Filk Friday: Steam Powered Giraffe

One of my friends tripped me onto this really fun video last week, and since I promised some more steampunk, here you go. Steam Powered Giraffe performs their song Brass Goggles. But after you go la da da along with the bouncing pug head, you might also want to check out the website of this musical pantomime group. They've recently released their second album which you buy either off the website or from iTunes. Personally, I think with this group, I want the actual CD with the extra goodies. And the DVD. These guys can not only sing; they can perform. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of them had broken out in a soft-shoe-shuffle. My feet were certainly tapping along.

Enjoy!

Filk Friday: Twelve Days of Star Wars

Tom Smith is one of my favorite filkers. Here's Twelve Days of Star Wars performed at World Steam Expo last year. I wish I could have gone. Dearborn, MI is really close to where several of my relatives live. That would have made a great combo trip. Enjoy!

Filk Friday: Carmen Miranda's Ghost

In honor of my newest follower (welcome, David), I was going to post a zombie filk today, but I can't find one on Youtube and the one I've played around with for my zombie story isn't finished yet. So instead, I'm going with a ghost song. How many of you remember the tv clips with Carmen Miranda and her huge hat of fruit? Leslie Fish played on that and brought Carmen Miranda into space as a ghost. This is one spectral visitor I'd be glad to have around. How about you?

Carmen Miranda's Ghost

Filk Friday: The Truth About Ninjas

SJ Tucker is a hoot. One of my friends had sent me a link a while back to her video "Playing D&D," and I loved it. (featured on a previous Filk Friday) This one is a live performance rather than a music video format, but her energy and charm is just as strong. Here's her song "The Truth About Ninjas." Enjoy!

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2011

Arrrr!!! Didja all have a grrrrreat day of talkin' pirate? (Myself, I was a little busy with orientation at my new job. Not much room for pirate when listening to videos and explanations.) To wrap up the day, here is Tom Smith's Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hope you all had a blast with your piratittude. Yo ho!

Filk Friday: I'm a Pirate

Avast! Monday be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Just getting me voice warmed up for good 'ol pirate speak. Make sure that on Sunday night you skip the ZZZZs and get plenty of ARRRRs instead.

To help you landlubbers get ready for a day 'o pirate fun, here's Cap'n Slappy, 'Ol Chumbucket, and lil Chumpail singing an original ditty by Cap'n Slappy hisself: I'm a Pirate.



And for a bonus, here be George Harrison sneaking his own pirate song onto Eric Idle's show back in 1975. Never knew he had it in him. Yo ho ho!

Filk Friday: Dark and Stormy Night

This is one of my (many) favorite songs from the Valdemar collection. Dark and Stormy Night refers to a bit of backstory that happened during the time of Tarma and Kethry, though they hadn't been a part of it. It's first referred to in Arrows of the Queen when Dirk sings the song. Then at the end of Oathbreakers, it's brought up again as something that had actually happened fairly recently before the song had been written. (Oathbreakers was written after Arrows, but chronologically it happens before.)

Some of the Valdemar songs are ones that characters actually know in the stories, while others are simply from their point of view about things going on. Heralds, Harpers, and Havoc has some of both, and it's just one of several CDs. I got sucked into the music at the same time as the books thanks to a couple friends. Been a fan ever since. Hope you enjoy the song even if you have no interest in the rest. You certainly don't need the books to appreciate it except to know that the Heralds mentioned in the song act on behalf of the Crown as messengers and peacekeepers, among other duties.

Filk Friday: Creative use of self parody

Carla Ulbrich knows how to apply humor to her own embarrassing incidents and health issues. I like her unique voice and would love to meet her in person. This video clip was a recording she made just a few days ago as part of an interview with Michael Stock. She tells about an embarrassing fall she made when she was recovering from kidney failure and stroke. (She even made a whole CD entitled Sick Humor, humorous songs about medical procedures, after being in the hospital.) Then she shared about how she lost weight during the recovery to the point where she'd lost too much. It had inspired her to write "What If Your Butt Was Gone?" Not only is it entertaining, but it's a parody of one of her own songs.

Some of my favorite songs include "If I Had the Copyright" (the F Words Song), "Sittin' In the Waiting Room," "Therapy Works," "Duet With a Klingon," and "How Old Are You." Hope you enjoy the video. If you do, you may want to check out her website: The Singing Patient. She is a spunky woman as well as a remarkable singer. What an inspiration.

