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I'm not spanish though I did learn a little but, not enough to understand what is being said in the song No Hay Igual, yet it's one of my favorite songs on the album. Go figure.
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Nelly Furtado
Loose
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AMG Review of Loose
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music GuideIf Nelly Furtado's nearly impenetrable 2003 sophomore effort, Folklore, proved anything, it was that this modern-day singer/songwriter is smart and ambitious yet doesn't quite have a handle on those very qualities. Dabbling in worldbeat and chronicling the perils of immediate success, she indulged herself without a care for the audience -- and the audience responded in kind, as the album barely cracked the Billboard Top 40, spawned no hits, and sold about a quarter of what her Grammy-winning debut did. Clearly a rethink of some sort was in order for her next album, and 2006's Loose, delivered about three years later, certainly does present a different Nelly Furtado: one who is glammed up, sexed up, and ready for the dancefloor. Borrowing liberally from Gwen Stefani's ghetto fabulous makeover and a little bit from Justin Timberlake's sleek retro-'80s moves on Justified, Furtado now has a sound that's straight 2006; with hooks that feel as comfortable as bumper music on MTV as they do as background on cell phone commercials or as ringtones, she can blend into the hyper-saturated media culture of 2006, a move that may alienate fans who were won over by how her debut, Whoa, Nelly!, sounded like nothing else in 2000. No matter how club-friendly Loose is -- even its quieter moments, like the closing "All Good Things (Come to an End)" (co-written in part by Coldplay's Chris Martin), feel like ideal soundtracks to chill-out moments -- ultimately Furtado did not get a swan-styled makeover, where her original personality has been chiseled and chipped away so only a vestige of her remains. Remember, Furtado is nothing if not smart, and she smartly picked Timbaland, one of the very best producers in modern music, as her main collaborator for Loose.
Timbaland helmed all but two of the 12 main tracks here -- the album weighs in at 13 songs, but one is a Spanish version of the Juanes duet "Te Busque" -- and he gives much of this music a bracing feel, dense with old-school synths, subtle sample collages, bone-crunching bass, cascading vocal hooks, and beats that sound so heavy it takes careful listening to realize how nimble they are. Nowhere is this more evident than on the killer opening triptych of "Afraid," "Maneater," and "Promiscuous," three songs that trumpet Furtado's makeover and make it seem pretty convincing, too -- particularly on "Maneater" with its circular, minor-key bass and "Promiscuous" with its chorus that sounds like vintage Prince. This is Timbaland at his best, and the only weak link is Furtado; no matter how she growls on "Maneater" or murmurs on "Promiscuous" -- no matter how much she sings about sex, period -- she just doesn't sound sexy. She sounds as if she's striving to be sexy, which doesn't generate much carnal heat, but it ultimately doesn't matter much since on all the heavy dance songs, of which there are a bunch, she's mixed into the background on Timbaland's production, functioning as another instrument, which helps the music work as just a stylish wall of sound. Furtado doesn't fight against Timbaland's mix, which proves her smarts more than anything on the showy Folklore; there's a reason why she chose Timbaland as a collaborator, and she lets him shine for the first half of the record, as they get the party rolling. Then on the second half of the record, the old Nelly starts to show through. She gets to play the world traveler with "No Hay Igual," where she deftly blends eggaeton and M.I.A., along with the smooth Latin pop allad "Te Busque." Her words gradually come to the forefront, as on "Say It Right" -- a dark meditative piece that would have fit on her previous records if it didn't have a Timbaland production -- or on the sweetly ruminative "In God's Hands," and then on "Wait for You," which has Indian-influenced hooks and a melody reminiscent of "I'm Like a Bird," both strands are pulled together in a haunting fashion.
It's on this final stretch of the album that the Furtado and Timbaland pairing seems like a genuine collaboration, staying true to the Nelly of her first two albums, but given an adventurous production that helps open her songs up. Unlike the music on Folklore, the idiosyncrasies intrigue instead of frustrate, and deliver on the promise of her debut, when it seemed like Furtado could do anything. That said, the music on the second half isn't nearly as immediate or addictive as "Maneater" and "Promiscuous," two singles that were already deserved hits (in the U.K. and U.S., respectively) when Loose was released. The genius on these two songs is down to Timbaland, who not only crafts the sound but vocally overshadows Nelly's mumbled raps on the latter. But Furtado is smart enough to let him dominate here, since she knows that Timbaland has revitalized Nelly Furtado both creatively and commercially with Loose, so it's only appropriate that he hogs the spotlight on its two best moments.
Nelly is pure dope on my block.
The good + the bad = the Timbaland.
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I've known about this issue for a while, and I figured it might be provocative to post on MOG; seems like a MOG sorta post, and I haven't seen it on here yet (forgive me if I missed it). And it's an oh-so-rare opportunity for me to embed some Youtube action.It seems somewhat plain as day that a chiptune composition called "Acid Jazzed Evening," written for an Amiga MOD (and winner of a competit...
