First Filk Friday: Coming soon!

I love filk music. Those of you who've been reading pretty much since I started this in October have already picked up this tidbit about me. For those who haven't heard me gush yet about filk or know what the heck I'm talking about, essentially, filk is the music version of spec fic, plus a bit. I got sucked into it during college thanks to one of my roomies and her friends.

There are songs from the cultures in spec fic stories (songs that characters would hear and/or sing), such as "Sun and Shadow" from Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. There are songs about the events of spec fic stories, such as "The Captive" from the Freedom, Flight, and Fantasy CD. There are the stand-alones, not from any particular story, such as a couple alternate versions of "Grandfather's Clock." One is a sort of "what really happened when the old man died," and the other is a Doctor Who spoof. I can't forget the ones on science themes, such as "Cosmos" in an SF version of "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea," and science related current events, such as a tribute to the Challenger disaster entitled "Pillar of Hell."

And that doesn't cover everything.

I suggest you head over to Filk.com for more about this fabulous subset of music. From there you can listen to filk on Live365, read about filksings, and browse the database of submitted lyrics. (Check out the ones on "Schroedinger the Cat" and "The Chivalry Went For Pizza" I just found.) Even though you'll find some that are not prime examples of good song-writing, you're sure to find something to amuse.

Borrowing an idea from fellow bloggers Lydia and Joe Sharp and their Tuesday Tunes, I'm going to pick a day to share more about this musical category: Filk Fridays--starting next week. There won't always be music, but I will try to have something neat to share about filk. Come hang out and bring your friends. The dragons will roast hotdogs and marshmallows for everyone. All you need to bring is your beverage of choice.