I am Blind Lemming Chiffon and I am a filkaholic (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} lemmozine) wrote,@ 2007-07-31 12:41:00 |
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My New CD, Confluence Report 2007 & Ranting About Delta Airlines, Breakers of Guitars
I finished running a handful of copies of my new CD (R) in time for Confluence and unloaded an even smaller handful. Should have plenty for the NASFiC. I'm trying to sell them for $15 and give all the profits to Interfilk. Here are the liner notes:
Sixteen Songs, and Whaddaya Get?
or
Liner Notes for Filk On Filk, Heartache On Heartache
I wanted to call the album "Birdcage," so that this could be called, "Birdcage: The Liner Notes," but I didn't. Seriously, this is an album intended for people who are intermediate-to-advanced in filk, so I'm not gonna do the whole "Filk 101" thing, which is available on the web for anyone who may have picked up this CD by mistake.
How Can I Keep From Filking? was written at Magicon, the 1992 Orlando Worldcon. There was a contest for best song written at con. It lost. Someone else stole the idea from me many years before I got it. I've heard that song, and I like my ending better.
Ballad of Seacon concerns my travels to the 1979 Worldcon in Brighton, England. It was my first Worldcon. Some parts of it are true. I recently found the "Green Stamps" song on the internet, and it brought back memories.
That Old Filk of Mine was written at Interaction, the 2005 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland. I couldn't quite get myself together to sing it at the concert I did the same day I wrote it. It's about Ballad of Seacon, some of the people I remember from past conventions, and the photo gallery that now travels from one Worldcon exhibit hall to another.
Three Hours at Interaction is about writing That Old Filk of Mine. I would like to say it didn't win the contest I entered it in at OVFF, but unfortunately, it won second place, in a field of two.
Fans is about the horrid metamorphosis from beginning to end that occurs when one is overstimulated and deprived of sleep for three days or more. It's called a con.
The Filkers is one friend's favorite of my early filks. It's pretty much a direct rewrite of the original, with cameras changed to guitars. "Filk" can be changed to "folk," and with other minor changes it works at folkie venues as well.
Gehenna Con is of course a parody of Kathy Mar's Heaven Con. It goes back over 20 years. If not for Kathy, I'd have probably dropped out of filking years ago. Thanks a lot, Kathy.
Last of the Daytime Filkers is about filk vampires. The original song is about bathtubs.
Interfilk Guest started out having more Harry Potter imagery - the whole business of the owls delivering Harry's mail, and why being invited (after a 10-year gafiation) to be a guest at FKO in 2004 was sort of like that.
The Parody Pirates points out some of the reasons these notes don't give credits to all the composers of the original tunes. All the songs on this CD comment directly on the original songs, and are legal parodies protected by fair use. The argument for this concept is too long to fit in these liner notes.
Tom In a Bottle is a song about Tom Smith, who is absolutely my favorite filker, and one of the finest songwriters I've ever met, as well as an exceedingly funny human being.
Sci-Fi Hack Writer is one of my earliest filk songs. It's so old I can't remember when I wrote it.
Con Hotel Rag says everything I could possibly say in these notes in the song.
Everything Scans is a shortened version of an essay that appeared in my songbook last year.
Too Many Filkers was written after the NASFiC in Austin in 1985.
The Parody Bit rounds this out nicely, since it involves sixteen songs, and explains the title of the liner notes.
