What makes a filk song "good?"

[figmo]

Other than the obvious "make sure the scansion and meter fits the original" when writing a parody, what makes a filk song an "award-winner" vs. "forgettable" (or one you'd like to forget)?

I don't know whether my own judgement is "off," but some of the songs that seem to jump out and grab the bulk of the filk community wouldn't even register with me had I not been figuratively clunked over the head with them. I'm wondering what I'm missing and hoping I'll pick up some pointers that might help my own songwriting.

Any and all opinions are welcome.

Comments

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

If you're talking strictly parodies, there are two things that always get *me* when I listen:

1. Clever lyrics. Rhyming and scansion to the original, yes, but clever plays on the original so that if you know the original it's just a delight. (My favorite example is the Unicorn song, where the line "I've got your cats and rats and elephants" is parodied in Jordin's Unified Field theory song as "I've got a cat but that's irrelevant.")

*but*! At the same time they have to appeal to people who *haven't* heard the original, too-- my husband loves that parody just as much as I do, and he had never heard the original. Because the line is also a joke about Shroedinger's cat, which physics geeks (the song's audience) are going to know about. Which brings me to:

2. Humor. Not just humor, but humor that doesn't get tired. Ever heard a parody that had a single great punch line-- and then just kept repeating it? That's a no go for me. If it has many verses, each verse needs to add something new, have a different punch line or a new variation on the theme, do *something* to carry the joke *further*-- not just restate the joke in different words. I've heard a lot of full-length parodies that really should've just been two-line between-song gags like Jeff does, because that's all the joke could carry.

And again, that humor needs to appeal to as broad a range as possible. Some parodies are *great* that are only funny to viewers of a certain show, and that's fine. I've heard (and even written) parodies where the science jokes had to be explained to me. But the more appeal, the better-- like the way Jordin's song appeals to both my geeky husband and my songwrite-y self.

:)