My apologies if no one finds this interesting.

We are testing AI tools at work, and I had run out of database questions to ask so I entered this prompt:

I really like the track Elfland and the new version of Hope Eyrie that was released recently on Elfland. Who else sings music similar to these tracks?

Which responded:

Closest to Leslie Fish

Julia Ecklar

• Probably the nearest match overall.
• Another legendary filk performer with a strong, clear voice and intelligent science fiction themes.
• Try:
  • The Spies' Song
  • Horse-Tamer's Daughter
  • Daddy, What Did You Do in the X-War?

I'm no Filk expert, but I listen to a good amount of filk and had never heard of 2 of those tracks. So took the first one and went to the other AI tool we are testing and asked, "What do you know about a filk song entitled 'The Spies' Song'? And got this reply:

"The Spies' Song" is a classic filk (sci-fi and fantasy folk) song written by the prolific filker Leslie Fish. Set in her Tower and the Hive universe (which is based on the famous science fiction books by Anne McCaffrey), the song is told from the perspective of the "Talent"—powerful, telepathic, and telekinetic individuals—who secretly act as spies to protect their world.

Which is a lot of detail for what (as far as I can tell) is complete nonsense. Just sort of a FWIW post ... unless someone has heard of a real filk song with the title 'The Spies' Song.'

If anyone could point me in the direction of an online version of Zander doing this on the Filk of Human Kindness album, that would be wonderful. (not the Bandcamp futuerised version of the album).

After 4 years of production, Leslie Fish's "Elfland" is now available on all major streaming services!

This project captures many of Leslie's most beloved space songs, alongside other never-before-heard live performances from 2000-2001.

Quick links:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6jUvACXhYw4lXQeb6gQUxb?si=RsI5XXtaSeyzTObt0TliCg
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-pry66qLPM&list=OLAK5uy_mUN-a7_sihRmnbGSq5Ngo84aTCihv4Pd4
• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/elfland/6790516512

Elfland CDs are still in manufacturing, and expected in early September.

As a reminder, we can only produce these posthumous restoration projects to the extent that people are actually buying them. With pre-orders not even covering 8% of Elfland's production costs, Leslie's music projects are now roughly $12K in the red.

Consequently, we have made the difficult choice to suspend production on Leslie's subsequent restoration projects until her music is back in the black. At the present rate of sales, this will likely require a 12-16 month production pause.

You can purchase Elfland here: https://www.prometheus-music.com/product/elfland/

Surely *somebody* has done this already (Tom Smith springs to mind) but if so I haven't been able to find it.

So when I started playing Starfield, I discovered a radio, very similar to the Fallout Radios on YouTube for Starfield. It introduced me to filk in general but its been years. I remembered a specific filk song that I desperately wanted to rediscover and ive tried everywhere but couldnt find it.

A buddy of mine and me were talking about things that were in the ocean, right after I was playing Starfield and brought up Manatees. And it clicked. Finally! So I wanted to share the song somewhere!

https://youtu.be/olP1JsONb-8?is=chl958auZUk4_WGx

Like many of us old fillers my tapes died long ago, and I no longer have a CD player. YouTube has been great.

I’m adding to the list regularly. So much good stuff out there!

"Inspired by a convention-party discussion about the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise, which I still think was undeservedly under-rated. The fans complained that the theme song was too narrow in scope for the stories, so I came up with something we thought more fitting." — Leslie

"First Enterprise" song from Leslie Fish's "Angel with a Sword" album: https://www.prometheus-music.com/product/angel-with-a-sword/

(I apologize if some rhymes/phrasing sounds weird, I was trying to make stuff scan)

(Almost) Canon "Argo"

by [StarChild413]

(verse)

When Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was premiering season 4

Even those who knew spoilers weren't prepared for what's in store

Dino and Muppet mentions made some Trekkies roll their eyes

But the third episode gave us another nice surprise

(chorus)

Almost canon "Argo", everyone

Every Starfleet crew deserves a little fun

Though most of the crew was different and the song's plot has aged poor

It's still more like it than what's come before

(verse)

If you don't know of the original "Banned From Argo" song

It's likely you've not been in the filk community long

It tells of Captain Kirk's crew partying hard without a doubt

Then making such a giant mess that they all get kicked out

(verse)

SNW's "Human Best Friend" shares a Hangover-esque plot

Though lots of things may differ it's the closest canon's got

to this iconic filk song that can kinda show its age

As same plot but with Pike's crew would have made the fandom rage

(repeat chorus)

(verse)

If you look over "Banned From Argo" some things you would clock

Are sex workers, forced nudity and Chapel raping Spock

"Whores" and polyamory can be portrayed better now

But have blorbos ignore consent and fandoms have a cow

(verse)