Filk Friday: Cat Macros

I'm in the mood for something silly, so here is Tom Smith's Cat Macros. If this video ever comes down, I will be very sad, because the pics perfectly fit the lyrics. I'm sure some of them were the ones that inspired the words. Hope you have fun watching this. Cat Macros and other Tom Smith songs are available on iTunes.



I'm still lousy on my overall writing goals, but today was fabulous: a thousand words, and I'm going to go back and knock out some more. I'm closing in on finishing the first draft of a short story I've had sitting around. The beginning needs to be totally redone, and I have a couple gaps to fill in, but this might be the first piece I get to type The End on.

Filk Friday: The Doctor And I

After a little poking around this morning, I found this gem. Yes, it is really John Barrowman singing The Doctor And I, a parody of "The Wizard And I" from Wicked. Jack Harkness is a great character. According to a comment, Barrowman knew the composer of the original song and got permission to change the lyrics. I wish I could get it on iTunes, but from what I understand it was a special release on iTunes UK a year or so ago. I don't know if it's still available.

And now I'm wishing again that the new Torchwood episodes weren't on STARS. Sigh.

Filk Friday: Roll a D6

I can't believe I almost forgot to do my Friday post again. Well, since gaming is on my mind, here's a parody on "Like a G6" called Roll a D6. For those of you less familiar, a d6 is a six-sided die used in many roleplaying games. D&D usually uses several different dice: the d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and the d20. Sometimes you have to roll a d3, but for that we usually use d6 (1-2, 3-4, 5-6 for 1, 2, 3).

Now my gaming group doesn't this deep into our roles, but technically we do play in the basement at our friends' house. Both the husband and wife play, so I'm not the only gal there. But the guys are all pretty cool. My husband is our Gamemaster, and he comes up with some tough challenges of various kinds, a nice balance between hack-n-slash and roleplaying. It's the sort of balance that makes for great retelling later.

Ah the stories I could tell from various campaigns I've been in... But I digress. Enjoy this catchy bit of gamer filk, grab some friends, and roll a d6!

Filk Friday: Playing D&D

I've been playing D&D for almost 12 years, one of the good things I discovered while in college. I learned to respond quicker to situations, think in alternative ways--thereby improving my outlook on problems, and build a stronger self-confidence. It also led me to larping and from there to my hubby. So between that, the many hours of fun I've had with tabletop and live action games, and the inspiration that got me writing creatively again, D&D is pretty special.

This week, one of my friends linked a video on FB. The singer is the lovely SJ Tucker, who as it turns out, is a friend of a friend of one of my other friends who is not connected to the one who shared the video with me in the first place. Funny how that works sometimes.

So here is "Playing D&D," produced by Dead Gentlemen Productions. You can download this song for free from SJ Tucker's album "Mischief" at http://www.strowlers.biz/ according to the Youtube description.

Filk Friday: Fairies Stole My Keys

I'm sure we've all had those days where something we need has come up missing. We might wonder if  a bit of mischief has waylaid our belongings. In this playful song, fairies are the ones responsible for the missing object. Fairies Stole My Keys has a bouncy beat and light hearted lyrics, which makes it fun to sing. I hope you enjoy this song from Emerald Rose as much as I do. You can find it on iTunes if you want your own copy.

Filk Friday: The Duke's Eldest Daughter

I'm sure we've all heard quite a few stories where mortal-immortal relationships turn out badly. The Duke's Eldest Daughter has a different ending. Poor Jane was considered unremarkable by her own people but treasured by the elf folk. This song can be found on Freedom, Flight, and Fantasy at Firebird Arts.




I will be on vacation next week. I get to spend some time with my sister-in-law, at least one friend, and my mom. A bunch to pack into one week, especially when they aren't all in the same city, so I won't be posting while I'm gone. I might sneak in some internet time to read a few of your posts, but otherwise I'll see you all when I get back.

Have a great week!

Filk Friday: filk from Parnell Hall

The next time I go to the library, I really need to remember to look for Parnell Hall's books. Authors who can write filk get a step up in my reading list, and the Puzzle Lady mysteries have sounded neat. Here I have two filk songs that he did: Signing in the Waldenbooks and Kill 'Em.

Signing in the Waldenbooks is about the woes of trying to get noticed once you get published, a humorous lament. The part where he's seated next to Mary Higgens Clark at a con is one of the best parts. Kill 'Em is a guide for writing murder mysteries. He has some great chains of rhyming.

