Nellie McKay: Brilliant, Crap, enh?

Wrong. Apparently she doesn't like any of these things when they're all mashed together.

A fair balance. But no Gershwin?

re: clonie, i don't see how it could actually be narcisstic, when it seems like a joke about narcissism. Or am I missing what you're saying. Anyway I can understand how the music could be seen as annoying but I think it's fun. Especially whatever mallet instrument is being played.

we’ll be huggable
get a publicist and show them
be the most lovable thing
since fucking Eminem
oh my friend
multiply, we’re a franchise
like Walt Disney or Hannibal Lechter
we can tell our cancer cells
are more benign than old Phil Spector
we’ll survive
side by side
we’re tougher than even Russell Crowe-y
you’re my clonie

I think this hits the nail of what it is I like about those tracks -- maybe it lets me think she's not taking the rap very seriously, because ultimately what I keep coming away with, every time I listen to either disc, is "I love the album, but I don't think I could stand her," because of the smugness and preciousness chuck mentioned and the first-year-student-at-Hampshire-College-ness that he didn't (because she isn't; but she could pass for one).

It's been a good album to put on when I'm doing the dishes and end up catching about half of each song, and a good album to put on when I'm working and end up only consciously listening to every other song.

http://www.nelliemckay.net/index.html

i'm in love with her and

i saw her tonight in chicago!

HA, bliss

my mom saw her on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and was all like "oh you'd love her!"

Plus on "It's A Pose" she sings "Miccio, you give everyday meaning"!

oh ok, thanks dude

sorry, apologies

Throw Nelly Furtado in there too, just for kicks.

"Sari" sounds like fucking Paul Barman. ugh.

OTM

M@tt, this sentence sums up most if not all of why I've never been able to listen to Paul Barman without cringing.

Question: would criticism (both positive and negative) of this record be different if this record was by a 19-year-old guy?

she uses a popular music form without either embracing it or criticizing it.

I don't quite understand this concept. How exactly can one use a form and not embrace it? Or does embrace it entail more than merely rapping? And if so, what?

aside from using it satirically I mean. Frankly I think she's embracing the musical form plenty, just not the culture. And what's wrong about that?

the concept of using without embracing = every girl in junior high, to me. seriously, though, I'll have to think about what I said a little more, but I don't feel like she understands rap or wants to understand what works and what doesn't, it feels like she's trying it on for fun, but that doesn't make it a fun listen for me. "work song" better than "sari", but her rap stuff is just more like the salesmen's patter in the music man, I wish she'd be honest about it. I could understand if the song was like "rap deserves a beatdown for misogyny" or something, using the form against itself, but I don't get anything from this particular genre-usage with her. maybe it's the interview i read where she was praising outkast but then said "I can't listen to that because they had an ad for pitbulls in the liner notes".

and sure, it might be condescending to have said 'she'll grow out of it,' but I'm hoping she does anyway, songs where solipsism is the main driving force generally bore the fuck out of me. I don't want to have her bore the fuck out of me. I want her to do well.

the review was kinda negative, but I figure it's more like an open letter in the face of all the crit-drool she's gotten, and will get. I think she's gonna be big, I think she's gonna do great things, but I just don't think she's there yet.

but how old was Rufus Wainwright when his first album came out? because I saw at least a couple pieces where the talk was pretty similar ("he'll harness that talent of his yet" et al). your basic point stands, but there have been exceptions.

I dunno what she'll say in interviews about it, but "Sari" just struck me as really playful and irreverent formally. I like the way she fucks up her lines. I found it charming. And I'm not really sure what "great things" she's gonna do, but for entertaining and cracking me up for 2CDs, she gets my tip of the hat (though really I need to hear more full albums. I'll feel better if she makes the bottom half of my top 10).

You're right, Matos, there are exceptions. But youth + female adds to that distance, I think.

