ARTIST: Nellie McKay
TITLE: Pretty Little Head
LABEL: Hungry Mouse Records
GENRE: Pop
BITRATE: 193kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 04m total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-10-31
RIP DATE: 2006-10-30
Track List
----------
Disc 1
------
1. Cupcake 4:44
2. Pink Chandelier 1:38
3. There You Are In Me 2:46
4. Yodel 1:36
5. The Big One 4:02
6. G.E.S. 1:42
7. I Will Be There 2:56
8. Down Low 3:36
9. Long & Lazy River 3:47
10. I Am Nothing 1:47
11. Beecharmer (Feat. Cyndi Lauper) 4:02
12. Swept Away 1:53
Disc 2
------
1. Real Life 2:49
2. Tipperary 2:56
3. Gladd 3:06
4. Food 3:00
5. We Had It Right 2:20
6. Columbia Is Bleeding 3:41
7. Lali Est Paresseux 2:33
8. Happy Flower 2:27
9. Mama & Me 4:11
10. Pounce 0:56
11. Old Enough 1:45
Release Notes:
Pretty Little Head, which features duets with k.d. lang and McKay's co-star in
'Threepenny Opera', Cyndi Lauper, was originally slated for an October 18, 2005
release. The release date was delayed; initially, the rescheduled date was
December 27, 2005; it was then subsequently announced that the release date
would be January 3, 2006.
However, McKay announced on December 19, 2005, that she had left Columbia/Sony
Records after a dispute over the length of the upcoming album. Just over two
weeks following this announcement, a New York Times article surfaced stating
McKay said she had been dropped by Columbia Records.
McKay wanted the full 65 minute, 23 track version of Pretty Little Head to be
released, but Columbia was only willing to support a 16-track version that ran
48 minutes. (Columbia/Sony was so adamant about the abbreviated version that it
sent copies of this version out as promotional copies to critics.) [In fact,
McKay was aware all along that the label wanted an album consisting of 15 or 16
songs, and the version that Columbia sent out was a mastered sequence that she
herself submitted to the label, before she decided to battle over the 23-song
album.]
McKay expressed her concern at a concert in West Hollywood, November 29, 2005,
at the Troubadour, going so far as to distribute the personal e-mail address of
Columbia/Sony CEO Will Botwin at the performance. However, Botwin left Sony, and
the subsequent management team dropped McKay from their artist roster. She
claims it was probably 'best for everyone'.
The release of "Pretty Little Head" and an accompanying concert DVD, "Live at
the Independent," is in limbo. Initial reports stated that McKay would release
Pretty Little Head on the Internet sometime in January, with a conventional
release as early as February; however, this did not come to pass. Her record
label troubles were documented in the March 2006 issue of Wired magazine. The
article also mentioned the (illegal) availablity of the full-length album in MP3
format on the internet.
Similarly, the music chain HMV Canada promoted Pretty Little Head as having a
Canadian issue date of February 7, but no release occurred.
Resolution and new release date
After nearly nine months of ironing out the legalities between labels, it was
announced on September 26th, 2006 that Pretty Little Head will be released
October 31st on McKay's own label, Hungry Mouse, and will be marketed by SpinART
Records. A report from Reuters states that, like its predecessor, it will be
divided in two discs and include a 44-page color booklet. The album will include
the intended 23 tracks as originally planned.