I had a difficult time getting to Confluence. The trouble-with-Delta-rant is here: My flight from Denver to my connecting airport (Cincinnati, which I found it is in Kentucky - at least, the airport is) was delayed by over an hour because the pilot was "diverted." I know what it's supposed to mean, but they'd probably say the same thing if the pilot failed a drug test, or taxi'd the previous plane through an airport window, and my mind always suspects the worst. Of course, I missed my connecting flight to Pittsburgh. They gave me a boarding pass for the 9:05 PM flight (taking off 3 hours AFTER I was supposed to land in Pittsburgh!) while still in Denver, but conveniently forgot to mention the earlier flight at either 7:00 or 7:40 (depending who you asked). I got a standby pass for that one in Cincinnati, but I had to ask for it. One person told me, "Oh, that flight's full and has 10 standbys already, you'll never get on it," but at the counter for that flight they told me to have a seat and wait. I've had standby miracles happen before. Anyhow, come 7:40 when the flight was finally posted to take off, the excuses start - they're short on cabin crew, someone's coming in from Baltimore and should be here any minute, blah blah blah, so at boarding time for the 9:05 flight I went over and waited at the other gate. An excuse announcement or two, then at 9:05 the flight suddenly appears on the board as "cancelled." I get a boarding pass for 9:00 AM the next morning, and advice that all the hotels are full but to go call them myself. I asked if I had to pay for the hotel (sometimes they give you vouchers) and was told to call the customer service number later so they could arrange a discount. They said to use the free phones down the hall, which actually turned out to be a shuttle bus ride plus a train ride away. I called about 20 or 30 hotels, and was beginning to get discouraged (most of the hotels stop running shuttles around 10 PM) when I found a room at the La Quinta. Next time I travel, I will take at least one change of clothes and more useful small containers of liquids in my carry-on. Next morning, I met some of my fellow travellers, many of who spent the night at the airport sleeping on cots. I wasn't given the option of a cot. I probably would have gone for the hotel room anyway, but would have appreciated being informed of all my options. One gentleman showed me a voucher for $400 Delta Dollars that he got, he said, by complaining loudly. I was not offered any compensation of any kind, even though I had asked for it. Got into Pittsburgh, found my luggage had arrived before me (apparently on a 7 AM flight they forgot to tell me about), closed the open buckle on my guitar case, noticed 2 of my 4 bumperstickers missing from the case, checked in to the hotel, got a shower, did some con things (which I'll put in a separate cut with the rest of my con report) and later, when I opened my guitar case discovered the peghead halfway snapped off on my Guild 12-string. Today, when I called the customer service number, they listened to this entire rant, then the gentleman, who sounded JUST like Apu on The Simpsons, told me to send an email or write a letter, because he was not authorized to do anything. The hotel shuttle driver, by the way, said, "DELTA - oh, you mean Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport." I just might write me a song about all this.
And now for the con report... Picked up my badge, and stopped in the dealer's room. Bought a new small press Howard Waldrop collection, and spent a few minutes talking to Michael Swanwick about his forthcoming book about James Branch Cabell. I have a fairly good collection of Cabell's books, and my friend James and I once started a literary cult religion we call the Branch Cabellians. Found out there would be 17 limited copies with Cabell's signature, pasted in from a broken set (missing one volume) of the Storisende edition, all of which sets were signed in each volume. I wonder if the set was missing The Rivet In Grandfather's Neck, the single volume I had that I got rid of when I got the whole set. I got the info, and sent my check in today to obtain one of the 17. This is a sign that I need to start collecting Cabell again. Then I thought to check the schedule, and said, "Oh my gosh, I'm missing Peter's concert," so I found the room, and the concert was starting late, so I didn't miss that, or Amy's concert, two facts which began to make the struggles of the previous day worthwhile. Spoke to Margaret and Kristoph in the hall, and traded one of my CDs plus cash for two of their CDs. I think I got the best of that deal. Caught more concerts (Carrie Dahlby, Luke Ski), was introduced to someone who gave me a CD that I will listen to REAL SOON, and stayed for much of the play. I don't generally enjoy plays involving Star Wars, but Randy Hoffman had something to do with it, and it was almost tolerable, except that I got a bad spot and couldn't follow what was going on very well. That was followed by Margaret and Kristoph's concert, and by open filking. One of the songs I did at open filking was parody #4 of The Girl That's Never Been, the one about Puff the Magic Dragon. That song just sticks in my mind and won't go away. The largest number of parodies I've done of any song before was three, of "Lies" by Stan Rogers. I hope Vixy takes that as a compliment! I left the open filking around 2:00 so I could get some sleep and be ready for my concert at noon on Sunday. I think I did a pretty good concert, and the people who were there didn't complain much. I started with some newer stuff (Watching the Wheel, the Elvis parody of The Girl That's Never Been), worked in some serious stuff (That Old Filk of Mine, Life Is a Beautful Thing), did a couple of non-filk songs to demonstrate my influences (My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and Jivin' Man) and as always got in my two dog songs, A Dog and His Boy and Charles, which I've been finding works well for me as a set closer. Stayed for Batya Wittenburg's concert, then some open filking, then an after-con party and finally, con over. The return trip went almost without a hitch, except that I left the plastic bag with my hat at the screening area, and noticed it missing while I was having breakfast. Took the train back to the screening area, and it was sitting there waiting for me. Thank you, magic bunny. (It's a magic hat with an attached magic bunny.) Now, to get a bus to the Denver Folklore Center and drop my guitar off for repairs.