And the "irony" of which you speak...I ain't buyin' it. I just think that when she tries on the rap disguise, it's not because she has anything to say but because she kinda wants to be down more than she actually is, it's a pose. See what I did, there? Anyway, all would be forgiven if I liked that song, or if it didn't turn her into "the new white fEminem" in the eyes of like every single lazy-ass critic in the fucking world. What a horrible trap for people to put someone in.

Jess--there is no Jesus element, and the album is terrific.

(i don't know what "goffy" means.)

I hear she's actually 24.

-- roxymuzak (emilysu...), July 18th, 2004.

Listen McKay you pathetically arrogant corporate paedophile-pleasing cunt, it's our job to pass intellectual judgement! If we ran the world we'd make you fuckwits audition standing on your fucking head in front of us before we'd even grant you the permission to fucking speak! Cunts like you make us regret the abolition of National Service! Six months in the fucking Territorials would knock it out of you! Nellie McKay? Nellie McCunt more like! Now piss off! Arsewipe!

when people say they hate the disco song, they mean "baby watch your back," not "waiter" right?

because waiter is soooooo good.

Anyway, it's funny to me that Baby Watch Your Back is so unilaterally slammed on this thread -- it's the first song that really stood out to me as a favorite from the first listen. After repeated listens I like Sari (I wasn't a fan at first), Ding Dong (probably my favorite), Won't U Please B Nice (and not just omgwtfing at "Give me head or you'll be dead"), David, and Respectable. I agree that lyrics are not her strong suit, but it's more in the phrasing and the way they're arranged in the song; the way she sings them, I guess (I don't mean her singing is bad at all, I think it's great).

Tracklist should've been:
David
Manhattan Avenue
Sari
Ding Dong
The Dog Song
I Wanna Get Married
Change The World
It's A Pose
Inner Peace
Respectable
Really

As I can barely remember anything wordwise from what I've heard, doubtless true here. As for NO, am I always praising their lyrics? Who knows, maybe I have!

I was actually working on a POX but trashed it cuz I love it the way it is (save "BWYB"). My list was pretty similar except "Waiter" and "Won't U Please Be Nice" would replace "Dog Song" and "Manhatten Avenue." Still far and away my favorite album of 2004.

Actually, that could easily be overdone and spoil it, and slick isn't really Nellie's adjective, buuut it could certainly be improved from the middleground cabaret-rap-lite it is now.

NOTHING COULD FINER THAN TO BE IN CAROLINA IN THE MOOORRRRRNIN

I love her lyrics! For me they rescue the songs which don't necessarily have the best melodies or arrangements on the album ("Won't U Please Be Nice?" springs to mind). I like how she kind of goes against the grain of many things a lyric is 'supposed' to be, except she doesn't totally - she starts off with Big important Points, and sometimes even Messages, in her songs, but ends up going 'ooh this word rhymes with that word omgwtflol, and look at my PUNS' just because she can. She treats serious subjects with the utmost flippancy ("It's A Pose", "David"), and flippant subjects with the utmost seriousness ("The Dog Song").

The best song on the record. And then when she is like "btw i am a banshee and can sing so shrilly" just afterwards it is so neat.

NOT MICCIO FFS

The wild commercial and critical success of Norah Jones’ 2002 album Come Away With Me proved there was a broad audience for jazz as popular music, providing the songs were sufficiently accessible and pretty enough. Though even Jones herself seems to have been unable to take advantage of this new market (her follow-up albums have met with respectable, but somewhat lackluster, response), the industry opened the door just wide enough to let in another few chanteuses in hope of seeing lightning strike twice. By far the most interesting of these is from the twenty-something pianist and singer Nellie McKay, who baldly declared her opposition to Jones with the none-too-subtly titled Get Away From Me (McKay originally wanted the album named Black America before a nonplussed Sony forced a compromise). The album is a rich mix of jazz and rock that neatly escapes the label of fusion by refusing to conform to the laws of either fish or fowl; her sometimes aggressive and often absurd songs are something less than readily accessible and only pretty when they want to be.

