“SOON TO BE A MAJOR
EMBARRASSMENT ”
A collection of 45 filk music songbooks for Printed Matter’s Virtual Art Book Fair
A filky-minded project for THE PRINTED MATTER VIRTUAL ART BOOK FAIR online at www.pmvabf.org February 24-28, 2021
CATALOG NOTES
In recognition that visitors to www.pmvabf.org will have more than 400 virtual booths to choose from, our list for Printed Matter’s Virtual Art Book Fair gets directly the point: LET’S ALL GET TOGETHER AND GET FILKED UP!
To hazard a guess, we’re betting that “filk” is a genre of music that either A) - you’ve never heard of ; or B) - are secretly obsessed with. We stumbled across this collection months ago and landed squarely on “B.” The sights and sounds of filking seem to be perfectly in tune with the delirium of our times. The following pages highlight a gloriously goofy (and seriously fascinating) collection of fanzine- format filk songbooks that were created by and for participants in sci-fi and fantasy fan convention song circles, ca. 1979-1998.
We hope you enjoy it. And we dearly look forward to seeing you again in person at future Art Book Fairs.
TERMS OF SALE & SHIPPING
Offers subject to prio r sale. Please notify us if you wish to return an item fo r any reason within ten days o f receipt of the original p urchase. Pa yments is accepted in U.S . dollars via bank transfer , credit card (PayPal , Square) , o r domestic check . Shipmen t a t cos t by USPS and commercia l couriers , o r w e ca n arrang e fo r loca l deliver y fre e o f charge , curbside , in New York City. Pleas e no te that poste rs may be shipp ed roll ed or flat (lar ge form at ite ms m ay inc ur substan tial shippi ng costs.) https ://www.arthurfournier.com ; [email protected] ; t. (917) 749-9431
"Filksinging should be done in private by consenting adults.”
Forty-f ive (45) fanz ine- format ‘filk’ music songb ooks, ca.1979-1998. Fro m the colle ct ion of Lily Fu lf ord. A p rivate coll ec tion of l yric and ch ord bo oks (so me with mu sical notat ion), illustr ated throug hout with reproduc tio ns of ori ginal draw ings, colla ges , and c lip art. 4 to. V ery goo d. Chie fly stab-s tapled ; some with comb bindings or brass pin-t abs. [1177] On hold We are plea se d to offer t his remarka bly r ich collect ion of "filkso ng" fanzi nes f ro m a gol den er a of the ge nre, w hen hotel -based wee ken d long sc i-fi a nd f ant asy fan conve ntions flou rished across So uthern Ca liforn ia and thro ugh out the M idwest. According to lore, “ filk" mus ic d ates back t o at least th e mid- 1950s, when a typographical error is said to have spawned the term . Since then the genre ha s continue d throug h t he pres ent d ay, a nd h as evolv ed to inclu de dive rse sty le s of mu sic, includ ing hip hop and p unk r ock. W hile the co re of the g enre s eems pertains to media fandom, filk mu sician s hav e also written abo ut the eme rge nce of p ersonal com puting tech nology, meteorology, f ossils, a cademic l ife, c ats, a nd r elationship woes. Significant figures f rom t he wo rld o f filk a re w ell re presented ,
5 among them Cynthia McQuillin, "Dr. Jane" Robinson, Meg Davis, Suzette Haden Elgin, the L.A. Filkharmonics, JoAnn Christy & Marcy Robins, Julia Eklar, and others. This collection comes to us from the estate of noted Los Angeles-based fan, collector, and author Lily Fulford, to whom several of the books are inscribed by their authors. Fulford (who died in 2007) wrote slash fiction relating to the British television program The Professionals and often hosted parties and gatherings at her home in Los Angeles.
The collection includes the following titles:
Bennet, Molly. The Bawdy Beautiful Songbook. Aurora, Colo.: American Speedy Printing Center, 1992. 30 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
Christy, JoAnn & Marcy Robin. Filksongs For All Eternity!. N.p.: Old Colingwood Publishing House, 1979. [iii], 33 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
Christy, JoAnn & Marcy Robin. Filksongs That Go Bump in the Night. N.p.: Old Colingwood Publishing House, 1983. iv, 39 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
Christy, JoAnn, Pat Lammerts & Marcy Robin. Curses… Filked Again!. N.p.: Old Colingwood Publishing House, 1980. iii, 28 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
Coulson, Juanita (compiled by) ; Teri Lee (ed.) The Arrows of the Queen Concordance : Valdemar in Talia's Time. Portland, Oreg.: Firebird Arts & Music, 1994. 64 pp. concordance and glossary to the works of Mercedes Lackey.
