Nellie McKay

[bethany]

I could just wait for Josh to discover her in a few months and post about her and me be like "yeah, she's cool" but I'm going to go ahead and share my newfound knowledge with you all now. Nellie McKay (pronounced "mc-eye")'s new album "Get Away From Me," is fabulous. I've had her songs in my head all week, and I haven't even listened to it all the way through more than 3 times. She has an amazing voice, reminiscent of the style of big band/jazz era women. Her music varies from jazz, to rap, to disco, and everywhere between. Definitely check her out; you won't regret it.  

[Josh]

I am intrigued, Bethany.

I shall check her out ASAP.

[Escuchame]

Her CD should be in the mail.

Stevie D. recommended her to me.

[bethany]

I just realized that the first sentence of my initial post could sound like a huge slam on Josh, in the vein of "Oh he's always discovering things later than I am." But in fact what I meant is that I'm really lame and never say anything about the music I am digging, so then when other people bring it up, I'm just stupid and have nothing to contribute but "Yeah, they're cool."

[Josh]

Picked this one up today. I'm still digesting it, but, as of track #2, so far so good.

You know what's funny? When I saw the parental advisory sticker, it didn't bother me; I didn't reconsider buying it. But when I saw the advertisement for PETA on the back I DID reconisder for a second...  =D  

[Josh]

Nellie McKay has some major ADD moments on her debut album.

Stylistically, the thing is all over the board. McKay jumps around from Tin Pan Alley pop to rap to jazz to disco. One song will remind you of Norah Jones; on the next track she sounds more like a young, white Lauryn Hill.

And she's quite a musical whizkid, as well-- her album credits include a long list of diverse instruments.

The songwriting is a mixed bag. Nellie writes a mean hook, and there are a few clever lyrics here and there. Unfortunately, there are also a number of lyrical duds. Some songs are just cliched; some seem to revel in crass language (the parental advisory sticker on the album's cover is well earned); still others are decidely anti-male, like the kind of all-men-suck anthem that Alanis Morisette or Ani DiFranco might write.

Not an album that I can heartily recommend, but it's well worth hearing.