An ex-conservatory student turned nightclub diva, McKay trades on talent, redheaded sex appeal, sheer lyrical precociousness and mock naiveté; many a critic made hay with the fact that Get Away From Me, clocking in at just over an hour, was inexplicably packaged as a two disc set. McKay also flaunts her eccentric tendencies in performance; her raucous live sets often involve staggered ‘row-row-row-your-boat’ style audience singalongs, detours into charming, rambling monologues and songs stopped in media res to be restarted in a new key or with a new wrinkle. Those that took the time to actually listen to the album discovered that Nellie’s somewhat contrived mannerisms were simply a red herring; her real appeal was far more than skin deep.

McKay’s voice is an unpredictable instrument; she’s just as likely to employ a Paul McCartney lilt (as on the remarkable ‘Ding Dong’) as a huffy snarl (on the out-of-breath, neurotic ‘Inner Peace’) or an endearingly nasal cabaret croon (the delightfully cocky ‘It’s A Pose’). It’s Nellie’s skills as a songwriter that are likely her greatest asset as an artist; the sardonic ‘I Wanna Get Married’ recalls the wry wit of Cole Porter, the wild dadaistic shtick of ‘Change the World’ (“God, I’m so German / Have to have a plan / Please! Ethel Merman / Help me out this jam!”) smacks of Annie Ross, the raucous show tune ‘Wont U Please B Nice’ offers a sharp stab of Brecht/Weill-esque cruelty and the soft exotica samba of ‘Suitcase Song’ sounds uncannily like Martin Denny. But McKay is more than just the sum of her many influences; by integrating traditional jazz style vocals, modern rock song crafting and a healthy collection of pop culture flourishes (references to the Oxygen Network, phen-phen, Monty Python and Backstage magazine are par for the course), Nellie has created something fresh. Call it Broadway without the Broadway, silly storytelling steeped in joie de musique that avoids cliché or formula.

All this isn’t to suggest that Get Away From Me is a flawless album; in fact it’s often patchy, a tetch too precious and flailingly overproduced (much of her live material, available at http://www.nelliemckay.net, far outstrips the recorded songs for power, innovation and verve), but perfection was hardly ever the goal. Get Away takes too many chances to remain pristine; what it offers in place of polish is heart. For a freshman try, it’s a breathtakingly innovative attempt; even, and sometimes especially, when it fails. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited after hearing a first album to listen to the next; McKay promises great and exciting things in the all too near future.

when i tried to download the live stuff from her site, it didn't work! most files were 404 and the ones that weren't were like not full songs and 64 kbps mp3s. but that was a number of months ago. maybe they work now. i would like to hear them.

On the other hand, it's made me realize that music is always worth discussing, because several people who I'd expect to run away screaming from this sort of thing seem to have solid reasons for loving it.

Plenty of those live track shows seem available to me, Will. If you can't get them, email me; my live version of Get Away From Me is about, oh, three times as good as the original.

Again, I'll agree that the disc(s) are very uneven; I find it fun to watch her flail about. It's neat to see a future "major artist" misstep early on and there really is something appealing about McKay's massive missteps, especially when they're saved by their mindbogglingly good live takes ("Sari" being the biggest culprit here; terrible on the album, one of my favorite songs of all time when it's just her and a piano).

Incidentally, the one time I got to meet her, she was charming and hot as a baker. She Ain't Twenty.

Friend to the animals.

This newish Obligatory Strangers outyses Ys.

er, Obligatory Villagers

i like it. it's like snippets from a flop musical.

i also like her christmas songs.

Or a good musical! I particularly like the stuff with Bob Dorough.
I'm gonna spend New Year's Eve with her.

Woof, reading through this thread is an odd journey.

It's so dense and complicated that I'm still getting used to it.

Normal as Blueberry Pie is great; taking herself out of the equation is a good call, if only for one album.

Yeah, I really like it too. Recommended to fans of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and other jazz crooners.

i really wanna hear it. been listening to obligatory villagers again lately, i like that album.

