ICon part two

[ericcoleman]

"I saw you last year, and it had nothing to do with science fiction"

There was a panel on filk and while the discussion went on, one of the panel members said that to me.

Well, duh ... and wrong all at the same time.

I've talked a lot about my place in SF as a songwriter. I don't write science fiction songs, I don't write fantasy songs, I have written very little that could be called filk.

I write about a condition, and being of the fannish persuasion, that is a part of my condition. I write about dislocation, being an outsider, a certain loneliness, and a certain wise-ass-ness that exists so gloriously in fandom.

One of the things I found a couple years ago, folks who go to cons tend to get my songs. They get my jokes. I don't have to edit. I can use a phrase like "enough curves to make Rubens blush" and ... as the old song goes ... the little girls understand. So do the boys for that matter (but let's not get off on a rant about the wonders of fannish women). I can use the word decolletage in a song and most of the room knows what I am talking about (and let's face it boys, that is one ... or is it two, great reasons to go to cons, but I digress again)

But there are still folks who don't, or won't, get the connection.

It dosnt bug me very often, but it certainly bugged me today, more because I didnt have a chance to make my point as to WHY I play at cons.

more later, I have a panel in a few minutes

Comments

[freeimprov.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree with this! You don't write songs about fandom... you write from the point of view of a fan. No, your songs don't have unicorns or (many) Star Wars references. But they're full of the sense of what it's like to be "fat, furry, in my forties". To be a smart, funny, and emotionally complex person in a world designed for and run by the dumb and the dull. To CELEBRATE not being like other people.

Despite the comment at the panel, I'm generally of the opinion that fandom is the most tolerant culture I've ever encountered. Why? Because we are all rejected everywhere else.