I finished running a handful of copies of my new CD (R) in time for Confluence and unloaded an even smaller handful. Should have plenty for the NASFiC. I'm trying to sell them for $15 and give all the profits to Interfilk. Here are the liner notes:
Sixteen Songs, and Whaddaya Get?
or
Liner Notes for Filk On Filk, Heartache On Heartache
I wanted to call the album "Birdcage," so that this could be called, "Birdcage: The Liner Notes," but I didn't. Seriously, this is an album intended for people who are intermediate-to-advanced in filk, so I'm not gonna do the whole "Filk 101" thing, which is available on the web for anyone who may have picked up this CD by mistake.
How Can I Keep From Filking? was written at Magicon, the 1992 Orlando Worldcon. There was a contest for best song written at con. It lost. Someone else stole the idea from me many years before I got it. I've heard that song, and I like my ending better.
Ballad of Seacon concerns my travels to the 1979 Worldcon in Brighton, England. It was my first Worldcon. Some parts of it are true. I recently found the "Green Stamps" song on the internet, and it brought back memories.
That Old Filk of Mine was written at Interaction, the 2005 Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland. I couldn't quite get myself together to sing it at the concert I did the same day I wrote it. It's about Ballad of Seacon, some of the people I remember from past conventions, and the photo gallery that now travels from one Worldcon exhibit hall to another.
Three Hours at Interaction is about writing That Old Filk of Mine. I would like to say it didn't win the contest I entered it in at OVFF, but unfortunately, it won second place, in a field of two.
Fans is about the horrid metamorphosis from beginning to end that occurs when one is overstimulated and deprived of sleep for three days or more. It's called a con.
The Filkers is one friend's favorite of my early filks. It's pretty much a direct rewrite of the original, with cameras changed to guitars. "Filk" can be changed to "folk," and with other minor changes it works at folkie venues as well.
Gehenna Con is of course a parody of Kathy Mar's Heaven Con. It goes back over 20 years. If not for Kathy, I'd have probably dropped out of filking years ago. Thanks a lot, Kathy.
Last of the Daytime Filkers is about filk vampires. The original song is about bathtubs.
Interfilk Guest started out having more Harry Potter imagery - the whole business of the owls delivering Harry's mail, and why being invited (after a 10-year gafiation) to be a guest at FKO in 2004 was sort of like that.
The Parody Pirates points out some of the reasons these notes don't give credits to all the composers of the original tunes. All the songs on this CD comment directly on the original songs, and are legal parodies protected by fair use. The argument for this concept is too long to fit in these liner notes.
Tom In a Bottle is a song about Tom Smith, who is absolutely my favorite filker, and one of the finest songwriters I've ever met, as well as an exceedingly funny human being.
Sci-Fi Hack Writer is one of my earliest filk songs. It's so old I can't remember when I wrote it.
Con Hotel Rag says everything I could possibly say in these notes in the song.
Everything Scans is a shortened version of an essay that appeared in my songbook last year.
Too Many Filkers was written after the NASFiC in Austin in 1985.
The Parody Bit rounds this out nicely, since it involves sixteen songs, and explains the title of the liner notes.
