You never knew you loved... A filking good time
There was a time when folk music was the sound of a movement. An entire generation gathered around folk anthems protesting social and cultural injustices. While still produced, it is no longer in the forefront of popular music, and is host to its own subdivisions of mainstream folk and niche sub-genres.
One such sub-genre is filk. The name is the product of a typo that was slowly but loyally adopted by a group of folk musicians with a sci-fi bent. While folk singers from the sixties focused on the harsh reality of the world around them, modern filk singers base their lyrics on fictional worlds where science fiction and fantasy are as real as any government body, and potentially more comprehensible.
The genre dates back to the middle of the 20th century, originating with small acoustic groups gathering primarily in hotel rooms at conventions. Its popularity grew the most in the 1970s, and has continued as science fiction and fantasy have become increasingly accepted by the mainstream.
These days the definition of filk is very loose, and ranges from solo musicians playing traditional acoustic folk to full bands in pop-rock style. Subject matter also varies. While still framed around the original core, lyrics have since expanded to include computers, technology, and even politics.
As a niche genre, filk has created its own mark of quality in the Pegasus Awards, presented annually at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest. Nominations and voting are open to anyone who enjoys filk music, and are spread across four core categories, as well as two others that change on an annual basis.
While it may have grown out of a grass-roots genre, filk is, almost by definition, fully immersed in modern technology, with tracks widely available through various online forums.
H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society - Music is only a small part of this group's repertoire, which also includes film, theater, radio, and prop comedy, all largely framed around the fictional world created by early 20th century author H. P. Lovecraft. Their Christmas album, 2003's A Very Scary Solstice, features parodies of numerous classics, including I Saw Mommy Kissing Yog-Sothoth.
One such sub-genre is filk. The name is the product of a typo that was slowly but loyally adopted by a group of folk musicians with a sci-fi bent. While folk singers from the sixties focused on the harsh reality of the world around them, modern filk singers base their lyrics on fictional worlds where science fiction and fantasy are as real as any government body, and potentially more comprehensible.
The genre dates back to the middle of the 20th century, originating with small acoustic groups gathering primarily in hotel rooms at conventions. Its popularity grew the most in the 1970s, and has continued as science fiction and fantasy have become increasingly accepted by the mainstream.
These days the definition of filk is very loose, and ranges from solo musicians playing traditional acoustic folk to full bands in pop-rock style. Subject matter also varies. While still framed around the original core, lyrics have since expanded to include computers, technology, and even politics.
As a niche genre, filk has created its own mark of quality in the Pegasus Awards, presented annually at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest. Nominations and voting are open to anyone who enjoys filk music, and are spread across four core categories, as well as two others that change on an annual basis.
While it may have grown out of a grass-roots genre, filk is, almost by definition, fully immersed in modern technology, with tracks widely available through various online forums.
H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society - Music is only a small part of this group's repertoire, which also includes film, theater, radio, and prop comedy, all largely framed around the fictional world created by early 20th century author H. P. Lovecraft. Their Christmas album, 2003's A Very Scary Solstice, features parodies of numerous classics, including I Saw Mommy Kissing Yog-Sothoth.
Tom Smith - With such notable distinctions as an appearance on the Dr. Demento Show and 13 Pegasus Awards, Tom Smith combines science fiction and pop culture with politics and even recipes. He takes on computer culture in Blue Screen of Death from the 2003 album Tom 1.0: And So It Begins.