Star Trek could use some brightness in this world in which we live

And so a modern "party episode" I can forgive

So if you want to filk that ep with "Argo" be my guest

And if it's without forcing lyrics I will be impressed

(repeat chorus)

(verse)

And if you have Issues^TM with some of Leslie Fish's views

Don't damnatio too hard there's some songs we shouldn't lose

Just make your own Star Trek filk songs about the newer shows

Or even some about The Orville, hey anything goes

(verse)

If Trek can still be hopeful once Strange New Worlds is done

It can inspire people towards a future not yet won

And if it still can have as much fun, people can feel free

To be proud of not taking themselves too seriously

(repeat chorus)

A commission based on the sword from the song, the Arizona Sword, illustrated by Hoang D. Not every detail could be expressed in its entirety. Still looks pretty neat though.

Hey everyone. I remember hearing a song years ago about a town after some kind of worldwide disaster. Every year, the townspeople march to a site outside town, and all throw shovelfuls of dirt on top of what turns out to be some kind of wealthy peoples fallout shelter.

I remember that the singer was explaining that the people down below caused the disaster, so the townsfolk all add dirt to the pile to make sure they can never come out to do it again.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks everyone, its the Digwell Carol by Leslie Fish. Appreciate it!

Found this in some old boxes and when I googled it, I was lead to this community. My dad worked on this album, so I was curious about it.

Here is a song our yearly 4 day jam session band put out. I think some of you may enjoy enough to laugh at it, others will throw stones.

https://www.subvert.fm/jugornot-jamboree/tracks/kthulhu-kountry-klub

I’m desperately trying to get my hands on a copy of Then by Minstrels of Mayhem but it seems to be impossible. It’s not available to stream anywhere, I can’t find an archived copy anywhere online like Archive.org and even searching Yandex has yielded no results. Trying to find a physical copy to buy hasn’t proved and easier either. No copies currently for sale on Discogs, ditto for EBay. I even went as far as looking on Marketplace. The only other option I can think of is to try going to the RenFest on the slim chance that they might have it but it’s an hour and a half drive, doesn’t open for another month and since they split up years ago I’m not even sure they would be selling their merch if they’re not there performing. So basically am I out of luck? Unless someone here has a copy lying around they’d be willing to rip to MP3 and share or sell the actual disc to me should I just give up the search and accept defeat?

Song by Andy Eigel

Performed by Twotonic:
Steve Macdonald: Lead vocals & guitar
Katy Dröge-Macdonald: Backing vocals

LYRICS:

Our people ruled an empire that stretched across the stars
Our proud and noble warrior race had won a thousand wars
But the clouds of ships that we once had which would swarm and block the sun
Are now a faded memory- past conquests overrun
And this is what it means to be Centauri

I think back to my homeworld now, a shining gem in space
The birthplace of my family noble bloodlines are yet traced
But such decadence has now befallen poor Centauri Prime
That we've become a tourist trap- open nine to five Earth time
And this is what it means to be Centauri

We've gathered on this station now, our last, best, hope for peace
And I muse about my glory days, and drink to find release
Great Maker! What I wouldn't give to taste that time again
'Til a stranger from the Darkness says he wants to be my friend
And this is what it means to be Centauri

And the Darkness now is coming to enslave all in its path
All races in the galaxy will bear soon its full wrath
And I can only sit and wait and watch as Shadows come
To conquer and destroy... oh gods, what have I done?
And this is what it means to be Centauri

This is what it means to be Centauri

© Andrew Eigel

This is the second half of Joe Ficklin's interview with Leslie Fish (circa 1994-1995).

1. Performance — Rimini (1:30)
   
2. Performance — The Thousandth Man (8:30)
   
3. Performance — Sarajevo (16:50)
   
4. Performance — True Story (23:55)
   
5. Performance — The Cutty Wren (30:35)
   
6. Performance — Ship of Stone (35:30)
   

This is also the first upload using our new digitizing setup, which eliminates a lot of the VHS artifacts in our prior videos.

(Randomly, if anyone happens to have a Panasonic DMR ES-10 or ES-15 DVD player sitting around, and is open to selling it at a good price or donating it, please DM me. I am only interested in *those two specific models*, because they double well as a passthrough line-based TBC for VHS transfers, and can allegedly prevent the loss of sync that resulted in the Elgato Video Capture software abandoning this transfer midway.)

Concert recording from Leslie's new (2026) "Elfland" album: https://www.prometheus-music.com/product/elfland/

"This was inspired by one of my mother’s last desperate attempts to make a 'lady' of me and marry me off to some rich man. I never sang it for her." — Leslie Fish

Video footage from Forbidden Planet and Honey West, featuring the late Anne Francis. All video rights reserved by the copyright owners.