I had a difficult time getting to Confluence. The trouble-with-Delta-rant is here: My flight from Denver to my connecting airport (Cincinnati, which I found it is in Kentucky - at least, the airport is) was delayed by over an hour because the pilot was "diverted." I know what it's supposed to mean, but they'd probably say the same thing if the pilot failed a drug test, or taxi'd the previous plane through an airport window, and my mind always suspects the worst. Of course, I missed my connecting flight to Pittsburgh. They gave me a boarding pass for the 9:05 PM flight (taking off 3 hours AFTER I was supposed to land in Pittsburgh!) while still in Denver, but conveniently forgot to mention the earlier flight at either 7:00 or 7:40 (depending who you asked). I got a standby pass for that one in Cincinnati, but I had to ask for it. One person told me, "Oh, that flight's full and has 10 standbys already, you'll never get on it," but at the counter for that flight they told me to have a seat and wait. I've had standby miracles happen before. Anyhow, come 7:40 when the flight was finally posted to take off, the excuses start - they're short on cabin crew, someone's coming in from Baltimore and should be here any minute, blah blah blah, so at boarding time for the 9:05 flight I went over and waited at the other gate. An excuse announcement or two, then at 9:05 the flight suddenly appears on the board as "cancelled." I get a boarding pass for 9:00 AM the next morning, and advice that all the hotels are full but to go call them myself. I asked if I had to pay for the hotel (sometimes they give you vouchers) and was told to call the customer service number later so they could arrange a discount. They said to use the free phones down the hall, which actually turned out to be a shuttle bus ride plus a train ride away. I called about 20 or 30 hotels, and was beginning to get discouraged (most of the hotels stop running shuttles around 10 PM) when I found a room at the La Quinta. Next time I travel, I will take at least one change of clothes and more useful small containers of liquids in my carry-on. Next morning, I met some of my fellow travellers, many of who spent the night at the airport sleeping on cots. I wasn't given the option of a cot. I probably would have gone for the hotel room anyway, but would have appreciated being informed of all my options. One gentleman showed me a voucher for $400 Delta Dollars that he got, he said, by complaining loudly. I was not offered any compensation of any kind, even though I had asked for it. Got into Pittsburgh, found my luggage had arrived before me (apparently on a 7 AM flight they forgot to tell me about), closed the open buckle on my guitar case, noticed 2 of my 4 bumperstickers missing from the case, checked in to the hotel, got a shower, did some con things (which I'll put in a separate cut with the rest of my con report) and later, when I opened my guitar case discovered the peghead halfway snapped off on my Guild 12-string. Today, when I called the customer service number, they listened to this entire rant, then the gentleman, who sounded JUST like Apu on The Simpsons, told me to send an email or write a letter, because he was not authorized to do anything. The hotel shuttle driver, by the way, said, "DELTA - oh, you mean Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport." I just might write me a song about all this.
And now for the con report... Picked up my badge, and stopped in the dealer's room. Bought a new small press Howard Waldrop collection, and spent a few minutes talking to Michael Swanwick about his forthcoming book about James Branch Cabell. I have a fairly good collection of Cabell's books, and my friend James and I once started a literary cult religion we call the Branch Cabellians. Found out there would be 17 limited copies with Cabell's signature, pasted in from a broken set (missing one volume) of the Storisende edition, all of which sets were signed in each volume. I wonder if the set was missing The Rivet In Grandfather's Neck, the single volume I had that I got rid of when I got the whole set. I got the info, and sent my check in today to obtain one of the 17. This is a sign that I need to start collecting Cabell again. Then I thought to check the schedule, and said, "Oh my gosh, I'm missing Peter's concert," so I found the room, and the concert was starting late, so I didn't miss that, or Amy's concert, two facts which began to make the struggles of the previous day worthwhile. Spoke to Margaret and Kristoph in the hall, and traded one of my CDs plus cash for two of their CDs. I think I got the best of that deal. Caught more concerts (Carrie Dahlby, Luke Ski), was introduced to someone who gave me a CD that I will listen to REAL SOON, and stayed for much of the play. I don't generally enjoy plays involving Star Wars, but Randy Hoffman had something to do with it, and it was almost tolerable, except that I got a bad spot and couldn't follow what was going on very well. That was followed by Margaret and Kristoph's concert, and by open filking. One of the songs I did at open filking was parody #4 of The Girl That's Never Been, the one about Puff the Magic Dragon. That song just sticks in my mind and won't go away. The largest number of parodies I've done of any song before was three, of "Lies" by Stan Rogers. I hope Vixy takes that as a compliment! I left the open filking around 2:00 so I could get some sleep and be ready for my concert at noon on Sunday. I think I did a pretty good concert, and the people who were there didn't complain much. I started with some newer stuff (Watching the Wheel, the Elvis parody of The Girl That's Never Been), worked in some serious stuff (That Old Filk of Mine, Life Is a Beautful Thing), did a couple of non-filk songs to demonstrate my influences (My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and Jivin' Man) and as always got in my two dog songs, A Dog and His Boy and Charles, which I've been finding works well for me as a set closer. Stayed for Batya Wittenburg's concert, then some open filking, then an after-con party and finally, con over. The return trip went almost without a hitch, except that I left the plastic bag with my hat at the screening area, and noticed it missing while I was having breakfast. Took the train back to the screening area, and it was sitting there waiting for me. Thank you, magic bunny. (It's a magic hat with an attached magic bunny.) Now, to get a bus to the Denver Folklore Center and drop my guitar off for repairs.
