Let's talk about BALLADS
Oct. 3rd, 2006 01:17 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
freakytigger.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
poptimistsThe giveaway CD for Thursday's Poptimism will be an ALL-BALLAD special. I'm taking here about the modern usage of the word to mean 'slow song', rather than the older 'story song'.
Ballads seem to get short shrift from Poptimists - criticisms of pop or R&B albums, for instance, often turn on a "too many ballads" claim. The list of NOW poll winners here is short on them too (Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", Portishead's "Glory Box", maybe a couple of others).
What are some of your favourite ballads? Do you have trouble enjoying slow pop songs? Why do you think that is, if so? Do some genres suit 'ballads' better than others? (Some of the people who complain about R&B ballads might be Low or Will Oldham fans, for instance!) When does a song stop being a ballad? And so on - plenty to talk about, I'm sure.
I do want ballad recommendations, however the giveaway CD has already been made and is GREBT, a chronological journey through balladry from the 50s to last week.
Ballads seem to get short shrift from Poptimists - criticisms of pop or R&B albums, for instance, often turn on a "too many ballads" claim. The list of NOW poll winners here is short on them too (Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", Portishead's "Glory Box", maybe a couple of others).
What are some of your favourite ballads? Do you have trouble enjoying slow pop songs? Why do you think that is, if so? Do some genres suit 'ballads' better than others? (Some of the people who complain about R&B ballads might be Low or Will Oldham fans, for instance!) When does a song stop being a ballad? And so on - plenty to talk about, I'm sure.
I do want ballad recommendations, however the giveaway CD has already been made and is GREBT, a chronological journey through balladry from the 50s to last week.
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Date: 2006-10-03 01:20 pm (UTC)1) Certain inadequacies relating to the subject matter, historically (hysterically!)
2) They tend to be ego-centric without being 'fun' or danceable - and with that latter element missing i'm not interested in someone else's emotional outpourings
that MIGHT be all it is. i appreciate many more of them these days. a lot of big hit ballads from the 80s and 90s i like now largely for the general nostalgia element e.g. Madonna's slowies. as ever there's a tendency to prefer female-sung ones rather than those from male counterparts - but this applies to my pop tastes generally.