drewhnovak

"What is the best pop album of 2006?" you may ask yourself. The way I see it, it boils down to two different albums, by two different artists, but produced by the same amazing guy. Nelly Furtado's Loose and Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds are the result of the collaborations between talented artists and an extremely talented producer. Timbaland is without a doubt very important to the current pop sound, as is shown by these two albums. I'm going to focus on his most recent effort with Timberlake however, because it IS my favorite pop album of the year.

FutureSex/LoveSounds. The very title of the album itself is strange. Unique, and yet not quite unheard of (see Speakerboxxx/The Love Below for similarly-backslashed album titles), it brings to mind fresh beats and carnal urges. This album is in fact a very sexually-oriented one, with many of the song names, including the title track, devoted to sex or romance. Timbaland's excellent production is noticed throughout the endeavor, with only "Damn Girl" being a will.i.am hit. Overall, it's an evolved sound, a futuristic soundscape that came from JT's "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body". It's truly a great album, and definitely my favorite one of the year.

Track by Track review:
1. "FutureSex/LoveSounds" -- A great opener. "FS/LS" really sets the tone for the rest of the album. The bassline is killer, and Timberlake's voice is also pleasing.

2. "SexyBack" -- My personal dance favorite. When I hear this song I feel like it was teleported here from 500 years in the future. It's so sparse, repetitive, and yet, so freaking incredible.

3. "Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk To You Prelude" -- Straight-up funk. Timberlake's falsetto as he sings the "ooh's" is so very Prince. I like it, but it's not my favorite. The prelude is great though, with an almost tribal stomp feel that I greatly enjoy. LMTTY Prelude opens into....

4. "My Love" -- Stuttering synths and beatboxing from Timbaland and JT? This is definitely a song that will hit you hard, and won't leave you until it's spent a ludicrous amount of time in your head. It's a sweet song too (sweet like "aww", which is surprising)

5. "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows Interlude" -- Wow. Favorite seven continuous minutes of the album I think. While it's not as "future" as the first couple of tracks are, it's got a great beat, and it's impossible not to dance to. The Interlude then opens it up and makes it emotional, with strings and such. Gah, amazing.

6. "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude" -- Jawdroppingly-great. Sort of a sequel to "Cry Me a River" in both spirit and lyrics. Great layering of vocals in the chorus, and a wonderful interlude.

6. "Chop Me Up" -- Let me say, that I hated this song when I first heard it. It was typical gangsta rap coming from a pop artist trying to put on this "harder" image. I mean, come on, Three Six Mafia? I turned it before a minute in the first time listening to it. Fortunately, I tried it again, and found it to be a wonderfully dark piano-based rap. The voice during the chorus saying "Chop Me Up" is great, with a strange distorted sound. I don't know how to explain it, but I like it.

7. "Damn Girl" -- The lone will.i.am production on the album. It's a little forgettable, as the first words are nothing but "Damn Girl" for a good 20 or 30 seconds. But, it's fun and dirty, and you learn to love it.

8. "Summer Love/Set the Mood Prelude" -- I kind of love the synths in Summer Love. They are just so wonderful. Good slower dancing song, followed by a sort of slow-jam groove called Set the Mood. Set the Mood is not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate what it tried to do; segue into the first real ballad, which is...

9. "Until the End of Time" -- A Prince-esque ballad, with that tinny drum sound and nice keyboarding. Nice.

10. "Losing My Way" -- Melodramatic song about a crack addict. But it's got Timbaland "duh-duh-duh"-ing in the background, which rocks.

11. "(Another Song) All Over Again" -- Another ballad, this one not as good as number 9. My least favorite song on the album.

12. "Pose (Bonus Track)" -- Snoop Dogg? What are you doing on my JT album. Get off please. It's goofy to the max.

Three days of college down, an endless amount more to go. But it's alright, considering I'm having a good time. My classes are all honestly fun. It's strange, but even in the small community college of Shasta, I'm getting excited to learn again. Granted, I'm learning about sex, rock and roll, and TV

Alright, so tomorrow I start my first day of school, post-high school of course. I must say I'm not that thrilled. Fortunately, my classes do not seem to be very taxing. They are as follows:

-Human Sexuality, a class which I hope to find pretty interesting. I mean, it IS about sex, right?
-History of Jazz and Rock, which I also hope to at least be entertaining in some menial sense.
-Exploring Contemporary TV; I really hope this is exactly what I think it should be. Basically, a class where we watch modern TV and analyze it. Yes.

And then if I can get into a math class, that would rule for credits. But yeah, I'm still not very excited. I enjoy doing nothing more than going to class, but I think that's a given.

So, I got back yesterday from my friend's house. It was so odd, I mean she has her life already up and moving, what with the apartment and the jobs and the school, etc. I just felt behind somehow. It was nice to see her though.

To be honest, the main thing on my mind is that my best friend is leaving today, and I'm more than a little distraught. I'm going to miss Kalie Sacco so much, it's ridiculous. I can only hope I'll get to visit her as often as we can both afford to, as she's kind of my grounding point in life. I'm actually a little lost as to what to do now. Meh, it's lame, but I'm upset, so I'll just go with it.

So, I believe tomorrow I will be taking a trip down near Sacramento to visit a friend of mine, named Anne'. It'll be a lot of fun I think, and the only trip I've ever taken completely by myself. I know it doesn't seem like much, but I really am looking forward to it. I'll have a 3 and a half hour drive down there, all to myself, just to think and such. It'll be great. Plus, when I get there, I'll have a blast with Anne' and her boyfriend I'm sure. Yes.

On a different topic, but similar still, I'm planning a trip to see the amazing Sufjan Stevens in October. He'll be playing in Berkley, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but, I believe it's going to be Jacob and I in a car down to Berkley, and it'll be excellent. We already have plans to recreate the scene from the Rules of Attraction in our hotel room with "Faith" playing in the background. Please tell me you know what I'm talking about. So, basically yeah. That's what I'm thinking about as of now. How exciting....for me at least.

By the way, Sufjan is actually a god. Listen to The Predatory Wasp or Concerning the UFO if you don't believe me. Just go now, do it.