Coulson, Juanita (compiled by) ; Teri Lee (ed.) The Last Herald-Mage Concordance : Valdemar in Vanyel's Time. Portland, Oreg.: Firebird Arts & Music, 1998. 72 pp. concordance and glossary to the works of Mercedes Lackey.
6 Davis, Meg. Captain Jack and the Mermaid. Portland, Gold, Lee (ed.) Con Chords and Choruses. N.p.: 1993. 47 Oreg.: Firebird Arts & Music, 1988. 38 pp. song lyrics and pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Publication for Con Chord Nine musical notation, illus. 4to. fan convention, October 8-10, 1993.
Davis, Meg. Dream of the Light Horses. Portland, Oreg.: Haden Elgin, Suzette. Song at the Ready. Huntsville, Ark.: Firebird Arts & Music, 1990. 36 pp. song lyrics and 1984. 24 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Includes section by the musical notation, illus. 4to. author on the use of bar chords and filk music workshop teaching.
Haden Elgin, Suzette. The First Ozark Trilogy Filksong Collection. Huntsville, Ark.: 1982. 23 pp. song lyrics and musical notation, illus. 4to. Contains a section on "Ozark music theory.”
Haden Elgin, Suzette and Randy Farran. Dragons Cows & Kudzu. N.p.: 1986. 33 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Contains a section on "Ozark music theory.”
Eklar, Julia. Dreamer. Oakland, Calif.: Wail Songs and Harpy Music, 1990. 71 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Drawings by Larry Warner.
Fish, Leslie and Rudyard Kipling ; Teri Lee(ed.) Cold Iron. Albany, Calif.: Off Centar Publications, 1987. 34 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
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L.A. Filkharmonics. Return of Massteria! Star Wars and other filksongs. Ontario, Calif.: Court of Chaos, n.d. [1985]. 68 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "In space, no one can hear you sing.”
Haden Elgin, Suzette and Randy Farran. Soon to Be a Major Embarrassment. Huntsville, Ark.: The Magic Granny Line, n.d. [1987]. 26 pp. song lyrics and musical notation, illus. 4to. Includes advice from the author for aspiring filksong writers.
Harlan Prather, Anne. Storyteller : Musical Settings By / Lackey, Mercedes & D.F. Sandrs ; Teri Lee (ed.) Heralds Anne Harlan Prather. El Cerrito, Calif.: Off Centar Harpers & Havoc. Portland, Oreg.: Firebird Arts & Music, Publications, 1985. 63 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Songs of 1993. 40 pp. song lyrics and musical notation, illus. 4to. Pern and Darkover by Anne McCaffrey & Anne Harlan
Prather.” Lackey, Mercedes & D.F. Sandrs ; Teri Lee (ed.) Lovers
Lore & Loss. Portland, Oreg.: Firebird Arts & Music, 1995. L.A. Filkharmonics. Massteria! Strikes Back! Star Wars 44 pp song lyrics and musical notation, illus. 4to. and other filksongs. Ontario, Calif.: Court of Chaos,
1982. 64 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
8 Lee, Teri (ed.) The Horse Tamer's Daughter. El Cerrito, McQuillin, Cynthia. Dark Moon Circle : Lyric & Chord Calif.: Off Centar Publications, 1984. 26 pp. song lyrics, Book. Berkeley, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1989. 22 pp. illus. 4to. "Fourteen songs of exceptional women, in song lyrics, illus. 4to. [Unlikely 005]. fantasy and reality, featuring the exceptional singer Julia Eklar.” McQuillin, Cynthia. Dreams of Fortune : Lyric & Chord Book. Richmond, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1991. 20 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Dedicated to all the optimists in the world.
