Whoa Nelly! Furtado makes me forget other girls
Andrew Ladd
March 05, 2001
I first saw her about a week ago, when her video for Im Like a Bird gave me a newfound faith in the entire art of music video. There she was, on my television screen, like a siren calling to me from across the ocean. I wont lie I submitted without a fight and sailed directly into the rocky shore with my notions of the female voice swept away by the violent wreck that destroyed my ship.
Simply on merit of her voice, video, and album title the wonderfully playful Whoa Nelly! I decided that I had to hear more of her music. Within five minutes I had become a Nelly Furtado aficionado. And in the ensuing days, my infatuation with the 22-year old Portuguese-Canadian singer has increased exponentially.
Every time I hear the tracks that comprise Whoa Nelly! Furtados Dreamworks debut I fall more and more smitten. At this point, to quote Mike Meyers, you could say Im in deep smit. The layers and textures mixed into Furtados songs are as diverse as her upbringing might suggest, and as far as the lyrical content of her songs is concerned my self-reflective love aint too shabby either.
Furtado earns big points in my book with her effectual use of the expletive in a few of her songs. On the Radio (Remember the Days) incorporates one such word into its already solid verse (You liked me till' you heard my shit on the radio / But now Im just too mainstream for you, oh no) in a way that does not in any way stand out the true test for appropriate expletive use. The only way you really notice it is when you come to the realization of, Damn, she can hang! Listen to this, man!
And so Ive been doing for the past three days: listening, and trying to get others to listen. Each time is a new experience as the world rhythms, hip-hop sensibilities, sensitive yet not over-wrought lyrics, and unique vocals sort themselves out in my head. It gets me every time. Something new, some new style that sets Nelly apart from the crowd of homogenous, unimaginative artists Ive previously categorized as female singer/songwriters.
Dont get me wrong, Im not trying to express any sort misogynistic women-arent-as-good-as-men-are view, but Ive long felt that despite the creative potentials of many quality female artists (Sarah McLaughlin, Jewel, Indigos, Mariah, any other female R n B act, and all the way back to the likes of Grace Slick and Stevie Nicks) are never quite realized, and so many of the songs blend together into a mash of almost different but not quite songs and records.
I guess what Im trying to get at in the least offensive way possible is that within any genre there are going to be a slew of artists that are almost indistinguishable from one another. In the current rap-rock scene, for example, there really arent that many bands that have developed their own distinct style within the genre. There are a few (a la Limp Bizkit) that have manufactured their image, but musically Id argue that they are not the most innovative group in all the land. Only Incubus and A Perfect Circle spring immediately to mind as being truly innovative within this genre, although my frame of reference is somewhat limited such is the nature of opinion.
After listening to Whoa Nelly! for the millionth time, Ive come to the realization that this is why I like her so much: her styles switch from song to song the hip-hop infected rhythms intermingle with Latin sounds. Furtado is both interesting and challenging throughout the run of her debut album. Ms. Furtado expresses as much in her lyrics: I'm changing my inflection and how I say the words / Maybe it will sound like something they've never heard. How true this is. She sings unlike anyone Ive ever heard. Just listen once through Turn Off the Lights and youll have had a listening experience unparalleled to any other out there today. Ive heard people do pretty amazing things with inflection and such-like, but nothing as nicely done as what is audible within this song. The way she sings contains so much; there are things that are very obvious but more endearingly, there are things that are way below radar and take time to digest.
Recently, an entire genre has been blown wide open by the music of one young lady in particular. Nelly Furtado has dominated my WinAmp and my heart. Shes single-handedly brought about feelings within me I didnt know existed not like that smart-guy, get your mind out of the gutter and like Odysseus after hearing the sirens song; I will never be the same again.
