“Say It Right” – Nelly Furtado
(Words/music: Nelly Furtado, Nate Hills, and Tim Mosley, available on Loose, Universal 2006)

Cold, damp Saturday nights trigger memories of playing in my high school’s marching band.  Every fall for four years revolved around football halftime shows and random competitions around the state.  I remember holding my drum sticks with raw hands and piling under blankets with four or five friends as we waited for the awards ceremony at the end of the night.  So this time of year in particular, the rhythmic pulse of a marching band immediately grasps my attention.  Timbaland and Danja’s production on “Say It Right” replicates the sound of a drumline, complete with multi-pitched toms, tightly wound snare drums, and a deep, booming bass drum.  It’s not as busy or intricate as some drum lines, but the moderate tempo and light flourishes (opening cymbals, light glockenspiel) almost makes it sound like the kind of music a band might play either entering the field.

This would make Nelly Furtado the drum major – the leader of her band, and her Loose-era image could command this type of center-stage presence.  It’s possible to see Furtado in the middle of the field, both leading the band onto the performance space and then singing with their backup.  I’m kind of surprised some college bowl game didn’t try this idea, pairing Furtado with one of the more dynamic marching bands.  “Say It Right” would probably be an easy arrangement for most of these bands, as it’s mostly percussion with some longer held notes backing the vocals.  It’s probably too laid back for a halftime show – as Timbaland and Danja build the beat and then stay out of Furtado’s way for the most part.  Still, I can kind of picture it – Furtado and some backing singers as the center of the field with a drum line and some horn players in motion behind her.  Then again, it might just be this weather talking.

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