...Telling Secrets, Cutting Loose

Hey everyone! Here is what is new in music this week...

Nelly Furtado - Loose: Most of my friends are Nelstar haters, but this album rules. Nelly took the Gwen Stefani route to the town of sell-out although Timbaland saves the day (as usual). Thanks to his production, this is one the best pop albums of the year and features the future massive hit, "Maneater". You have probably already heard the current smash, "Promiscuous". Now there's a song I cannot get outta my head!

Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret: This CD/DVD combo is a peculiar package. It is being marketed as Madonna's first live CD (perhaps because she only started to sing mostly live a couple years ago), but its real highlight is its Truth or Dare redux documentary. The surprise is that this documentary is feature length and even better than ToD in terms of interest and professionalism. The CD, however, is a strange package. Since it is merely a "soundtrack" to the doc, it features some songs that are not even live including a couple musical interludes set to remixes of pre-recordings that were featured during the concert to showcase the dancers and give Madge time to change. As with most of Madonna's releases, it is flawed but worth checking out.

Keane - Under The Iron Sea: After giving us their brand of Coldplay-style music, Keane has moved on to U2. Like any good group, they know where to cop their ideas and know that if executed well,the final product will be worthy of attention.