In House #1729: Nellie McKay's Pretty Little Head; New Ben Folds


If today's show sounds a little familiar, there's a perfectly good explanation. Nellie McKay's Pretty Little Head (which, despite her fetchingness, is actually the title of her new album) was all but released last January by Sony, only to be shelved by the label because of a combination of brass shake-ups and on-going disagreements with McKay over the album's content. It seems that the suits at Sony, despite having already hacked the opus down by seven songs or so, were still not pleased with McKay's product (too original? too different? who knows?). Anyway, the short of it is, after the label balked at actually releasing Pretty Little Head, McKay eventually bought her album back (ala Wilco) and walked. On Halloween, it finally sees the light of day as McKay originally intended: 23 tracks over two discs, including guest appearances from the likes of k.d. lang and Cyndi Lauper. The engine driving it all, of course, is inside the unique witticisms and observations of Ms. McKay, who's been described as Doris Day meets Missy Elliott. Whatever the descriptor, it's clear that she's taken the whole chanteuse with piano thing somewhere else entirely.

Also today, music from next week's new Ben Folds release, Supersunnyspeedgraphic, which is actually only new in this particular form. Culling material from three limited edition EPs he's released over the past three years or so (Super D, Sunny 16, and Speed Graphic), as well as from his collaborative EP with Ben Lee and Ben Kweller (The Bens), Folds returns with a solid if slightly uneven collection of originals and unlikely covers, the latter of which includes intriguing versions of The Cure's "In Between Days," The Darkness' "Get Your Hands Off of My Woman," and Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit." Folds will be playing this weekend's Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas.


In House #1729.
Airdate: 10/20/06
Focus: Nellie McKay's upcoming double album, Pretty Little Head, plus Ben Folds collects his EPs for a new release, and new music from Andrew Bird, Joseph Arthur, Fiona Apple, Eliza Carthy and more.

BONUS MP3-
Nellie McKay, from Pretty Little Head: "There You Are In Me" (MP3)


PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #192