Unlike some of her modern-day neo-singer/songwriter peers, Nelly Furtado never hid her ambition or her desire to be an "important" artist, which was part of the charm of her debut, Whoa, Nelly! Despite (or perhaps because of) her youth, she was willing to try anything, blending a number of sounds and styles, all of which were tied together by her sincerity and audacious desire to say something grand, or at least say everything grandly. Her musical restlessness was underpinned by a sensibility that was fundamentally serious but leavened by sly humor, all of which made Whoa, Nelly! a bracing listen. Her second album, Folklore, is a bit of a different situation. Released three years after her debut, it picks up where the first record leaves off, but it's a much more serious affair, a situation telegraphed by the album covers. Whoa, Nelly! and Folklore mirror each other -- both bear the same Nelly Furtado logo and both feature a reclining Furtado, but where the debut was bright, girlish, and rather innocent, finding her lying to the right in a field, she's now bathed in warm, dark colors, looking rather sultry as she lies to the left among a bunch of leaves. The artwork implies she's more mature, and it's a sentiment that's mirrored in the album titles, since the plainspoken Folklore lacks the humor of Whoa, Nelly! and suggests she'd rather play it straight than play around. Furtado's songs play like entries in a diary. To a certain extent, this was true on Whoa, Nelly!, but since she had yet to reach stardom, she was writing about more universal subjects. Plus, her thrill in making her first album was palpable, giving the album a naďve, exciting charm. There are some interesting musical moments on Folklore; Furtado has skills and ambition, which make her music interesting.
The relationship between Science and Religion have been a recent obsession and theme of my 07 so far. I recently read Angels & Demons by Dan 'Davinci Code' Brown and along with being a really rivetting read, it's renewed my interest in pursuing answers/unknown questions to the heavier things in life.It manages to incorporate a slew of interesting (to me) subjects/topics (science and religion, s...
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If I may be romantic for a moment, this is, put simply, my future wedding song."Childhood Dreams" - by Nelly FurtadoI can't believe you need meI never thought would be needed for anythingI can't believe my shoulder would carry such important weightAs your head and your tearsI can't believe you chose me, in all my fragility, meIt hurts so much when I love you, it makes me cry Every timeYou, you ...
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Photo by Michael BinaAs I hinted before I'm going to be absent for the next little while. Why? In 16 hours (after having my personal space violated by various airport officials) I'll be hopping on a plane to Hawaii. Considering I haven't had a vacation out of the country since I was 7, I think this trip was a long time coming. I may check in from time to time, but my presence will be pretty spa...
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The relationship between Science and Religion have been a recent obsession and theme of my 07 so far. I recently read Angels & Demons by Dan 'Davinci Code' Brown and along with being a really rivetting read, it's renewed my interest in pursuing answers/unknown questions to the heavier things in life.It manages to incorporate a slew of interesting (to me) subjects/topics (science and religion, s...
More >
If I may be romantic for a moment, this is, put simply, my future wedding song."Childhood Dreams" - by Nelly FurtadoI can't believe you need meI never thought would be needed for anythingI can't believe my shoulder would carry such important weightAs your head and your tearsI can't believe you chose me, in all my fragility, meIt hurts so much when I love you, it makes me cry Every timeYou, you ...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 One-Trick Pony |
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| 2 Powerless (Say What You Want) |
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| 3 Explode |
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| 4 Try |
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| 5 Fresh off the Boat |
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| 6 Força |
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| 7 The Grass Is Green |
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| 8 Picture Perfect |
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| 9 Saturdays |
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| 10 Build You Up |
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| 11 Island of Wonder |
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| 12 Childhood Dreams |
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 "Folklore")
