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

[happyfunpaul.livejournal.com]

Wow! Some great comments everyone has made; they've really gotten me thinking. I still have not figured out a coherent response, so I'll just throw out various ideas in rambling fashion...

First, one note: there's likely to be a bias, in comments people make, toward lyrics. It's not an intentional bias, it's just that it's easier to analyze and discuss what makes good lyrics, rather than good melody, harmony, overall "sound", and performance. Like vixyish and catsittingstill and many others, I really appreciate good, clever words, probably more so than typical music fans (but not necessarily typical filk fans). Certainly, in my own songwriting, I have much more confidence that I might write clever, funny lyrics than I can write beautiful (or even catchy) melodies.

It's harder to talk about what makes a song musically "catchy" and "likable" than it is to talk about clever lyrics. And it's even harder to talk about stage personality and performance (which apply even to audio-only recordings). Nevertheless, the music and musicianship are still very important, at drawing me into a song initially and at keeping me "coming back for more".

It's also harder to talk about serious songs than funny songs, because the former rely less on lyrics and more on emotional flow, connection, and other hard-to-define topics.

I'm probably not the best person to talk about good serious filk songs anyway. Truthfully, there are very few serious filk songs that I like (and I've only written one myself, so far-- and even that has a couple laugh lines).

In fact, let me be blunt-- the vast majority of filk (most definitely including my own) is not professional caliber. But as an audience member, I'm going to lower my standards-- make a judgment based on "fun" instead of as purely "musical performance"-- for songs that (1) are funny, (2) refer to stories and concepts I know, and/or (3) are performed by people I know. Conversely, if a filk (or other) song is serious, is about a story with which I'm not familiar (and the song doesn't stand on its own and the performer doesn't make a pre-song explanation to bring me into it) and is performed by someone I don't know well... well, chances are, I'm going to be bored by it, however superficially pretty the song (and, for that matter, the performer) might be. Unless they're a really, really good, professional-quality performer.

Mind you, those three reasons are also what make "popular filk" different from most "popular music". Regarding humor, most mainstream artists don't want to be "too funny" because they want to be regarded as serious musicians. (One of the reasons I'm fond of several Canadian bands is that they do seem freer to mix music and comedy... but note how the Barenaked Ladies, for instance, are downplaying their humor now, presumably because they are tired of not being respected as serious musicians.) Regarding familiarity-with-concepts, most mainstream songs are familiar enough, but are too general, whereas good filk can talk about topics that are more specialized and not seen elsewhere (but again, if the topics too specific, they limit the potential audience). And finally, regarding familiarity-with-performer, part of the fun of filk is that it's a small enough group of people that many of us know each other and can learn from one another. (Conversely, sometimes it can get too clique-ish.)

So, some of what makes a filk song good and popular also applies to any song (catchy, singable/danceable/peppy), but some aspects are unique to filk (familiarity within a subculture) or at least more prominent in filk (clever lyrics, humorous). (Regarding humor, I don't have much to say except to echo what others have already said, especially vixyish's comments that a good song has humor "that doesn't get tired" and has "broad appeal.")

(I had another tangent, but I exceeded the word count in making this commnent, so you're all spared. :-)