Pitchfork

Mere days after we reported on Nellie McKay's triumph over Columbia Records regarding the length of her new album Pretty Little Head, the world went and turned on its pretty little head once again. Over the holidays, McKay was dropped by the label. In a press release, the coy McKay explained the metaphorical break-up thusly: "It ain't no use to sit and wonder why - they kept the coffee pot, I got the dog."

"All that matters to me," McKay professed, "is that I can continue to make irritating music which will baffle and enrage."

In an interview with The New York Times, McKay disclosed that when she received the fateful phone call from Columbia, the label representative "said that she hadn't actually heard the album and said that 'this isn't about the music' - which I thought was really funny." Apparently, money wasn't the issue either, as Nellie purportedly fronted all finances for Head's recording sessions.

McKay continued, "I think for both sides, it's liberating. You have no idea how much of a pain I can be."

Pretty Little Head was scheduled to be in stores on Tuesday, January 3, after months of delays. The label split pushes the release date back again. McKay is currently in the process of purchasing the rights to the mastered recordings and pursuing other release outlets. "There's lots of legal stuff," she told the Times. "We're just trying to get out as soon as we can."

In the meantime, fans can tide themselves over with McKay's contributions to the soundtrack for the recent Jennifer Aniston rom-com flick Rumor Has It, available from digital retailers only. Her six songs include a cover of Cole Porter's "Just One Of Those Things" and "Baby, You've Got What It Takes", a duet with blues legend Taj Mahal.

The movie is terrible, apparently:

01 Black Sheep
02 BB Blues
03 Just One of Those Things
04 Pasadena Girl
05 Face of a Faith
06 Baby, You've Got What It Takes

Also, Nellie's official webpage on the Columbia Records site is currently offering a stream of the Pretty Little Head track "The Big One". We'll see how long that lasts.

Nellie's one scheduled concert date still stands, and as reported earlier, she will appear in a Broadway production of "The Threepenny Opera". The production opens for previews in March at Studio 54 and now stars Cyndi Lauper alongside McKay. (Lauper also guests on Pretty Little Head.) Liberated from the majors, at least for now, it's anyone's guess what sort of brouhaha Nellie will stir up at this performance:

01-22 Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere *

* with Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players