Filk Friday: A Wizard's Staff Has a Knob on the End

This is supposed to be a filk for Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The words don't begin until a minute into the music. But it is catchy. A Wizard's Staff Has a Knob on the End starts off sounding like early Final Fantasy music, and when the words begin, it picks up a sort of Clancy Brothers feel. One of the top comments is, "Seen on a chalkboard in Hogwarts: "I will not teach first-years to sing 'A Wizard's Staff Has a Knob on the End'."



And as a bonus: here is Death's Job Interview from a production of Terry Pratchett's "Mort."

Filk Friday: Cost of the Crown

Filling several places in my favorites list, the Valdemar books feature many characters that I can honestly say I admire, even feel inspired by. Talia, Skif, Alberich, Dirk, Kerowyn, Elspeth (post-brat stage), Karal, Master Ulbrich...the list goes on. Cost of the Crown highlights Queen Selenay's inner thoughts. She's only a primary character in Exile's Honor and Exile's Valor, but she plays an active role in many books beginning with the Arrows trilogy.

For those of you who may be less familiar with Valdemaran politics, the Monarch of Valdemar must also be a Herald, Chosen by a Companion. They may look like horses, but Companions are incorruptible sentient beings with the ability to judge a person's heart. Ethics, duty to others, and compassion are among the traits they look for. Heralds serve the people by scouting, serving as arbiters as needed, fetching and delivering critical messages, and uncovering information needed to keep the kingdom safe. Just to name a few of their roles.

The law that the Monarch must be a Herald is a safeguard to ensure that their people would always have a leader who would care more about the people than the power of position. You might say it was divinely inspired. (Read the books; you'll understand.)

Queen Selenay took the crown as a young woman, barely in her twenties, after her father was killed in the final battle against the Tedrels. Though she'd been raised as the Heir-presumptive, then Heir-In-Right after she was Chosen, being queen was harder than she'd thought.

This song not only shows why I admire Selenay herself but also served as inspiration for one of my own characters: King Reynard. They have different personalities and problems facing them, and of course no Heralds or Companions in my story, but they share many of the same leadership traits and views toward their role to their people.

Shandeen O'Neill's phenomenal voice just makes this song even more achingly beautiful. You can find it on the Lovers, Lore, and Loss album, available at Firebird Arts.

Filk: Friday: Golden Eyes

Golden Eyes was inspired by Andre Norton's Witch World series. Later Mercedes Lackey turned the song into a short story called Werehunter. You can find the story in her anthology called Werehunter, along with some other wonderful stories, or you read it on firebirdsart.com, where it has been reprinted with permission from Baen Books.



I prefer this version over the one on The Horsetamer's Daughter. The melody is the same, but the arrangement on Magic, Moondust, and Melancholy captures the emotion better in my opinion. The guitar and flute balance well with the vocal and give the song a softer ambiance. I'd almost call it a quiet elegance, though that may be an odd description for a melancholic song.

Filk Friday: Ragged Man

I don't think I've shared much from Heather Alexander yet. Ragged Man vaguely reminds me of a story one of my fellow WD forumites had been working on a couple years ago. I wish I could remember who it was, so I could ask how the story was coming along. Even without the tugging on half remembered characters, this song has a pull all on its own. The delicate touch on the guitar enhances the yearning in her voice. I wonder how many different stories could be inspired by these lyrics.



Remember, today is the last day to put in an entry into my milestone drawing. Only five people have entered so far. It's easy peasie lemon squeezie, to borrow a term from a writer buddy. Go to Monday's post to enter. (*melodramatic whisper* $10 gift card, $10 gift card)

Filk Friday: High On Firefly

I've got a fun combination for you today. Tom Smith's High On Firefly song with animation from Last Exile, something that looks interesting on its own but also worked really well with the song. I can't help bringing up Tom Smith every so often. The man is a song genius. If you want to check out more of his work and upcoming appearances check out his homepage. Oo shiny! He's going to be in Cinci next month. Too bad I probably won't be able to go.

But back to the song. Catchy tune and witty lyrics make for fun singing. He even worked in a reference to J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5. Hehehe. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Do. Ah heck, I'm playing it yet again. (I love Firefly, I love Firefly, I love Firefly. Yah dah dat dat dat dat dat)