Recently I've been listening to music that I would never pay attention to. Yesterday it was Britney Spears and last month it was Al Dexter. In between there's been some Justin Timberlake and Madonna. When I like something, it becomes a good discovery. When I don't, I'm reminded that so many people would be quick to disagree with me.

So, in keeping with this week's theme - which, in case you haven't guessed, is "mainstream pop" - I'm listening to the just-released Nelly Furtado album. Torontonian-Portuguese Furtado was here in Brazil many months ago and spoke some modest Portuguese with the country's big talk show host, Jo Soares. The impression I got was that the girl's intellectual ability was comparable to Chandra Kandi's. Much like a Nicole Kidman interview I once saw on the Letterman show, Furtado sorta seemed like she was high during the entire show. She wouldn't stop laughing.

Folklore has me confused because, as far as "mainstream pop" goes, it's pretty cool. It's organic, with lots of ethnic percussion and instrumentation. It can get orchestral, but most of the time you hear a bunch of people playing real instruments. And her lyrics even cross over into convincing Portuguese here and there. In fact, there's a very nice track with the participation of Caetano Veloso, who Furtado describes as her "musical idol."

Her first album gave me the impression that somewhere along the line she'd decided to be an alternative R&B/hip-hop artist. It now seems she's decided to go for something more unique. That's good, no? Now, I did read a review where someone mentioned she was taking herself too seriously. I guess that's fair. But some people still like straight-faced music, right?

No, this isn't going to become current listening and I'll probably only play it a couple more times, but it's nice to hear someone trying to be different. Not all pop is evil.