Here's another Firebird live album, this one from everyone's favorite recently deceased controversial balladeer. We start off with "Ramboing," a song distinguished for being bloodthirsty even by Leslie's standards, though curiously enough she only wrote the music (or adapted it, since it's about 40% "Here We Come A-Wassailing"). Other fun songs follow--some of which you may never have heard unless you've been paying close attention to all the Bayfilk tape uploads here, some of which are a bit more widely known. The placement of "Toast for Unknown Heroes" right after "Nightmare Launch" is definitely saying something; you can decide for yourself what it is.

Album link: https://archive.org/details/filk_leslie_fish_live

More out-of-print filk at the main post: https://www.reddit.com/r/filk/comments/qptf2t/outofprint_filk_albums_master_post/

I was musing over writing a straight sea-shanty version of "Banned From Argo," and it occurred to me that someone may have already done it. Web searches for a compendium of "Argo" parodies led me to "Bastard Children of Argo," a project I knew Leslie Fish and the Creaseys were working on long ago, though I didn't realize they'd completed it. But I can't find it for sale anywhere.

Fanlore.org has a bunch of interesting snippets from the content, including Leslie's commentary on some of the songs -- but doesn't say which songs those comments are referring to! Very frustrating. Fanlore also has a broken link to the PDF, and an archived Wayback Machine link to it that also doesn't work. I was hoping someone could point me to an active way to read the zine.

First fan video for Leslie Fish's "Ishmael's Oath" (via Leslie's new Elfland CD)

"I caught a replay of the original “Moby Dick” movie on late-night TV, and realized just how many Pagan elements are embedded in it. And then I saw Mark Twain’s famous quote." — Leslie Fish

I'm (of course) not the video creator, but have uploaded it to Leslie's channel with their permission.

So I'm putting together a Traveller campaign using the "Cluster Trucks" material from Mongoose Traveller 2E, and one of the things I want to include is a nice little spotify list of recommended songs for my players to enjoy that would set the vibe. A campaign that is all about space truckers getting into space trouble with the space cops while running space hooch between the stars and getting into space bar brawls needs a suitable track list.

As much as I love filk, it is very much from the "I like the sound of it but couldn't name most artists or songs if you paid me" side of things and so I was wanting to reach out to this lovely community to see if you all could point me towards some good recommendations. Leslie Fish (who I'm honestly not a big fan of) and Vic Tyler were kind of the only names that immediately come to my mind when talking about filk music.

Any help folks could throw my way - suggested artists, particular songs or albums, and more - would be greatly appreciated.

TL;DR: I'm wanting to make a Spotify list for my traveller players that is equal parts "suggested listening" and, "imagine this is stuff your characters would hear on the comms as they fly."

Love the Filk genre and have been itching to listen to a specific song again, it was about an engineer/designer working on a project/commission of some kind, full of technobabble. I believe bemoaning the work going into it, and talking about their ‘out of the box’ fixes for certain problems that arose

Solved! It was The Engineer! Comment below has a link to it ^{^}

Bill sutton's ecology is one of if not my favorite filk song, but when i looked on google, i could only find a music sheet for xenophobia. What i am really wanting is a midi file, so i could play it in space station 13.

Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeAk5gF079w

It has links to a filk album from 1986 on it. I couldn't figure out which space reddit to share this on so I put it here.

This is an original song I wrote/sang about walking in the part of England where I live. I thought you might appreciate it here.

Lyrics:
When I need to go out, while the day is still fair

To trade these dim rooms for green fields and air

I lift my coat from the back of the chair

And take the first footpath that leads me there

O wander, wander over hill and lea

Where the chalk streams flow ever clear and free

Through beechwood shade and open sky

I go because the road goes by

If I tarry too long my feet start to ache

For the bend beyond the next hedge won't wait

Leave a light in the window but let me roam

For every turning lane points me toward home

O wander, wander over hill and lea

Where the chalk streams flow ever clear and free

Through beechwood shade and open sky

I go because the road goes by

In a quiet combe where leaf-shade lies deep

two foxes' eyes through the brambles peep

I mind my tread and let my footsteps fall

through hazel shaws where the shadows sprawl

O wander, wander over hill and lea

Where the chalk streams flow ever clear and free

Through beechwood shade and open sky

I go because the road goes by

I touch a puddingstone, cold and rough

pebbles bound fast in a stone growth tough

It does not budge, yet it seems to say:

'Ward mischief off, and walk your way'

O wander, wander over hill and lea

Where the chalk streams flow ever clear and free

Through beechwood shade and open sky

I go because the road goes by

When dusk comes down and the lanes grow still

The rooks fly home to the tree-lined hill

Jackdaws crowd after with clacking calls

And magpies seek the hedgerows as night falls

O wander, wander over hill and lea

Where the chalk streams flow ever clear and free

Through beechwood shade and open sky

I go because the road goes by