A kung fu fighter in a disco

Surely you mean BONNIE TYLER'S 50 Greatest Power Ballads?

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But yes of course REM isn't a power ballad. Qualities of a power ballad (not exhaustive list!):

- quiet bit AND loud bit
- incredibly w4nky guitar/saxophone solo
- belting vocal
- oh loads more that I can't think of right this second.

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byebyepride.livejournal.com

Actually they're billing it as Q&A with lame questions in the bottom of the screen. Maybe our cable channel is deficient!

We also had Celine D -- which I guess has to count, although my hackles rose. Foreigner which obviously is. Take My Breath Away which kind of pwns everything else...

Anyway, watching the OC now.

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Did the countdown resemble this (http://katstevens.livejournal.com/482390.html) in any way?

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byebyepride.livejournal.com

Well I never made it to the Top 10, but I'm pretty sure Roxette had already features in the 20s, so I think they might have been different countdowns. + No Bonny Tyler anywhere to be seen!

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dickmalone.livejournal.com

Well, the power ballad originated as a ballad done by a hard rock band and so naturally included certain default hard rock band elements, but over the years of its dominance it changed (or reinvented) the ballad form, and when you do a ballad the power-ballad way, even if you don't have distorted guitars, it's still sorta a power ballad. Really, someone should come up with a better term for it, but...

So, for instance, "Beautiful." The chorus makes it a power(-ish) ballad because it uses a fairly direct chord progression and switches to a major feel and is defiant in tone. REM's is belty and does have distorted guitars. (Recall the bridge.) The anthemic feel that wasn't really a part of the ballad vocabulary previously (or only tangentially) is what makes it power now, maybe.

"Don't Speak" is just a power ballad because it's a ballad by a rock band, I don't think it's particularly power-y.

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Isn't 'power ballad' exactly the right phrase though, given the transition? I mean if it was a 'rock ballad' then a) all kinds of terrible dross would be under the classification eg: Staind horror horror horror although possibly they are also power ballads but if so let's pretend I never mentioned them, b)it would need Slash on constant duty but 'power ballad' is more open to just anything where people (at least try to) get that sort of rousing effect out of a ballad, as opposed to just breaking down and crying ie sort of a powerful propaganda ballad 'let's all feel angry/sad/something about this!' rather than just 'oh god this is really awful, relate, relate!' (I am a big fan of both (sub)genres so am not saying there is anything wrong with the latter)

I think 'Don't Speak' is a really good power ballad, it's got a lot of 'Love is a Battlefield' in it hasn't it, only bigger and slowed down? Maybe I am just mad. Actually I am not sure I am thinking of 'Love Is A Battlefield' but nevermind.

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getbacknow.livejournal.com

One important aspect of the power ballad is that there has to be something BOMBASTIC in it. The obvious examples are Heaven by Warrant and Total Eclipse of the Heart.

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Question: Is "Eternal Flame" a power-ballad?

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getbacknow.livejournal.com

I'd say no...I mean, based on my very scientific analysis, the end part where Susanna goes to town and the rest of the band members kick in is pretty powerful. But most power ballads have this sense of power throughout the song, where with Eternal Flame it really only kicks in near the last part. With Alone by Heart, for example, the verses are slow but they hint at the powerful chorus. I think power ballads are really rock songs at heart, and they're always on the verge of being too indulgent (if they aren't there already)...so I don't think Eternal Flame would qualify.

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Nope. Not mental enough!

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freakytigger.livejournal.com

Is Springsteen's "Jungleland" a proto-power ballad?

Something I am interested in, in balladry, is the low-mid tempo pop track - "Irreplacable", "Early Winter" - by no means a banger but it doesn't feel right to call them ballads (though Lex does).

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My dividing line for ballad is CAN YOU SLOW DANCE TO IT, by which criteria I believe both fit.

