Today at work after my co-worker was done with his everyday serving of death/black/nu metal I decided to but my own disc in the boom box - only to be told there were "rules" as to what I could and couldn't play:

1. No n-word $hit

No, I didn't throw that slur in for effect - this is what my supervisior actually told me. Fine, there isn't much rap I like anyway. I found his use of words to be very distasteful even though I'm not African American.

2. No Country

Again, fine... I like a little country (some really old stuff) but then no big loss.

3. No Oldies

Well, this one made me scratch my head, what's wrong with oldies? Then again, if you want to listen to oldies you can really use the radio for that.

4. No Girl Stuff

Here's where we get into trouble - I asked if "ballads" of anykind counted as "girl stuff." The answer I got was yes.

Now, I think it's pretty stupid there are "rules" to begin with - sure, they've been there longer but I think we're at the point in our lives if I have to suffer through his music he can suffer through mine; some sort of maturity. Still, I'm pretty sick of hearing Slipknot and Rammstein everyday tho...

Anyway, what I want to focus on here is what is wrong with ballads and power ballads? I've run into several ppl over the years that simply write off any ballad as crap even if they've never heard it. Some of my favorite songs are ballads and I'm not afraid to say such a song is "beautiful" if I think it is even if saying so is as un-manly as my previous friend thought it was for a man to use such a word to describe a piece of music. I will use any damn word I want to describe a piece of music I want!

I also get the "ballads are always cheesy" excuse as well - NO FREAKING CRAP! Ballads are great because they are cheesy, kind of like the saying within a cute birthday card.

Anyway, I was wondering what some other ppl's favorite ballads where, here are some of mine with some lyric snippets:

Gamma Ray: Farewell (1995)
"Goodbye my Friends, I'm leavin' you today
My quest is hard, but I must be on my way
Now, don`t ask why
Goodbye my Friends"

HammerFall: I Believe (1997)
"I believe - in everything I see, every second is a miracle for me
I believe - after sunshine comes the rain, when it's pouring down the only thing I feel is pain"

HammerFall: Never Ever (2005)
"Never ever talk, never ever smile
Knowing that my life won't be the same
Never ever touch, never ever feel
I will never hear you call my name... again"

Heavenly (Jermaine Jackson cover): When the Rain begins to Fall
"And when the rain begins to fall you’ll ride my rainbow in the sky
And I will catch you if you fall you’ll never have to ask me why
And when the rain begins to fall I’ll be the sunshine in your life
You know we can have it all and everything will be all right"

Sonata Arctica: Good Enough is Good Enough (2007)
"Good enough was good enough for me as it should always be
You broke my heart when it was weak
Guess you were not meant for me...
Good enough was good enough for me as it should always be
You spread a tale of lies about me
And I believed it, my heart's got a leak...

Labyrinth: Miles Away (1995, 1999)
Time has changed our lives
I'm searching for the answers
picking up the pieces of my life
somewhere along the way.

Can't you look me screaming?
I look for your face in this light
and you're reaching for something you never had
...I'm miles...
and we live the hard way
day by day
tears are far away
all the night is blinding me side by side

...I'm miles away..."

Sorry for my ignorance, but I ask legitimately what the difference between a ballad and a normal song is. Your examples don't leave much for distinction in my mind.

That would be enough to make me quit.

A ballad is usually a slower song with heartfelt lyrics... I know that's a pretty vague definition. Some ballads can be slow at first but gain power as the song progresses, sometimes known as a power ballad.

Edit:

From Wikipedia:

In jazz and popular music, the term ballad denotes a short song in a slow tempo, usually with a romantic or sentimental text, though the term is also used for instrumental pieces.

My advice - put on some Edguy.  Not just the slow ballad-y stuff, but just an album in general.  By the time it's done, they won't question you again.  "Rocket Ride" FTW.

Would Don Henley's Boys of Summer count, then?

Out of Vogue = fav from Rocket Ride. I probably say "Matrix" is my second favorite.

In all honesty, I wouldn't consider "Boys of Summer" a ballad even though the definition of what a ballad is pretty vague. Still, there are songs that are considered ballads I personally don't think are, so it's all relative. I can't really stand that song though - don't get me wrong, it's a good song but my one old roomate constantly played a cover/remix version of it and I got so sick of it so even when I hear the superior original I pretty much loath it because I'm reminded of ODing on the version he played.

Of course, what annoyed me more was he had no idea it was a cover... then trying to tell him that song has a lot more history beyond the band that covered it.

Just go for the Super Eurobeat stuff. They won't be sure WHAT to make of it. ^_~ There's also some of P.M. Dawn's stuff...

Interestingly enough, my b/f and I were having a discussion not too long ago over what exactly is a ballad. He copied a definition from somewhere. I think what constitutes a "ballad" nowadays is kind of hard to define.

Not to go too far off topic, but is there any reason you couldn't just bring a walkman/mp3 player to work and just put on headphones? I was in the same situation recently except it was the music they played in the store. I now bring my player and listen to whatever I want while I work.

This seems appropriate here.

I don't get it.

Rock is dead (at least that's the message I think they were trying to get across).

I've been thinking about this as well, but I think there a few reasons why this wouldn't work to well:

The first is I don't have a player right now, mine recently broke - I have a new one on the way though...

...the second is my job is rather physical, lifing pipes and parts and placing them on racks, even a small player would probably take a great amount of abuse - not to mention the headphone cables getting in the way (I ruined many pairs over the years at other jobs catching them on things.) Also, even though it's loud already I do need to hear what my co-workers say even if we have to scream it to one another.

We're also not suppost to have our cell phones out during work even though no one seems to follow that rule as the text a lot, I think an mp3 player might attract more stigma.

At my old job I did listen to my mp3 player though.

That's what I got out of the comic, along with the fact that most "rock" acts nowadays are total shit. Maybe that last part is just personal opinion, though. In other news, Panic at the Disco's new CD was released yesterday. >_>

I'll just post some slower songs that I love...ballads or not here they are...

Dragonland - Supernova

Dreamtale - Tears

Elvenking - On The Morning Dew

Elvenking - Skywards

Kamelot - The Haunting (Somewhere In Time)

Machinae Supremacy - Oki Kumas Adventure<-------Underground Edition of course.

Oh yes as far as Sonata Arctica goes....I love these ones...

Broken
Replica
Sing in Silence

As fas as their new album Unia it blows compared to their previous releases.

I have to admit, the first time I heard Unia I didn't like anything. I like a few songs now - like a year later - but no, it still doesn't touch what came before.

Unia screams zero classics like FullMoon, My Land, Black Sheep, Victoria's Secret, or Don't Say a Word.  I see where your coming from, but I was so sick and saddened when I listened through Unia I still cant get into it.  At least somebody found something good from it.

I'm going to have to jump in Unia's defense here.  Granted, it's the first album I've really gotten into from SA, but what about tracks like "Caleb" and "For the Sake of Revenge"?  And, if this one is kinda meh, then what album should I listen to next?

That's a toughie... I'd honestly say Reckoning Night but the their four prior albums are all good in there own way.

Of course, since you listened to Unia first you might end up feeling differently than PZ and I.

My favorite Sonata Arctica album is their first one Ecliptica.  AWESOME!  Sooo many good songs in one album...like

My Land
8th Commandment
Replica
Kingdom For A Heart
FullMoon
UnOpened
Destruction Preventer

I agree with Winchester that if you started with Unia you might have a different take their albums than us.  I also agree with Ash that your next step should be Reckoning Night.  Ecliptica is top, imo.