Music  

 

 

 

 

 

Rising Star:

Doris Day, Eminem, and ..  Nellie McKay

June 20, 2004 -- I used to be a big fan of Doris Day until one day my sister referred to her as a cow. Caught me by surprise but it seemed a good word to sum up her mugging to the camera and accentuation of her mammary glands. So after that I could never look at Doris Day the same way anymore. Plus she had that talk show in the seventies, where she would cow tow to everyone. And then I read in the National Enquirer that she used to skinny dip in her pool in Hollywood. The thought of a by-that-time 60 something year old Doris Day skinny dipping in her pool was a bit over the top.

But for a while there I loved those pillow talk movies of hers and Rock Hudson and Tony Randall.

I picked up the debut album of Nellie McKay yesterday. On the album cover they promise, “Draw(s) comparisons to two of pop culture’s polar opposites, Doris Day and Eminem”.

I couldn’t pick it up fast enough.

More: "A whiz-kid teenage songwriter, plays piano and riffles through styles from Tin Pan Alley to hip-hop".

And they’re right. She’s all over the place and it’s all good. What a fun album. Enchanting. And watch her lyrics – she may be doing a Doris Day song on the outside, but she’s singing some extremely non-Doris Day lyrics on the inside. Socially conscience lyrics even.

Two cd set. I greatly anticipate seeing her live this July.

PS: on a somber note, I would say she is the polar opposite of Hillary Duff, proving that the music has not died. It's doing quite well actually. 

Fast Forward

July 7, 2004 -- Saw Nellie McKay live tonight. A real treat.

She plays piano and sings, and her songs are silly and serious and full of social commentary and fun at the same time. She's just having a ball up there cutting her own swath. Like Bob Dylan when he was 20. Or, as they say, part Doris Day, part Eminem.

Her banter with the audience in between songs is worth the price of admission. She's funny, eccentric, eclectic, and sharp as a whip. A fun, fun night.

-- LouV