I wrote this review for a website I write for, so i thought i would post it here. Melly Turned me onto to Nellie, so thank you Melly
Nellie Mckay
pyrate 05/21/2004
Music Review
Get Away From Me
2004 Columbia Records/Sony Music
Score: 10 (of ten)
Ok, so you went to buy a new CD at the store, but everything sounds the same, and your bored with the same ol choices, well fear not, there is a new star on the horizon. She has the story telling quality of Ben Folds, the biting lyrical style of Eminem, The voice of Doris Day, and the whit of,.geez I cant think of anyone witty enough to compare her to. Of course I am talking about the 19 year old musical prodigy Nellie Mckay (pronounced mi-KAI). Nellie was born in London. Her father is director, and mother an actress. At a very young age Nellie, and her mother moved to Harlem after her parents split. Her mother remarried, and the family decided at some point in the nineties to move to Olympia, Washington with their nine cats, and a dog, and lived above an animal hospital. This is where I think Nellie developed her love for animals, and became the animal rights activist that she is today. In 2000 she moved back to Harlem, where she would play her music along with other show tunes, at gay bars around Greenwich Village. Making it through standards mistake-free for the keen-eared men in attendance was the best training she could have ever had, she joked at a recent photo shoot for Jane Magazine, as a stylist curled her strawberry-blonde hair into a mass of ringlets. "You just don't fuck up 'Over the Rainbow.'" Did I mention she tried her hand at comedy before returning to music. She has lived enough life for somebody more than twice her age and it shows in her music.
Nellie is rare in the world of young female artist. In a world of Britney, and Christina who also sound completely different, Nellie writes, composes, and arranges all of the music on her debut CD Get Away From Me. This Manhattan School of Music drop out intertwines the sounds of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Doris Day with a lyrical style that I can only compare to as a cross between Eminem, Andy Newman, and Ben Folds. She has very sharp teeth as you can tell in her music. My favorite song on her debut CD Get Away From Me is Wont U Please Be Nice, where the music sounds like this beautiful old love song until you really listen to the lyrical content:
If you would sit
oh so close to me
that would be nice
like its supposed to be
if you dont Ill slit your throat
so wont you please be nice.
This illustrates her talent to me in an odd way. She slips in her very biting lyrics among songs that sound like old standards. Nellie doesnt limit herself to the anti love ballads either, she is also political, as in the song, David:
mister bushie says
I'm your president
I have lots to say
hey hey hey
and click goes the remote
there you have my vote
catchin' the next boat out of here.
Nellie is a girl with a lot to say about the way she sees the world, and about the confines of the way some people see a standard for women, but she also has simple songs about walking her dog.
When I first heard her CD I was highly impressed with her talent, and with her Andy Newman esque way of painting a picture, but her lyrical content at time was such that I thought she hated men. I found her lyrics funny, but I could see how some guys would just see her as some angry girl. Well I saw her live at Ear-X-Tacy on the 15th of may, and was very taken in by her charm, and demeanor. She had the audience in the palm of her hand and we were all quite content being there. I got an autograph from her afterwards, and she is one of the sweetest artists I have met. She really took her time with each person, to personalize their encounter. I cant wait to see what she does next.
Nellie Mckay
pyrate 05/21/2004
Music Review
Get Away From Me
2004 Columbia Records/Sony Music
Score: 10 (of ten)
Ok, so you went to buy a new CD at the store, but everything sounds the same, and your bored with the same ol choices, well fear not, there is a new star on the horizon. She has the story telling quality of Ben Folds, the biting lyrical style of Eminem, The voice of Doris Day, and the whit of,.geez I cant think of anyone witty enough to compare her to. Of course I am talking about the 19 year old musical prodigy Nellie Mckay (pronounced mi-KAI). Nellie was born in London. Her father is director, and mother an actress. At a very young age Nellie, and her mother moved to Harlem after her parents split. Her mother remarried, and the family decided at some point in the nineties to move to Olympia, Washington with their nine cats, and a dog, and lived above an animal hospital. This is where I think Nellie developed her love for animals, and became the animal rights activist that she is today. In 2000 she moved back to Harlem, where she would play her music along with other show tunes, at gay bars around Greenwich Village. Making it through standards mistake-free for the keen-eared men in attendance was the best training she could have ever had, she joked at a recent photo shoot for Jane Magazine, as a stylist curled her strawberry-blonde hair into a mass of ringlets. "You just don't fuck up 'Over the Rainbow.'" Did I mention she tried her hand at comedy before returning to music. She has lived enough life for somebody more than twice her age and it shows in her music.
Nellie is rare in the world of young female artist. In a world of Britney, and Christina who also sound completely different, Nellie writes, composes, and arranges all of the music on her debut CD Get Away From Me. This Manhattan School of Music drop out intertwines the sounds of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Doris Day with a lyrical style that I can only compare to as a cross between Eminem, Andy Newman, and Ben Folds. She has very sharp teeth as you can tell in her music. My favorite song on her debut CD Get Away From Me is Wont U Please Be Nice, where the music sounds like this beautiful old love song until you really listen to the lyrical content:
If you would sit
oh so close to me
that would be nice
like its supposed to be
if you dont Ill slit your throat
so wont you please be nice.
This illustrates her talent to me in an odd way. She slips in her very biting lyrics among songs that sound like old standards. Nellie doesnt limit herself to the anti love ballads either, she is also political, as in the song, David:
mister bushie says
I'm your president
I have lots to say
hey hey hey
and click goes the remote
there you have my vote
catchin' the next boat out of here.
Nellie is a girl with a lot to say about the way she sees the world, and about the confines of the way some people see a standard for women, but she also has simple songs about walking her dog.
When I first heard her CD I was highly impressed with her talent, and with her Andy Newman esque way of painting a picture, but her lyrical content at time was such that I thought she hated men. I found her lyrics funny, but I could see how some guys would just see her as some angry girl. Well I saw her live at Ear-X-Tacy on the 15th of may, and was very taken in by her charm, and demeanor. She had the audience in the palm of her hand and we were all quite content being there. I got an autograph from her afterwards, and she is one of the sweetest artists I have met. She really took her time with each person, to personalize their encounter. I cant wait to see what she does next.
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
im going to be sellingm erch for some bands.
the sounds and ima robot or something like that
you should come find my little booth thingy.
we're selling sg boy beaters too so that should be entertaining.