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 08:30 pm (UTC)I actually believe fairly firmly that the ballad (at least the Pop/R'n'B ballad) isn't really a genre that's been explored properly yet, there does seem a funny shortage of songs like 'Whole Lotta History' which combine that modern cross-media complex pop band thing* with totally functionalist** Sad Strings and that double-take of an obvious truth truly received for the first time I've kinda talked about re: Always on my Mind. GG's 'Unchained Melody' did this too, at least pre-Jordan revelations; 'Leave Right Now' is an example of a great ballad that doesn't go down this route at all. All I am maybe saying is: "where is the pop Cat Power?" - I am pretty sure if the near-perfected sonics of the 00s pop ballad could be mixed (popularly!) with a Real Popstar who refused to be alright (Kelly Calrkson is probably closest?) the results could build amazing on amazing?
*: Ie. that Who Is Singing This becomes what's used as a step to and then joyfully overcome in the lift to universality... perhaps it's just that I'm more aware of the elaborate narratives of Nervous White Popstars which makes the better GA ballads sound so near-unique to me - I know Lex likes a lot of R'n'B ballads which I think I need more context *cough his explanation post* to appreciate.
**: Ballads are kind of like eurotrance I think, in that if the appeal doesn't seem objective they sort of haven't worked.
Have you heard '3/9 with quartet'?
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Date: 2006-10-03 08:38 pm (UTC)