Nellie McKay is politely reserved about her personal life. She’s magnanimous about my home state of Pennsylvania, where she lived briefly in her teen years, and doesn’t even touch my attempt to contrast her with another equally sweet but much less political vintage-y songstress around these days. The cheeky self-deprecation that marks many of her songs comes through even her pithiest retorts. But she’s on fire when you ask about politics, suggesting that recent protest movements will cultivate “an atmosphere of freedom” and potentially encourage a new era of progressive populism. While I strongly disagree with her on the offensiveness of white women appropriating racial slurs at an event that was publicly criticized for excluding women of color, we can at least agree on the deliciousness of almond milk. Read on.
Several of us at Spectrum have roots in Pennsylvania too. Do you feel any affinity for the state? You can be honest; most of us don’t live there any more either!
I went to high school there and it’s home to my earliest mentors – I’m still in recovery but getting better every day.
How did you end up with a satirical throwback stage persona? With all due respect to her, would you consider yourself an alternative to the kind of apolitical, childish, throwback Zooey Deschanel type of personality?
I love to be mindless. I love art for art’s sake. I hate this needing to know and participate. I don’t feel like I’ve chosen a thing in my life. It’s all luck of the draw.
Do you think you’ve lost any of your fire as you’ve matured?
The anger of youth becomes the manure of maturity.
As a young, outspoken activist, what do you think of recent movements like Slutwalk and Occupy?
The radicals determine the mainstream; the stronger the radical progressive movement is, the more progressive the center. There was a reason that in the 1970s – an era of George Carlin, Richard Pryor, the Black Panthers and Scum Manifesto – such reforms as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act were passed, solar panels were installed on the White House and American women had the most reproductive rights in history. When there’s an atmosphere of freedom and pushing the boundaries, the effects are felt in virtually every corner. The people at the front make it possible for those in the middle to move forward.
I was saddened to learn that at Slutwalk NYC there was a controversy over a sign that read “Woman is the Nigger of the World.” “Woman is the Nigger of the World” is not racist or offensive but a potent and relevant slogan coined by an Asian woman (Yoko Ono) who was routinely told by the press and public that her proper place was folding John Lennon’s laundry. It draws attention to both racism and sexism and the interconnected nature of all oppressions. As for taboo words, it’s not the words themselves that we must fight but their context and – even more so – actual actions. Too often we attack something someone has said while the perpetrators of violence and inequality slip quietly by. If part of the point of Slutwalk is to take back the words that were intended to hate, marginalize and alienate – surely the word nigger qualifies. The suppression of these words gives them their potency. Ideally, we should all be able to say anything we like – because that’s the embodiment of liberty and we really should enjoy what few freedoms we have left.
Where do you find inspiration?
Animals – they know how to keep it simple.
Were you a good student back in history class? What else informs your lyrics?
I wasn’t the greatest student but Mary Daly and Howard Zinn saved me. Regarding lyrics, I like words that rhyme.
Who are you listening to these days?
Madeleine Peyroux. I had the privilege of touring with her and her music is like a fleecy cloud.
If you had to choose one – music, acting or activism? Why?
That’s a question for my accountant.
Given your already-impressive list of collaborations, who’s left that you would like to work with?
Wanda Sykes, Dick Gregory, Patti Smith, Fred Willard, Alice Walker and Cesar Millan.
Do you cook? What are your favorite vegan recipes?
I love almond milk and Caribbean coconut rum. I’m grateful that most alcohol is vegan. And potato chips.
What are you going as for Halloween this year?
My dog Bessie wants to go as Jack LaLanne – she’s a physical fitness nut. I want to go as Ralph Nader – it’s nice to get a break from the media.
by Katie Bolton
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