kjn: (Default)
I've got quite the backlog of filk songs written this year that I haven't posted (I'm sadly behind on a lot of fannish stuff). This is another example of what can be called a double-parody: Swedish comedy group Galenskaparna did a skit and a song based on Amsterdam by Jacques Brel, called "Under en filt i Madrid" (Youtube). Swedish acafan Jerry Määttä had posted a photo of himself on a roof in Marseilles, with the subtitle "Orakad och höjdrädd på ett tak i Marseilles". All that meshed together with Swedish fan history into this new filk.

Uppå ett tak i Marseilles… )
kjn: (Default)
Back at Finncon, I managed to secure two copies of the Finnish fannish songbook Scifistin malja, roughly "Science fiction toast". It was first published in 2003, and included songs that were sung at dinner parties organised by Tutka, the science fiction and fantasy club of Turku University. These dinner parties ("sittning" in Swedish and "sitsit" in Finnish) are a staple of Swedish and Finnish student life, where eating is combined with frequent singalongs and toasts.

Continue )

I will send over one of the copies, together with some other filk-related material from Sweden, to Interfilk for auctioning when I get back from traveling.
kjn: (Default)
The latest issue of my Swedish-language fanzine "I stället för papper" contained an article and discography about Swedish sf fan, publisher, author, translator et c Sam J. Lundwall. I think some of you filkers would appreciate it too, so here's a translation to English.

Sam J. Lundwall, Music, and Science Fiction )

Song presentations )

Discography )
kjn: (Default)
Mary O'Meara is one of the classics of the filk genre. In Tomorrow's Songs Today, Gary McGath describes how Poul Anderson used the song in the 1967 novel World Without Stars and also its origin with the Norwegian song "Anna Lovinda", even if "Mary O'Meara" is usually sung using an original melody made by Anne Passovoy.

On Anna Lovinda: origin, versions, and similarity to Mary O'Meara )
kjn: (Default)
A year ago, I wrote A History of Swedish Filk. Since then I've gathered some new material. Thanks to an interlibrary loan I received a copy of a 32-page booklet with the lyrics and notes of Sam J Lundwall's record Visor i vår tid from 1965 or 1966[1] (I haven't found the record itself, but there are some copies around).

The record contains 14 songs. Four of them have science fiction or fantasy elements.

"Visa till mor" ("Song to mother") is sung to the robot mother of an IVF child, born and raised in a reproductive factory.

"Monstret från planeten Mars" ("The monster from the planet Mars") tells the story of a monster from Mars, who arrives on Earth to spread havoc, but is enslaved and expropriated by the movie industry to appear in B-movies.

"Möte i rymden" ("Encounter in space") tells the story of two old friends meeting at a space station, and one of them telling the story about his (mis)adventures in space, encountering monsters, a girl made out of nitroglycerine, and drifting in a crippled ship in space. It is clearly inspired by Evert Taube's song "Möte i monsunen" (which I myself have filked), but uses an original melody.

"Häxan" ("The witch") tells the story of a witch burning. The catch - the priest is the Devil and leads the villagers dancing out to their doom.

Of the rest of the songs, many feels like they should fit very well into filk circles, telling stories on mundane events and topics but in a way that match very well with the fannish and filking mindset. I can eg easily see Swedish SCA members singing "Tre små munkar" ("Three little monks").

[1] The SMDB database lists a 1965 date, but every other source I've found says 1966.
kjn: (Default)
A History of Swedish Filk

My own and very subjective description of filk's history in Sweden. One thing to remember here: Swedish fandom is small. The "hard set" of fans, defined as those who publish or regularly contribute to fanzines, run cons, or regularly contribute to fanac in other ways, has probably never been more than 200 people; often considerably less. It is also geographically spread-out.

Another is that this research in its early stages. I still have not done any proper interviewing or research into old fanzines - I have been limited by my own (rather small and limited) fanzine collection and the material that have been digitised as part of earlier fan historical projects within Swedish fandom. Part of writing now is the old Usenet principle that the fastest way to get a correct answer is to send out the wrong answer.


The Early Years (Up to 1979) )

The New Wave of Swedish Filk (1979-1990) )

The Decline and Fall of Swedish Filk (1990-2014) )

Music in the Fannish Fringe )

Now )

Themes of Swedish Filk )

Further Reading and Listening )

Sources )

Me

kjn

Links

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Tags