So, I’m surfing along, minding my own business, reading the days happenings in my news aggregator and suddenly I see a innocent blog post suggesting we go check out Nellie McKay. Off I go to Amazon.com to check out reviews and some sample clips and suddenly I’m hooked.

Oh what should I say
What should I pray
Who would care if I went ahead
And punched the wall
Oh what do I care
What should I wear
What do I care
What does it matter
If I change the world at all

So, I switched over to iTunes to hear different clips and suddenly, I downloaded the entire album…. eeeevil iTunes.

Listen some more, and suddenly I’m listening to the whole thing, looking up lyrics, and smiling at the wit, the blend of moods in lyrics and voice, and the irony that’s heavy in much of the music. There are some great tracks here. She’s irreverent and absolutely serious at the same time.

But then it hits you, then it kicks you
Then you realize you’re not unique
And you ignore it, you implore it
Just to let you find the “om” you seek
Don’t wanna think about the fall elections
Don’t wanna sing about no vivisection
I don’t need this, I don’t see this
All I want is inner peace
Inner peace

There’s a show tune quality to it, or maybe piano singer in a small dive somewhere… her voice and a piano are the musical core of every song.

My oh my walkin’ by
Who’s the apple of my eye
Why it’s my very own
Clonie
Oh if I should stroll the ‘hood
Who knew I could look so good
Just talkin’ on the phone to
Clonie
We are pals
It’s cool ’cause we’re not lonely
Shallow gene pool
There’s nothing to my only
Clonie
Me and you, hustlin’ through
Holdin’ on through thick and thin
Just day by day our DNA
’cause the Olsen twins got nothin’ on us
We’ll survive
Side by side
Mother Nature don’t you call her phony
She’s my clonie

I’ve now listened to the whole album, nearly all the way through, and I’m still chasing down references… some of them are obvious, others more clever.

Deliver the paper deliver the porn
Deliver the baker deliver the morn
A quiverin’ jibberin’ shiverin’ mass
Of sunshine and good times that I have to pass
On the way to my job on the way to my work
On the way to that slobberin’ hoverin’ jerk
Who’s my boss today
Who’s my boss to stay
Who’s my supervisor when I’m in my grave
A slave on the run still under the gun
Of Attila the Hun with a cinnamon bun
I don’t know son, was there somethin’ I missed
I don’t think Fritz Lang was a fantasist
Metropolis exists is this
If you listen close you can hear the piss

The lyrics I’ve excerpted above are from Change the World, Inner Peace, Clonie, and Work Song. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Karen running around singing Clonie at the top of her lungs once she hears it.

One more excerpt:

Yeah I’ll have my coffee black
Hey look we’re bombing Iraq
I guess that’s the only way
Oh did I tell you we got Fifi spayed?

From Toto Dies, which is far funnier than the lyrics imply (in fact, that’s true about all the stuff I’ve listed above…) You should listen to The Dog Song.

Oh, and here’s a more serious review. You can find video clips of her appearances on TV. The Letterman appearance has her performing the Dog Song.