Word of the Day: Roundelay

Power ballads might have cheesy connotations, but we all know it's the only music we'd be embarrassed in the shower for. Pick who you like; a bit of Adele, Gaga or Aretha will earn you no respect in the karaoke booth - but it's only yourself you're trying to impress anyway, right? Today's word of the day is a tribute to what ballads are not: roundelays, or short, simple songs with refrain.

There is something to be said for the short, simple song that packs a lot of punch. Not all songs have to be sung a la Christina or Mariah (for the good of the general population, it is indeed imperative that the majority of us try not to sing them this way). Indeed, simplicity is such a memorable and beautiful tactic in so many disciplines that is hard to see why anyone would try so hard to complicate things. Yet if there weren't awful complicated songs, there would be no respite for them, and perhaps no American Idol. The world would suffer.

Or would they?