filk

The Annotated “Playback”

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sci-fantasy:

Tomorrow, Friday October 20, begins OVFF 33, the annual Ohio Valley Filk Fest, the biggest filk convention (certainly in stature; probably in people too?).

I am thus pleased to announce that after months of on-again-off-again work, and the assistance of several friends including @animatedamerican​ and @jchance4d4​, I have finished the project envisioned here, and annotated all of the references in Andrew Ross’s “Playback.”

(Well, as much as I could. One or two were not identifiable fully.)

A lot of people commented approving of this idea when @seananmcguire​ reblogged this, so I hope you see the fruits of our labor.

 

Song above the cut; references below.

“Playback”
to the tune of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
filk lyrics by Andrew Ross

Mary Shelley, HG Wells, people meeting at hotels
Rudyard Kipling, people singing ditties at the bar
Gilbert, Sullivan, rounds of Young Man Mulligan
Poul and Karen Anderson, songs in Key of R

Martha Keller, Tolkein, songs of worlds as yet unseen
TH White’s Arthurians, Frederick Pohl’s Futurians
Tom Lehrer, Mondegreens, Slan Shacks, fanzines
Music circles, Reprints, Jacobs has a misprint!

We shouted “MacIntyre!”
It’s our cry of battle for the Old Dun Cattle
We shouted “MacIntyre!”
And we haven’t parted since the circle started

Amazing Stories Annuals, Pelz’s Filksong Manuals
Dr. Demento tunes, Callahan’s Crosstime Saloons
Hope Eyrie, Leslie Fish, bounced potatoes off the dish
Robert Aspirin, Gwen Zak, Dawson’s Christian, Captain Jack

Off Centaur, Teri Lee, making love in zero-G
Filthy Pierre, Longcor, black market Tullamore
Juanita Coulson, Red Lions, badges marked with Dandelions
Dorsai have a Fan Club! Jello in the bathtub!

Don’t set the cat on fire
It will only fight it if you try to light it
Don’t set the cat on fire
And we haven’t parted since the circle started

Peter Beagle, Consonance, chili cursed with sentience
HOPSFA, NESFA, ConChord, and the Pegasus Award
PFNEN, Ose, Amway, Talk Like a Pirate Day
Dandelion Digitals, Julia Ecklar and the gulls

Bob Laurent, Asimov, Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff
Rocky Horror Muppet Shows, Frank Hayes feeling indisposed
Bill Sutton DIY, Marischiello goodbye
Challenger! Final tour! What else must we all endure?

We saw the sky on fire
While the world was staring, we were Jordin Karing
We saw the sky on fire
And we haven’t parted since the circle started

Kathy Mar, Next Gen, Tullamore is back again
Steve Macdonald, Elfquest, Interfilk funds a guest
Tom Smith, 307 Ale, Lee Gold, Heather Dale
Phoenyx, Keepers of the Flame, Filkontario’s Hall of Fame

Echo’s Children, Bab-5, need a fool to feed the drive
Hamlet done by John Woo, Marilisa Valtazanou
GaFilk, Urban Tapestry, lives rich in fantasy
Airwalls down at Orycon! Firebells at Baycon!

We didn’t start a fire
We were all but deafened, and began Kanefin’
We didn’t start a fire
And we haven’t parted since the circle started

Blake Hodgetts, Proteins, Vixy, Tony, Thirteen
Stone Dragons, Moxie, Zander, Heather into Alexander
Bill and Gretchen, dead mouse, alligators in the house
ConFlikt, Judi Filksign, Tragedy at East Hill Mine

Mary Crowell, Faerieworlds, brony boys and Wicked Girls
Britain’s Talis Kimberly, Seanan’s Kellis-Amberlee
Doubleclicks! Browncoats! Cats! FuMP! Toy Boat!
Release the Cello! Sasquon! Thor! Pass another Tullamore!

We didn’t start the choir
It’s been so cathartic for the longest bardic
We didn’t start the choir
But when our turns have gone, it will still go on and on until the dawn…

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Rebellion Song – Araxie Haldane & Nana Graye

by

scribefindegil:

I continue my quest to give @astriiformes‘ filk Rebellion Song the performance it deserves! Many thanks to @howtotrainyournana for singing it with me 🙂

Original song “Somebody Will” by Ada Palmer/Sassafras. Star Wars lyrics by astriiformes.

Superheroes Are People Too – The PDX Broadsides

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Superheroes are people, too
Give those guys the same respect they give to me and you
Let them have some privacy when the day is through
Because superheroes are people, too

Wonder Woman can shower on her own
Stop asking Catwoman if she will “crack your whip”
Zatanna can wear pants if she wants to
A telephoto lens is not a relationship… Peter Parker 

“Superheroes Are People, Too,” an important PSA from the PDX Broadsides.

Lyrics available on Bandcamp.

Dead Susan – Talis Kimberley

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“Dead Susan,” a deliciously creepy song by Talis Kimberley.

Talis posted it on Halloween a few years back with the following explanation:

Quite one of the nastiest songs I’ve ever written… for those of you who enjoy such things, and especially this day when the veil is thinned between the worlds.

The writer of the vintage postcard I bought at an antique shop many years ago really should have checked her handwriting. I expect she meant ‘Dear Susan’ at the start of her message… let’s hope so.

That’s not what it looked like to me, however.

Available for download on bandcamp.

Yehudi Mind Tricks – Benjamin Newman

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I was raised in a desert country
Where the sun burns double and it seldom rains,
So we drew our water from the meager trickle
In the narrow places that became our chains.

Then a cry for rescue was heard in the wasteland,
In the plain disguise of a restless stray,
And this revelation at the edge of freedom:
You have to lose your bearings to find your way.

“Yehudi Mind Tricks” by Benjamin Newman, a gorgeous Jewish interpretation of Luke’s narrative in Star Wars.

Chords, lyrics, and mp3 are all available on Ben Newman’s website.

Tiberius Rising – Ookla the Mok

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Jimmy always was a restless boy
You could see it in his eyes
There was something wrong when I watched my son
When Jimmy watched the skies
And very often on an Iowa night
I’d see him standing in the yard
I can’t describe how I loved that boy
But Jimmy loved the stars

“Tiberius Rising” by Ookla the Mok. It had to have been rough being Jim Kirk’s mother.

Lyrics available here.

Banshee – Cheshire Moon

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The only thing certain in each life is death
As sure as each heartbeat and every last breath
The cry of the Banshee each soul must heed
But who in this world calls for me?
Yes, who in this world calls for me?

“Banshee” by Cheshire Moon. I didn’t realize until I listened to this how much I needed Love Songs About Death Omens in my life.

Lyrics and chords available here.