- About Filk – John C. Bunnell – Songs and an explanation of filk.
- Dandelion Conspiracy – Kathy Mar’s argument why filk will and should not disappear from SF fandom
- The Dandelion Report: A Filking Resource – Filk frequently asked questions and answers, in the form of a weblog, more or less maintained by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
- Darn Near All the Filk on the Web – Maureen O’Brien’s collection of links to on-line filk
- Das Sprungtor zum deutschen Filkfandom – German, Austrian, and Swiss filk links, organized by Kerstin Dröge. [German/English]
- Doctor Who and the Torians – An operetta by S. Bruce.
- Filk Primary Source List – Partial list of filk works and author-composers
- filk.co.uk – Rafe Culpin’s site about filk in the UK.
- Filker’s Bardic Ring – A web ring.
- Keris – Description of filk and links.
- Pirates of Fenzance – A light operetta about filking and WorldCon.
- Pocket Printed Filk Database – A database of printed filk music. MobileDB, JFile Pro, and text format.
- Sci-Fi Hokey Pokey – The classic Hokey Pokey rewritten for the science fiction community.
- SETI League Songbooks – Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence songbooks. Includes lyrics, book order forms, selected MP3s.
- Story as Song: Filking Children’s Literature – Article by Doug Crane in The Looking Glass. (October 2, 1998)
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom, active since the early 1950s if concentrated primarily since the mid-1970s.
As Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s compilation What Is Filk? and the Interfilk What Is Filk page each demonstrate, there is no consensual definition of filk, though one could divide the different proposed definitions by their focus on the content and style of filk music or the cultural aspects of filking as an activity.
One definition focuses on filk as a genre: filk is folk music, usually with a science fiction or fantasy theme. This definition is not exact; filkers often also write filk songs about computers or cats. The other common definition is anthropological (and recursive): Filking is what is sung/performed by the network of people who originally gathered to sing at science fiction/fantasy conventions. Yet another definition focuses on filking as a community of those interested in filk music and who form part of the social network self-identified with filking. As described later in this article, the origins of filk in science fiction conventions and its current organization emphasizes the social-network aspect of filking.
Whichever definition one chooses, filk is a form of music created from within science fiction & fantasy fandom, often performed late at night at science fiction conventions, though there are now dedicated filk conventions in Canada, England, Germany, and the USA. And whichever definition one chooses, the boundaries of filking are muddy. For example, filking overlaps with the singing and music performed by participants in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
In keeping with the folk-culture roots of filk, the musical styles and topics of filk music are eclectic. While a plurality of filk is rooted firmly in acoustic-instrument folk music, other pieces and artists draw inspiration from rock, a cappella vocal groups, or other styles. The hobbyist and itinerant nature of filk events (especially folk circles) gives some advantages to acoustic-vocal soloists and small groups, who need only carry a lightweight instrument or two and whose rehearsals do not need to balance scheduling logistics against regular work and other obligations. One of the few rock-style groups in filk has been Ookla the Mok, whose studio recordings use techniques common in modern rock.
The range of topics in filk songs stems from its cultural roots in fandom. Many songs honor specific works in science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction. Other songs are about science, fantasy, computers, technology in general, or values related to technological change. Yet others are about the culture of fandom, including filk. Some clusters of songs do not fall neatly from the origins of filk in fandom, however, including songs about cats or popular culture in general. These are perhaps best explained as an outgrowth of filk as a folk culture, open in some respects to expansion by individual artists.