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Albums that came out this year
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There have been lots of albums that have come out this year. Some were good, some were great and some were so bad they their creators should be banned from making music ever again. I have listened to several of them and will give you my take on a few. These are not indepth albums reivews but rather my opinions of the albums. I should also state that I am a fan of Rock and Roll but I do listen t...
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The good + the bad = the Timbaland.
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I've known about this issue for a while, and I figured it might be provocative to post on MOG; seems like a MOG sorta post, and I haven't seen it on here yet (forgive me if I missed it). And it's an oh-so-rare opportunity for me to embed some Youtube action.It seems somewhat plain as day that a chiptune composition called "Acid Jazzed Evening," written for an Amiga MOD (and winner of a competit...
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I heard some music today.
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Track:Promiscuous Girl
This is a MOG sneak attack of stream of consciousness music engagement.Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra (Boulevard de l'Independance) has one of the finest, fullest sounds of any modern African music. The drum sound (particularly on the first song) is unparalleled in the field. Any Afrobeat heads must not miss this.Hector Zazou, Bony Bikaye and CY1 created an amazing album called Noir et B...
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La la la, Woo-hoo, Hey heys... and Make Me Shake
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Track:Promiscuous - (featuring Timbaland)
And sometimes, sometimes, you just want to write a La La La song -- with absolutely nothing to do with mathematics, fine art, dna, haikus or brain entrainment (see previous posts at left,) just... sex.For the track "Make Me Shake (Gimme Some Crush Crush)":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=154068465&s=143441&i=154068519 from the Various Chimeras CD by Shinjuk...
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Nelly Furtado and her Flip-Flop Fans
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I have been a loyal Nelly Furtado fan since her first album, Whoa, Nelly. Something about it, I guess the combination of her unique voice, dark, melancholic lyrics, and the music's mosaic composition, connected to me quite profoundly as I entered my teen years. Radio and MTV loved her hit singles I'm Like a Bird and Shit on the Radio, but her second album, Folklore, fell completely under the...
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hey glamorous this vial's not god anymore.
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because basically I became that Nelly Furtado song on Saturday night, and that's why it deserves a tag.but! I was out of town all weekend and I missed MOG like fucking crazy. WEIRD.I also want to say that thanks to Daniel, I listened to the Deftones on my entire 3 hour drive home tonight, and it was amazing. except for when my favorite two songs skipped.
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Albums that came out this year
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There have been lots of albums that have come out this year. Some were good, some were great and some were so bad they their creators should be banned from making music ever again. I have listened to several of them and will give you my take on a few. These are not indepth albums reivews but rather my opinions of the albums. I should also state that I am a fan of Rock and Roll but I do listen t...
More >
Nelly Furtado: Loose
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I don't know, I keep changing my mind about this disc every hour or so. I got all excited when I read people describing it as being "really out there" compared to her previous stuff, citing electronic noises and strange production techniques, so I found myself slightly let down when I feverishly expected bizarreness-a-la-Radiohead and instead received... yet another pop record. Still, it's a ...
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Nelly is pure dope on my block.
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I'm not spanish though I did learn a little but, not enough to understand what is being said in the song No Hay Igual, yet it's one of my favorite songs on the album. Go figure.
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New Nelly Furtado Video - Do It
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It seems like Nelly has released a video for most of the songs on her album Loose. "Do It" was produced by none other than Timbaland. Check it out."Download the song":http://www.zshare.net/audio/2714539edfa486/
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Hott of the Press Straight from MTV
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Here's the latest news straight from MTV studios. Check out the sweet new line up of hott new artist performances as well as some tunes being played by old favorites. Keep checking back for weekly updated news!NO NEED TO SCALP -- MTV HAS YOUR TICKET TO THE PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR! Nelly Furtado, Lil' Wayne, Common, T-Pain, Cee-Lo, Daniel Merriweather And Gym Class Heroes Added To Already Packe...
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Not Quite a "Bird" Anymore..
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Nelly Furtado has just released another new video "Do It" from her chart topping album titled "Loose". The video was produced by Nelly Furtado and Aaron A. Ms. Furtado has definitely surpassed her "Like a Bird" stage and has burst back into the music scene even hotter than before with the single "Promiscuous" released back in 2006. Here she is again with another racy single and she's still brea...
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get the phinz remix of nelly furtado's maneater
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this is the maneater remix of phinz.please leave some feedback.if you want you can visit www.myspace.com/therealphinzthx
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Nelly Furtado - Loose
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Okay, so I just feel the need (since I am on a music site) to tell people about Nelly Furtado's new album. It's crazy how the same woman who made "I'm Like A Bird" made this CD. Timbaland produced the whole thing so that might explain things. I think that people who don't think they'll like it would be surprised. Go out and buy it (or download it, whatever it is that you do.)
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 "Loose")