Amazingly, the live recordings are all still available for download!
http://www.nelliemckay.org/media.php

yeah this doris day album is really good. i like how she hips it up just a little, but it's a natural sort of hipness cuz nellie's naturally hip in a way doris wasn't. reminds me moodwise a little of mose allison.

also her performance of nellie mckay doing nellie mckay doing james brown doing "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" pretty much stole this year's aimee mann christmas show

its rly dope

gonna catch her at the blue note methinks

is there a couch I should avoid?

oh hey it's on youtube! it's sort of more awesome when you don't know it's coming but c'est la vie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufxP1cvc8Ko

New album due out September 28

looking forward to it.

ned raggett (does he still post here?) is seriously nearly as boring as geir. "i don't want to hear this album, and i don't feel guilty about it." i'd think he was a smug asshole if he wasn't so obviously a sad sack.

oh he actually posted

I am resolutely unconvinced (and feel zilch guilt about that, which is always a good sign).
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, January 1, 2005 11:22 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark

not quite as bad.

ned's doris day album way better than nellie's

Give me some time to perfect the mix.

ned's doris day album way better than nellie's

― buzza, Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:49 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i will grant him this, yes.

Saw her last night, and she was great. Half on piano, half on ukelele. Three-piece session-ish guys backing her up, on drums, electric guitar, and bass. Amazing songs. And so aware of the room and responding to it in an immediate, live way.

Oh, and half the songs were reggae.

I saw her about a month ago and it was pretty much as you described. She is funny and comfortable onstage. Wacky and zany, but in an entertaining way. This was right before Christmas, and she sang a seemingly sincere song asking people not to have a Christmas tree - asking us to think of the trees and kind of tying it into animal rights somehow. The audience was not sure how to react to this - I thought it was a pretty punk-rock thing to do.

So, no commentary about Home Sweet Mobile Home on this thread? I guess maybe there aren't that many Nellie fans on this board, or maybe it's just hard to think of interesting things to say about it. I guess I preferred her previous couple of albums which were more jazz-oriented, but Mckay never makes a boring album.

I have listened to her new one once. I liked it pretty well. I think I need to give it a chance to grow on me. I wish I could see her play live!

I really like Home Sweet Mobile Home! Same level of quality as Obligatory Villagers, just presented in a totally different way. Hope to see her play again soon.

I saw her in Threepenny Opera in like 2006 but haven't actually heard her music yet.

i like vivisection

thought the new album was really underwhelming

On March 20, Nellie McKay will premiere her new show, “SILENT SPRING – It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature,” a tribute to trailblazing environmentalist, Rachel Carson. To mark the 50th anniversary of Carson’s iconic book Silent Spring – the first major expose of pesticides in the environment – McKay and her four-piece band will tell Rachel’s story through the music of Dave Frishburg, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, Neil Young, Charles Mingus and more. The tribute will run from March 20 – March 31 at Feinstein’s with a running time: 75 minutes.

hmmmmm. Who knows how this will be?

I missed the capital punishment show, I Want To Live!, she did a few months back. Is this her new thing - topical musical stage shows?

i saw I Want to Live!, it was v v good
i think she'd like to do musical theater, yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNxR-pzwhPo

Just got the new album and have not listened all the way through yet, but it seems possibly awesome. Nice set of '60s covers, inna McKay style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPam_epuyso

She also does "Hungry Freaks, Daddy."

I like it. Even when the songs are pretty well-known I like to hear her take on them, and she digs up some worthy tunes I hadn't heard before.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtzv7PlHIKg

Her new noir-y album of standards is real nice.

Good showcase for her piano playing alongside her singing -- both have gotten more sophisticated and subtle over the years.

It's pleasant now

she gave an extended interview at a local library last night. she left the interviewer dizzy, most of her responses landing far from the original question. it was funny. there are a few songs mixed in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS2D5KozDg4

Thanks! Liking what I’ve heard of this latest album.