McQuillin, Cynthia. Moon Shadows : Lyric & Chord Book. Berkeley, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1989. 18 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Dedicated to those of you who know what these songs are really saying" ; includes first publication of The Gay Vampire Boogie.
McQuillin, Cindy and Phillip Wayne. Crystal Visions. Seal Beach, Calif.: The Crystal Well, 1979. 24 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Signed by McQullian and Wayne.
McQuillin, Cynthia. Bedlam Cats : Lyric & Chord Book. Berkeley, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1992. 24 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Dedicated to our cats.”
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10 McQuillin, Cynthia. Singer in the Shadow. El Cerrito, Calif.: Off Centar Publications, 1986. 47 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Songs of Pern and Darkover by Anne McCaffrey & Anne Harlan Prather.”
McQuillin, Cynthia. Uncharted Stars : Lyric & Chord Book. Berkeley, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1993. 28 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to.
McQuillin, Cynthia. Witch's Dance : Lyric & Chord Book. N.p.: Unlikely Publications, 1998. 24 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Dedicated to Jane Robinson and Marion Zimmer Bradley.
McQuillin, Cynthia (ed.) The Darkover Songbook, v. 1. N.p.: Thendara House, n.d. [1982]. 23 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Darkover filksongs published with the reluctant consent of [author] Marion Zimmer Bradley, "Filksinging should be done in private by consenting adults.”
McQuillin, Cynthia (ed.) Consenting Adults of Darkover : From the Stories of Marion Zimmer Bradley. N.p.: n.d. [1993]. 24 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Filking should be done in private by consenting adults.”
11 McQuillin, Cynthia and "Dr. Jane" Robinson. Melody Robinson, Jane A. [i.e., "Dr. Jane"]. Fossil Fever : Lyric & Pirates : Lyric & Chord Book. Richmond, Calif.: Unlikely Chord Book. Richmond, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, Publications, 1991. 38 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Sci-fi and 1992. 38 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Original songs inspired fantasy parodies of contenmporary pop songs as written by fossils and paleontology ; editor & layout: Cynthia and performed by the authors. McQuillin.
Robinson, Jane A. [i.e., "Dr. Jane"] ; Cynthia McQillin (ed.) Dr. Jane's Wackademia : Lyric & Chord Book. Berkeley, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1989. 21 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. [Unlikely 002].
McQuillin, Cynthia and Phillip Wayne. Crystal Memories. Berkeley, Calif.: Off Centar Publications, 1981. 34 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Signed by McQullian to Lily Fulford.
Robinson, Jane A. [i.e., "Dr. Jane"]. Dr. Jane's Remains : Lyric & Chord Book. Richmond, Calif.: Unlikely Publications, 1996. 34 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. More original songs inspired by fossils and paleontology ; editor & layout: Cynthia McQuillin.
12 Stevens, Beth and Janet Wilson. Songs from Unicorn Various. Kushyon's Flyte House : Second Songbook. Country. Lake View Terrace, Calif.: 1988. 77 pp. song N.p.: n.d. [1982]. 10 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. lyrics, illus. 4to. Various. Kushyon's Flyte House : Songbook. N.p.: n.d. Willett, Paul J. (ed.) The Philk Fee-Nom-Ee-Non, no. 24 [1982]. 10 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. (Oct. 15, 1983). Westminster, Calif.: Willet, 1983. 16 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Various. Kushyon's Flyte House : Third Songbook. N.p.: n.d. [1983]. 12 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. "Dedicated to Various. FAN-tastic Filk Songs and other Fannish Catwin Smullen and her magic typewriter.” Delights, vol. 1, no. 1 (July-Sept. 1981). Santa Monica, Calif.: Dag Designs, 1981. 40 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Various. Loose Notes : A Zine for Filky Minded Fans, Comics by Lester Encore. issue #1. Phoenix, Ariz.: Buffalo Chip Press, n.d. [198?]. 46 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Various. FAN-tastic Filk Songs and other Fannish Delights, vol. 1, no. 2 (March 1982). Santa Monica, Various. Pegasus Productions Presents Dark Side Story Calif.: Dag Designs, 1982. 40 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Libretto. N.p.: n.d.. 9 pp. song lyrics, illus. 4to. Star Wars' Comics by Joshua Quagmire. themed parody of West Side Story.
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