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freakytigger.livejournal.com

"Early Winter" is problematic here I think - it's basically a Keane or Coldplay style modern rock song, and I don't think of those ("Clocks", "Everything Changes", etc.) as slow danceable.

Maybe it's just a pop song.

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Now that I think of it, you are right. "Early Winter" is not a ballad.

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freakytigger.livejournal.com

I think it fills the structural function of a ballad on the Gwen album, though - it drops the pace, lets the act's sensitive or hurt side show. But it isn't one.

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I was thinking about this when I was listening to 'Say It Right' the other day; it's essentially a ballad but then it isn't really at all. There seems to be a lot of that going on at the moment and I am not really sure what you would call it. 'Unhappy Slow Jam' possibly although that's probably stupid.

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Power ballad = ballad with balls wot you can sing when no one else is in, there is plenteous vodka and that UTTERLY HORRIBLE PERSON has just been UTTERLY HORRIBLE, innit? Or maybe when utterly lovely people are being subjected to utterly horrible scenarios. They are not often much happy, or at least they are describing past torment if they are innit. Much of the recent McFly album verges on power-balladry I thought earlier although doesn't quite get ballady enough. Then again it is possible I was high on the fumes of some kind of oil the boyfriend was spraying on all the door hinges to increase his man factor. (presumably)

My mum is a power ballad afficionado. Then again she likes Iron Maiden.

To me, 'Beautiful' is not a power ballad, however, 'Fighter' is one of the most collosal examples of the genre in recent years, although this may be because I have 0x interest in a lot of Beyonce. 'With Every Heartbeat' is a good one, isn't it? It could be B. Tyler if Robyn had been busy that day. In goth news (and there is nothing more goth than power ballads y/n?) the Dresden Dolls are also major power-ballad purveyors and Morgan Grace and the Hidden Hands basically only do them, Emilie Autumn has made an album recently of such insane spag-out power ballad magnitude (although it is instrumental but definitely Of The Genre and if not the whole of 'Opheliac' is so nevermind) that it would make Meatloaf feel a bit embarassed. Also, Maz Manson is a major power balladeer although I cannot think of any off the top of my head.

Axshully I think maybe the gothism factor is necessary in the def. of power ballads due to the EXTREME MELODRAMA requirement (Sarah McLachlan's 'Fallen' =bloody good power ballad) and they certainly favour female histeria, although this may just be me transposing something. Actually wtf am I talking about; Queen, Bowie, Ozzy, what'shisfacefromAliceinChains, MCR, Nickeldeargodback, etc etc etc etc DISCARD THIS PARAGRAPH IMMEDIATELY.

Within Temptation are still fvcking cr4p, though.

I often think Tolkien is quite heavily related to power ballads but that's only because I can slightly envision Axl Rose casting himself in a SIX HOUR epic video spanning the whole of the 'Ballad of Luthien and Beren' (or vice versa, whatever it is)

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I really can't write coherently after 10pm.

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I'm sorry, but "Fighter" is not a ballad, is it? Under my "slow dance" test it would certainly horribly fail.

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But then you can't really slowdance to 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' can you? I dunno maybe you can.

To be fair I just thought about it and have slowdance 0 times in my life and don't really end up at events where such activities happen so dunno.

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but "Fighter" is uptempo!

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I just watched the video to Transylvania - omgwtfoneoneone???

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It's my favourite thing they've ever done. I'm really glad they're releasing it as a single because I thought it might sit untouched like some of the brilliance on 'Wonderland' but not only have they released it, they have released it with that video which makes them look like cross-dressers when they're being boys (well, Danny definitely does) and is easily as bonkers as the song. Although it is probably true that I spend an unhealthy amount of time considering which of them should be female on a permanent basis and which of them are better off male.

The chart will hate it probably but I am satisfied.

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I love Harry. He is well fit.

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I sometimes migrate to Dougie but yes, very much so.

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boyofbadgers.livejournal.com

Axl playing Luthien, obv.

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