Pretty Little Head
By Nellie McKay
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Track listing
Show track credits
- 1 Cupcake 4:42
- 2 Pink Chandelier 1:39
- 3 There You Are in Me 2:48
- 4 The Big One 4:05
- 5 Ges 1:43
- 6 I Will Be There 2:59
- 7 The Down Low 3:36
- 8 Long and Lazy River 3:49
- 9 Bee Charmer 4:02
- feat. Cyndi Lauper
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writer, arrangements, vocals, trombone, ukulele, dulcimer
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writer, arrangements
- 10 Real Life 2:52
- 11 I Am Nothing 1:49
- 12 We Had It Right 2:20
- feat. k.d. lang
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engineer
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engineer
- 13 Columbia Is Bleeding 3:42
- 14 Gladd 3:05
- 15 Happy Flower 2:28
- 16 Tipperary 2:58
- Total length: 48:37
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
3 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
-
Pretty Little Head [p] Promo
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Pretty Little Head Gatefold
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Pretty Little Head Bonus Tracks, Digipak
14 Reviews
Could have been a pretty good one CD album.
Published
HM-1 CD (2006)
Decided to keep my promises and listen to another Nellie McKay album, just (checks notes) three years later!
But can you blame me? Because Ms. McKay is the queen of the unnecessary double album. And yes, I listened to the full double version, not the chopped up one Columbia put out--because they cut a bunch of songs, but the wrong ones!
Which is to say, there are four absolutely excellent songs on here: "Cupcake", which kind of sounds like Akiko Yano; the Cyndi Lauper duet "Bee Charmer", which is the most perfect pop-rocker this side of She's So Unusual; gentle jazz ballad "Long and Lazy River"; and "Old Enough", which sounds like one of They Might Be Giants's softer numbers. Also notable: "Food", which kind of sounds like Joanna Wang; "Columbia Is Bleeding", which is one of the best-written songs on here but is about animal rights and therefore sucks by definition; and "Mama & Me", which is a reminder that Nellie McKay should really, really not try to rap. That's seven songs! There are sixteen more on this thing!
Also, she really looks like Lana Del Rey on the cover of this. What's with that? She does not usually look like that.
But can you blame me? Because Ms. McKay is the queen of the unnecessary double album. And yes, I listened to the full double version, not the chopped up one Columbia put out--because they cut a bunch of songs, but the wrong ones!
Which is to say, there are four absolutely excellent songs on here: "Cupcake", which kind of sounds like Akiko Yano; the Cyndi Lauper duet "Bee Charmer", which is the most perfect pop-rocker this side of She's So Unusual; gentle jazz ballad "Long and Lazy River"; and "Old Enough", which sounds like one of They Might Be Giants's softer numbers. Also notable: "Food", which kind of sounds like Joanna Wang; "Columbia Is Bleeding", which is one of the best-written songs on here but is about animal rights and therefore sucks by definition; and "Mama & Me", which is a reminder that Nellie McKay should really, really not try to rap. That's seven songs! There are sixteen more on this thing!
Also, she really looks like Lana Del Rey on the cover of this. What's with that? She does not usually look like that.
Published
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1/4/2013 - McKay's insistence on the double album is commendable. I can bore easily, and I was really tempted to go to 3 stars a lot - but the pace shifts enough and there are enough nice melodies and ear-catching lyrics to recommend Pretty Little Head as being at least mostly awesome. I'll definitely return to her debut more frequently, however.
Published
So why do you think she put "Cupcake" first on disc 1?
Gladd works too.
3 and a half rock'n roll stars.
Gladd works too.
3 and a half rock'n roll stars.
Published
I have had a change of heart after listening to this album several more times. I used to consider this a considerable letdown from "Get Away From Me". I no longer think this. I will admit that it is a little slick in it's production but the songs have really grown on me. "Tipperary" is my new fave on this. I love Nellie. She is bad-ass!
Published
Some of the best pop I've heard in years.
Published
Every bit as good as her first, which means that its better than anything else out there. Also, more coherent and somewhat deeper than her first.
Published
HM-1 CD (2006)
Ahhh, Nellie. Uncompromising Artist or bullshit head case? Catchy tunesmith or cloyingly cute hack? Ya see, what Nellie did here is break away from her major label who refused to release her CD the way she wanted it - with 2 discs and 23 songs. Instead, they released it with 16 songs on one disc, so Nellie said bye-bye. It looks like what Columbia did here is take away all the "too cute" songs ("Food", "Pounce", I don't mind them really) and some of the more annoying ones (if you can make it through the opening and closing of "Mama & Me", you are stronger than I am), leaving what is probably a record which is just as good as this one but with some of Nellie's mannerisms erased. And to tell you the truth, even with the 7 extra songs, this all could have easily fit on one disc, it's only a hour long or so, what the heck. But ya know, that's her. Also, that's her on the front cover, the back cover, and on all 15 or so pages of the inner sleeve. So, if ya like the way she looks, you'll like this even more! (crazy egomaniac, jesus...)
Published
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Catalog
18 Jan 2024
23 May 2023
7 May 2023
23 Dec 2022
-
1
Cupcake
-
2
Pink Chandelier
-
3
There You Are in Me
-
4
The Big One
-
5
Ges
-
6
I Will Be There
-
7
The Down Low
-
8
Long and Lazy River
-
9
Bee Charmer
-
10
Real Life
-
11
I Am Nothing
-
12
We Had It Right
-
13
Columbia Is Bleeding
-
14
Gladd
-
15
Happy Flower
-
16
Tipperary
20 Dec 2022
13 Oct 2022
15 Aug 2022
23 Jun 2022
-
1
Cupcake
-
2
Pink Chandelier
-
3
There You Are in Me
-
4
The Big One
-
5
Ges
-
6
I Will Be There
-
7
The Down Low
-
8
Long and Lazy River
-
9
Bee Charmer
-
10
Real Life
-
11
I Am Nothing
-
12
We Had It Right
-
13
Columbia Is Bleeding
-
14
Gladd
-
15
Happy Flower
-
16
Tipperary
19 Jan 2022
-
1
Cupcake
-
2
Pink Chandelier
-
3
There You Are in Me
-
4
The Big One
-
5
Ges
-
6
I Will Be There
-
7
The Down Low
-
8
Long and Lazy River
-
9
Bee Charmer
-
10
Real Life
-
11
I Am Nothing
-
12
We Had It Right
-
13
Columbia Is Bleeding
-
14
Gladd
-
15
Happy Flower
-
16
Tipperary
25 Nov 2021
30 Jul 2021
19 Jun 2021
10 Jun 2021
21 May 2021
13 Mar 2021