Filk is a science fiction and fantasy inflected subgenre of folk music — you know, tales of hobbits and Tatooine all done up with acoustic stylings. But filk is also heavily associated with the 1960s hippie generation, and nerdy rockers these days need something that has a more millennial feeling. Enter Trock, or Timelord Rock. It's all about Doctor Who, and it's a lovely smashup of emo shoegazing and electronic zoom. This phenomenon is so huge, so world-changing, that it has its own internet forum. And it has a flagship band: Chameleon Circuit, whose first single "Blink," is about one of the most popular Doctor Who episodes in recent memory (it was written by Stephen Moffat, the new Doctor Who showrunner). Here is "Blink" with explanatory images from the episode:
And here is "Blink" with an introduction and full emo-tastic Who-gazery from the lead singer:
The band also has a new song called "Exterminate Regenerate" - it's got a synth flair and is actually quite a bit better than "Blink." You can hear it on the band's MySpace page. What can we expect next from Trock? Hopefully a huge upswelling of tragic tales of love and betrayal featuring the Master, along with some angry breakup songs from Sarah Jane. I am prepared to fully back this awesome new trend, as long as nobody spins it off into Twock - you know, Torchwood rock. I am not ready to face that quite yet. Thanks, Ria! For Further Listening: Chameleon Circuit MySpace Page An introduction to Filk from BoingBoingTV [via BBTV]