he precise definition of "filk" has been a subject of contention in
fandom for years -- nearly as hotly (and fruitlessly) debated as the exact dividing line between science fiction and fantasy. Suffice it to say that the word "filk" comes from a typo for "folk", the earliest filk consisted of song parodies inspired by science fiction, and the genre has developed over the years into an original artform, via a dedicated underground industry much like the one that produces fanzines.
Take Tom Smith Plugged, the Michigan-based filker's self-titled third album. For the first time, Smith's working with studio tracks, backup singers and MIDI tracks, instead of the usual stripped-down, man-meets-guitar live performances taped at SF conventions. This may explain the album's wider-than-usual range of musical styles -- from calypso on "Spam Spam Spam" (a sendup of junk e-mail, not the Monty Python skit) to rockabilly on "Bermuda Triangle" to a Tom-Lehrer-esque waltz on the incestuously in-jokey "Tom Smith Disease." There's even an uptempo version of "Superman Sex Life Boogie," a previously-released track based on Larry Niven's classic essay "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex."
The spiral-bound paperback Tom Smith's Big Book of Stupid Filk Tricks covers a similarly broad range of styles. Traditional
ballads, other filkers' tunes, Beach Boys songs, recent Disney themes -- even the Jeopardy ditty gets pressed into the service of Tom's pun-packed parodies on subjects from Babylon 5 to vampire Smurfs.
"Schtick and twisted," all right
Plugged is a mixed success -- it's highly ambitious for a filk album, but it also sounds overproduced and tinny, with the fluid grace of Smith's voice sounding either harsh or lost under the music and competing vocals. Still, the new songs are fun -- most notably "Rocket Ride," a fast-paced paean to old-fashioned SF and space opera. The song laments the state of SF today, decrying clichés, reminiscing about villains "with professional pride," and demanding "I want more than action and special effects / To think about what might happen next / A hero, not a weapon shot with pecs / And a heroine, not an excuse for sex."
Other highlights include the sweetly harmonic "Falling Free," based on the Lois McMaster Bujold novel of the same name, and "Psychic Voicemail Hotline," a dry, witty sampling off a 900 line manned by real psychics for a change. ("You can press option-1 if this is the first time you've called us / But that's not the case, so please press option-2.")
Stupid Filk Tricks is a similarly mixed bag -- Smith's
parodies are generally sly, goofy, and infectiously singable, but this is
still a lightweight collection compared to his more serious, complex,
original songs. It's easy to imagine a convention crowd having a blast
performing "Time Plot," a musical sneer at Star Trek
time-travel to the tune of Rocky Horror's "Time Warp." But it's unlikely any song in this book could edge out classics like "Starlight and Saxophone" or "Hellraiser" in the Smith lexicon.
