Re: Thoughts from a Newbie: My .02 on Quarong's $4

replyOn Wed, 29 May 1996, c4winds at teleport.com (Clan of the Four Winds) wrote:
> had obviously been around a while, I had no idea who they were. And it
> would be higly embarassing (for me at least)to sing a song by "Joe Filker"
> and then have Joe come up to me later and say "nice job on my song" (or
> coversely, "You mangled my song!) I tend to think that a song should be
> sung by the person who pened it, if they are around.

Hmmm. I must say, having written a few filks myself, that I'm so absolutely positively thrilled that someone's gone to the trouble of actually *learning* one of my songs, I don't care if they sing it in the key of R Flat Minor Diminished with a Dominant 9! At least they're singing it!  :-)

Other people's opinions on this one?

> Also it'd be nice to
> know what's "OK" to sing. A newbie could sing a nice rendition of BFA and
> not know *why* people were giving them nasty looks, or groaning, or
> whatever, for *them* it may be a good filker in joke, for the persong
> singing it could be devistating.

Hmmm. I'd have to argue, here, that it's not "not OK" to sing BFA--as long as you're willing to deal with the pro forma groans and "nasty looks"--there really are a fair number of filkers (particularly neofilkers, who we're theoretically trying to attract) who really enjoy the song; and I opine that even many veterans, if really pressed, will admit that while they may have heard it a few too many times already, maybe one more might be kinda fun...:-)

Or, in other words, the only reason I see for a neofilker to know which songs are "OK" is so that they won't be taken aback by the complaints, not because the complaints should always be listened to.

> It could help avoid something I almost did
> too. Most of the songs I know well were written by Merecedes Lackey, and at
> the time I'd never heard about the Great Conflict. I still don't know what
> really happened, but it makes me very squeamish to sing them anywhere,
> filks or otherwise. But if I haddn't been so shy, I would have sung several
> at OryCon and never known what I did wrong

replyUm...not to express irremediable ignorance or anything, but what is this "Great Conflict", and how could it possibly be wrong to sing a Mercedes Lackey song? For that matter, how can it be "wrong" to sing *any* song?

Maybe I'm missing something here...

Take care,

Mickey. Received on 05/30/96