AFK Choir, BSides Canberra 2023

Overview The AFK Choir performed a comedic musical entertainment act at BSides Canberra 2023. Rather than a technical cybersecurity talk, this session featured parody versions of famous songs and movie soundtracks with geek culture and tech-themed lyrics, blending pop culture references with comedy skits.

Key Topics The performance spanned multiple franchises and genres:

1. Star Wars and John Williams: The choir performed medleys of John Williams' famous compositions, including Star Wars themes and lyrics, described as "all of John Williams' most famous music except for anything from Star Wars and all the most famous Star Wars lyrics."

2. Game of Thrones: An extended performance of "The Flames" (described as "Ed Sheeran"), featuring lyrics about watching flames burn on mountainsides, with apocalyptic and fantasy themes.

3. Klingon Operatic Performance: A comedic rendition billed as a "glorious operatic duet" performed "in the original Klingon complete with traditional Klingon Bass," described as humans turning what appears to be a classical piece into "a pathetic tale about drifting down the river." The performance included references to blood circles and warfare.

4. Zombie Office Comedy Sketch: A comedic dialogue between Bob and Tom involving zombies trying to negotiate eating brains, featuring discussion of compromise and office dynamics.

Technical Details The choir members mentioned briefly in dialogue include Henry, Tom, and Bob (though these may be character names rather than performer names). The performance included technical/geek references, particularly in the final song.

Final Song – "The Machine That Goes Bing" The performers described this as "the only song I have ever personally written" and claimed it as "the geekiest song ever written." The song was inspired by studying "Network protocol error messages for two weeks" and included references to HTTP status codes (notably "I'm a teapot," the 418 HTTP status code). It also referenced Monty Python ("geek cred number one").

Takeaways The AFK Choir provided an entertainment break during the technical conference, focusing on comedy and pop culture parody rather than security instruction. The group performed additional songs during breaks and planned to rehearse for further performances on Monday. The content was designed for an audience familiar with geek culture, science fiction franchises, and internet/tech culture references.