Music Review: Obligatory Villagers by Nellie McKay
Published January 05, 2008
“I didn’t know the world was like this/If I had known, then I’d be psychic”
It doesn’t take Nellie McKay long to start her crusade against society’s self-appointed thought police. It takes even less time for McKay to pick her first target: feminists. “Feminists don’t have a sense of humor,” McKay admonishes straight away, no refrain. “Feminists just want to be alone/Feminists spread vicious lies and rumor/they have a tumor on their funny bone,” Obligatory Villagers starts, putting the listener on immediate notice that the next 38 minutes will be a different type of experience.
If the blonde bombshell can avoid alienating broad cross-sections of the people she depends on to buy her albums, she has the charm, the skill, and the pedigree to make noise in the music business.
Now if only you could squeeze her neatly into this genre or that one. Much like Aimee Mann, finding Nellie McKay in your local music store is a head scratcher if she’s not in the generic “rock/pop” section into which most albums are funneled.
At first listen, she’s folksy, talking more than singing. By “Gin Rummy” she makes you wish you’d been frequenting jazz clubs all your adult life, and eager to reverse that trend. “Galleon” tosses you, for three minutes and twenty seconds, back into the hurried beauty of the high school musical.
McKay’s musical range may create some extra work for record store managers, but you trust her to take her music wherever it goes. McKay keeps her part of the deal by bringing consistent quality. Perhaps the best descriptor of McKay’s unique sound comes from the starlet herself, who deems her music “schizophrenic voodoo,” a phrase that fits so well you only wish you’d beaten her to it.
It takes an Obligatory Village
While McKay’s sound might be “schizophrenic,” she’s steadfast in waging war against the politically-correct voices in our heads, whether they emanate from easily-offended feminists (“Mother of Pearl”), do-as-I-do Rat Racers (“Identity Theft”), or the purely mediocre, just going through the motions (“Zombie”).
African proverbs dating back centuries – and, recently, Hillary Clinton – tell us that it takes a village to raise a child. But to hear McKay tell it, it takes an Obligatory Village to tell us what not to say, how not to act, and to dictate what, exactly, it takes to get ahead in the “real world” – and to punish those who don’t fall in line.
The rest of McKay’s crusade is aimed at those voices in our heads that discourage us from going too far off the beaten path. When McKay says “Idiots go to college to get dumbed down,” she’s not attacking degree holders so much as airing her frustrations with a One-Size Fits All approach that seeps into the way we view education (“you need a good degree… as to assimilate”) and work (“you need an occupation…you need a boss to please,” the voices sing in “Identity Theft”).
- Music Review: Obligatory Villagers by Nellie McKay
- Published: January 05, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Culture: Society, Music: Folk, Music: Jazz, Music: Original, Review
- Writer: James David Dickson
- James David Dickson's BC Writer page
- James David Dickson's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Bill,
Re: Mother of Pearl -- Perhaps. Maybe I felt her arguments resonated so well that I wished she were being serious. I'll take it!
Re: Zombie -- You say tomato, I say tomato.
Your thoughts as to why she's not touring more? I've seen her live and when she's singing, it's all eyes on her. I know a lot of things go into it, but the talent and marketability is there.
I don't really disagree with you on "Zombie," I just think she goes a little further with the metaphor. FWIW, most of the feminists I know (including myself) have wicked senses of humor - though child molestation is not exactly a winning subject of jokes. : ) She's a vegetarian -mentioned also for "ridicule" in the song. If nothing else, MoP may be a zippy & sarcastic plea for the more strident feminists to lighten up.
Good question on the minimal touring. I've only seen her twice, right after "Get Away From Me" and about 3 months ago. Well, 3 times if you count seeing her in Threepenny Opera. I agree that she captivates the room. The show in Philadelphia recently was nicely attended, though not sold out.
Her stage presence is a little nervous and scattered. I don't know if that's stage fright or part of her act. It could be both. It works for me. It makes her seem very real and sweet, even as she gets ready to sing the next very self-assured & opinionated song.
Her CDs frequently make "Top 10" lists for the years they are released, she does a lot of interviews (at least on NPR) and you're absolutely correct on the talent/marketability. Were she still attached to a major label, they'd likely insist that she tour more extensively. This is a young woman who calls her own shots. I'm sure she lost big money in her split from Columbia, but she regained artistic control. Call her a feminist, an artiste, a schizophrenic voodoo musician, whatever. I can only conclude that she choses not to tour. But I'd love to see her many more times.
It's interesting to get a conservative's take on Nellie McKay's music. She is obviously very talented and delivers her music in a disarmingly charismatic way, but that just masks the insidiousness of her lyrics. I'm not sure that James would be as enamored with Nellie if he really listened to what some of the songs are about, and particularly paid attention to what she has to say on Zombie. Now, if Mother of Pearl can give a chuckle to both feminists and anti-feminists then maybe Nellie does indeed have potential for wide appeal. But I kind of liken it to the early years of All in the Family, when it was the number one show on television. Most of the audience laughed at Archie Bunker's bigotry, but there was a significant audience share that was laughing with him. Once they figured out that the joke was on them they tuned out. I suspect that this is what will happen to James with future releases by Nellie McKay.
You guys have talked about WHAT McKay is suppposedly doing.
I haven't heard a WHY.
Any takers?
I don't think there's any "Why" about it other than Nellie being Nellie. If you know anything about her story (particularly her breakup with a big record label before her career could get off the ground) you'll see that she is a fiercely independent artist, commercialism be damned. (She has worked on a couple of mainstream movies (Rumor Has It and P.S. I Love You) and a few other commercial ventures, probably to pay the bills and allow her to produce music independently in the same way that John Cassavetes carved out a film career.)
I think Nellie sees herself as an activist first and foremost. While she has at times shown herself perfectly capable of writing and performing music that is moving and personal, that doesn't seem to be what she sees as her calling. At the same time, she has a love of the old romantic standards and those who wrote and performed them, and draws inspiration from them. Put all that together and you get "schizophrenic voodoo". That's the best I can explain it.
Wow. We have some true music fans on this site.
So maybe you guys can help me out?
Give me three names of artists that the average person hasn't heard of, but would LOVE if they had?
I'm trying to broaden my horizons.
Thanks so much.
just three? hmmm...ok, how about four:
Dar Williams
Greg Brown
Pink Martini
Regina Spektor
I thought Bill O'Reilly would be the only person on the face of the planet not to "get" Mother of Pearl.
Seriously, dude- how could you not understand that this song was scathing satire? So by your logic, apparently Nellie McKay thinks child molestation IS funny? Or there's really nothing wrong with rape or rampant prostitution? I guess this must be the fantasy world that you inhabit...one where all of these things are socially acceptable. Have you considered the priesthood? I hear the Catholic church is looking for a few good men. Sorry...did I violate your comment policy (boo-hoo). Add your comment, speak your mind!
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/72614)
Mr. Dickson, you surely missed the point of "Mother Of Pearl." Perhaps Ms. McKay's tongue was planted so firmly in cheek that you could not see it. Rather than skewer feminists, the song skewers the stereotypical attacks against them.
I'd also add that "Zombie" is about more than the "purely mediocre, just going through the motions." It also alludes to people following others, not thinking for themselves.
Otherwise, I completely agree with your praise for McKay's CD. Her artistic sophistication continues to grow. Her humor is at turns obscure, ironic and infectious. Bringing along so many veteran jazz musicians is also a treat to my ears.