Nellie Watch Your Back

I found out recently that I share a birthday with singer/songwriter extraordinaire Nellie McKay. I'm not one to develop any kind of attachment to or affection for the entertainers of the world, but if I were ever to fall in love with a showbiz type, it would be Nellie. I really dig this chick. I first became aware of Nellie when I was listening online one night to Air America and she was guesting. A couple of her recorded songs were played, and I was immediately taken in. It's rare for me to really get into a song or singer that I have never heard before, so I knew that she was something special. I downloaded the songs that had been played (shame on me), and eventually found and purchased her CD. It's titled Get Away From Me, an obvious jab at Norah Jones who had previously released Come Away With Me. Both McKay and Jones explore the more classic styles of American popular music, but the similarities end there. In my humble opinion, Norah couldn't hold Nellie's jockstrap - well, you know what I mean.

I'm not a music critic, and you can do a Google search and find plenty of reviews of Nellie and her CD. But I want to give you a sense of what her music is about. Critics have called her singing a combination of Doris Day/Billie Holiday/Eminem. They have called her songwriting part Cole Porter, part Randy Newman. And I would personally submit that one particular song, "Won't U Please B Nice" (incidentally, the first song she ever wrote) , is something that Tom Lehrer would be proud of. The fact is that Nellie has absorbed many influences, but she is a very unique artist. Her album has songs of many different styles - smooth jazz, bossa nova, easy listening, rap, dance, big band, etc. She plays a mean piano, as well as several other instruments on the album. The command with which she incoporates her lyrics into these styles is more than impressive. And what lyrics they are. They range from provocative, to funny, to downright dark. Some of her songs are politically charged, so she might not appeal to those of a different political persuasion, but there's no denying her talent. Oh yeah - did I mention that she was just 19 when this CD came out?

There are so many great songs on this CD, that it's hard to pick a favorite. I have a soft spot for songwriters who can marry light melodies with dark lyrics, and Nellie is right up there with the best of them on songs like "Ding Dong" and "Suitcase Song". Some critics don't like "It's a Pose", and the lyrics might be a little harsh on men, but you have to love the musical stylin'. I think Alanis Morissette should have a listen to that song to learn a thing or two about how to do angry chick music. My favorite track on the album is called "Work Song", which invokes images of commuting chattel. But I also think the album cover is really cool: There's Nellie looking angelic, wearing a red hooded jacket with her hands in the air, standing in front of a graffiti-laden wall, with a Parental Advisory logo in the corner. It's priceless. (There's a "clean" version of the CD available, but I wouldn't recommend it.) If ever there were a cross-generational album, this is it. I think I'm going to buy a copy for my mom.

McKay (pronounced Mak-eye) doesn't have a huge following yet, but she has talent to burn and could be a giant in a few years, and not just in music. She will have her Broadway debut in the spring as Polly Peachum in Wallace Shawn's new adaptation of The Threepenny Opera. She also has a couple of movies in the works. As she gets more stage and screen work, she will probably not tour very often in the future, so I am a bit disappointed that I didn't really become aware of her until after she last came to Toronto. (I've heard recordings of her live show, and it's great. Just Nellie and her piano, no backing band. Her album is actually a dual-disc, so you can see her in concert on the DVD side.) It wouldn't surprise me if she were to one day match Rita Moreno's accomplishment of winning an Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy in her career. If that does come to pass, remember that you heard it here first. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to her second album that's coming out around Christmas.