lingers in the fridge;
  >something feeds the baby sugar, Baby flies around the room...")

Remember the episode "When Food Goes Bad"? Seems there's a filk in there
just screaming to get out...


 * SLMR 2.1a * St. Dismas' Infirmary for the Incurably Informed

--- MsgToss 2.0b (r)