What, me a panelist?

[vakkotaur]

A week or two ago I got a call from jugularjaguar. I guess he's desperate for panels and panelists for RCFM since he asked me if I'd be willing to be on a filk panel. Perhaps I should not have, but I agreed. It's not as if I write* or perform such tunes. I just prefer parodies of many tunes over the original tunes. I will not be offended if such a panel is dropped entirely, or if I am dropped from such a panel. However, neither am I actively seeking to escape it. I said I'd do it, and so I will. I did warn jugularjaguar that I might not do it very well.

My awareness of fondness for song parodies comes from Spike Jones and various things heard on the Dr. Demento show when I could hear it. That included Tom Lehrer and Weird Al Yankovic. There was also the political satire of Mark Russell and later the Capitol Steps. Most parody tunes are more interesting to me than the songs they started from. Sometimes good tunes are given a slight boost and sometimes rather ho-hum tunes are given an overhaul. Some tunes get outright mocked: Achy Breaky Heart has a few parodies, almost any of which are a vast improvement over the original. Or at least I think so.

And now the silly spotty cat goes and commits one himself. I've already suggested to him that perhaps he should be on the panel, to lend it a bit more credibility.

---

* At times I have tried to write song parodies, but have seldom gotten very far. This can be attributed to either a lack of persistence or to having the good sense to know when to stop pursuing a flawed idea.

Comments

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

This can be attributed to either a lack of persistence or to having the good sense to know when to stop pursuing a flawed idea.

More likely the former, I would guess. Just imagine if the Monty Python folks had had such "good sense to know when to stop pursuing a flawed idea" - they might have had a few good sketches, but they wouldn't have had a series' worth of material and thus we would probably not have been exposed to it on this side of the pond.

I have committed a few parodies in my time, such as "Nights in White Spandex" and the Ren "Free Bird". I mostly tend to think of parodies as a rather perverse form of homage rather than a boost to ho-hum tunes. But then I usually only parody tunes I like. The ones I dislike I can't stand to hear as much as I do already and thus do not want to encourage them.

Note that I do not, EVER, make the mistake of confusing "parody" with "filk". They are two completely different concepts.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

There are some things that just don't scan and so don't work. I have a few ideas (such as my "Under the Drainpipes" twist on "Over the Rainbow") that have a good start, but have never really finished. It's not so much abandoned as left on the back burner to simmer.

I'm still not sure I really have the difference down between filk and parody to my satisfaction. Even with the Jargon File definition linked to. Care to expound upon the difference(s)? I could use the information.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

Hm. Just pondering Nights in White Spandex...interesting idea.

Okkay, how would you differentiate between parody and filk? Do you agree with the Jargon File definition of the latter?

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

It's an OK definition as far as it goes.

Rant mode ON:
I tend to think of the difference as more of an attitude; mainly, that many filkers tend to delude themselves that everyone is absolutely fascinated by every utterance they issue forth, whereas most other people participating in a filk are just patiently (in some cases) waiting so they can do their bit. They're not really listening to anybody else. Of course, there are exceptions; these are what makes the whole thing tolerable. I'm just not that crazy about hearing a take-off of a song I never heard of with new lyrics dealing with the lives of characters in a novel I never heard of and wouldn't care to read if I had. Did I mention I don't like fantasy lit?

Rant mode OFF.

[foolscap001.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with the Jargon File. There's a lot of original filk—original both in tune and lyrics. Also, it seems that what makes parody parody is not just its use of an existing tune or a particular style, but its intent, i.e. comic effect. New lyrics have been set to old tunes for a long time (a bunch of the Cantigas de Santa Maria were set to folk tunes, and for that matter, some of the Psalms start with a little comment about performance, e.g. Psalm 5: "To the conductor, on nehiloth, a song of David." I'm not sure if that's intended to mean "to the tune of 'Nehiloth'," but that's the way I'd bet) without comic intent, and thus aren't parody.

"Nights in White Spandex"

[chakawolf.livejournal.com]

OMG!
You think we could have a sneak-preview of that one?

Re: "Nights in White Spandex"

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

In a word, no. In two words, no no.

Re: "Nights in White Spandex"

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

Aw, pleeeeeeeze?

Nights in White Spandex

[jugularjaguar.livejournal.com]

I would love to hear the musical version of that. That would fit in at many of our cons

[chakawolf.livejournal.com]

You'll do fine. Heck, the difference between 'filk' and 'parody' could take up half an hour!

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Too bad I don't know for sure what that is!

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

To me, the intent of parody is always to be humorous. The intent of filk is not always so.

Humor vs. Humor

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Is there any distinction between a tune that actively makes fun of the tune it uses and one that is just amusing?

For example, Itchy Twitchy Spot is certainly mocking Achy Breaky Heart but the Capitol Steps tune K-K-Kuwaitis, is not mocking the WWI tune K-K-Katie.

Re: Humor vs. Humor

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

I would not make any such distinction, and I would call neither of these parodies "filk". As long as the intent is humorous.

Parody and filk are by no means mutually exclusive, but there are lots of parodies that are not filk (such as "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah") and vice versa (most Leslie Fish songs)

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Hrm, to use a tune that is perhaps not intentionally funny, would Leonard Nimoy's (infamous) Ballad of Bilbo Baggins be considered in the realm of filk?

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

In my definition, yes.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Does a filk song have to sound like a folk song?

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

No. The Great LukeSki is a well-known filk rapper, and Ookla the Mok have been filk-rocking for years.

[chakawolf.livejournal.com]

In my mind, a parody makes light of the original songwriter's intent. If someone writes a song about how wonderful the sunlight is, then a parody might be about how fantastic darkness is. A filk would more likely use only the tune, or maybe the basic theme to tell about another subject entirely: like how wonderful furry cons are.

Wow you are really into this subject

[jugularjaguar.livejournal.com]

Hey there Vakko I think I found someone else to be on the panel with you. LOL.