Talk:Luke Ski

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Is Luke really a Filk artist? I know that he wants to be recognized by the Filk community. I would consider him a parody artist who's subject matter is entirely fannish. - CurtisP 03:00, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

I would say he is both...fannish music by definition is filk, so I guess you could call him a parody filker, though he does have some original stuff too (like "House Party at Arkham Asylum" for example) - EmiOfBrie 03:13, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
The other thing is that filk music often sounds very folksy. In fact filk is a mispelling of folk. I would say that The Ballad of Optimus Prime definitely qualifies as filk. --CurtisP 00:49, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Filk did evolve from folk music, and while much filk can be folksy, being folksy is not a necessary condition to be filk. I don't think there is any serious debate over whether Luke Ski is or is not a filker. A few who insist that filk must be folk (sometimes it seems that they insist that it also be maudlin), ask the pretty large crowds who see him perform at cons, and they will tell you he's a filker.--RLent 19:14, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
In the song "the great Luke Ski" he refers to himself as "Parody and Filk" artist, so what say we phrase it that way? --CurtisP 03:29, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Filk depends on the audience

Filk is largely self-defined, and if Luke says he's a filker, then no one will say him nay! For the most part, the definition is determined by your potential audience. Weird Al or Tom Lehrer are not filkers (though their songs are often sung at sf cons) because they didn't write them for an sf fan audience. Meanwhile, Luke, Worm Quartet et al are filkers because they primarily perform for fans. I don't think this is a big deal but some don't like to be categorized by others. The term covers a wide range of music and not everyone agrees on a set definition, which can create dissonance. The only time it ruffles feathers is when someone who doesn't consider themselves a filker is called one, or when someone who wants to be a filker is excluded from some circles. I think they're overreacting. In any event, unless Luke shifts his marketing campaign, I consider what he does as filk. Much of it, anyway. David E Romm 08:57, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Weird Al has dabbled in Filk here and there ("The Saga Begins", "Ode to a Superhero" just to name a couple) -EmiOfBrie 23:15, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

The Saga Begins is no more filk than Tom Lehrer's the Elements or Monty Python's The Lumberjack Song... or Allan Sherman's Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah. Filker's sing it and to be sure most of Weird Al would be filk if he considered himself a filker, but he doesn't. Yes, it's a fuzzy definition, but some things clearly fall on one side or the other. David E Romm 07:40, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

If Leonardo Da Vinci did not consider himself an artist, the Mona Lisa would still be art. Likewise, although Wierd Al does not consider himself a filker, The Saga Begins is still filk.--RLent 19:10, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article title

If his stage name is "The great Luke Ski" and his real name is "Luke Sienkowski," shouldn't the article name be one of those or the other?--Evil1987 19:38, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

While I would defer to Luke in this, he has said that "the great" are modifiers and his name is "Luke Ski". In much the same way that wiki's link to The Amazing Randi directs you to his name, James Randi. Baron Dave Romm 19:46, 18 June 2007 (UTC)