You probably have wondered, How does oR come up with so many brilliant thread ideas? OK, maybe just "so many thread ideas." Same difference, practically. Anyway, after plagerism my second most tried and true method is when I'm listening to a song, whether for the first time or for the thousandth time, something conks me over the head. Like now, coincidentally.

I've just got ATD-I's Greatest Hits collection. It's my first, first hand experience with the band. An emo post-rock metal band. The sort of sound I expected Trail of Dead to have, but didn't (though there are some obvious similarities too, esp World's Apart ToD). But this isn't an ATD-I review, though if it was I'd say 7/10. What struck me was that in the middle of this was a ballad. At least '1986' sounds like as much of a ballad as ATD-I are capable of.

When I think of "ballad" the first thing that I think of is sentimental lyrics. Girls singing about lock-boxes to a downbeat tempo and so on. But I never really checked the definition till now.

Ballad n 1. A narrative poem or song of popular origin in short stanzas, often with a refrain. 2. A sentimental song of several stanzas in which the melody is usually repeated for each stanza.

So I was close.

Favorite &/or Unusual Ballads!