Troubadours and Raconteurs, Do you know the whole story of Christopher Columbus? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 240 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World.
This week's featured guest is the incomparable, acclaimed singer, songwriter, actress and community activist Nellie McKay.
The New Yorker magazine has described Ms. McKay as “funny and touching, ceaselessly clever and scarily talented.” They also referred to her stage performance as "Brilliantly Subversive."
Nellie has indulged an extended run in the award-winning off-Broadway hit "Old Hats" and has written three acclaimed musical biographies:
"I Want to Live!, the story of Barbara Graham," - the third woman executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin; "Silent Spring: It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature" - an exploration of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson; and her latest, "A GIRL NAMED BILL – The Life and Times of Billy Tipton," - named one of the Best Concerts of 2014 by The New York Times.
She has released five full-length albums: "Get Away From Me," "Pretty Little Head", "Obligatory Villagers", her most recent "My Weekly Reader," and "Normal as Blueberry Pie" - a tribute to Doris Day that the New York Times called “among the killer overhauls of American standards”.
Nellie has won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum in the Broadway production of "The Threepenny Opera" and has performed onscreen in the films "PS I Love You" and "Downtown Express."
She has also written the original music for the Rob Reiner film "Rumor Has It" and has contributed to the Emmy award winning documentary, "Gasland."
Nellie's music has been heard on the TV shows Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS and Nurse Jackie; and she has appeared on numerous TV shows including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
She has worked with David Byrne, Bob Dorough, Hilary Swank, Laurie Anderson, Cyndi Lauper, Geoff Emerick, Alanis Morisette, and BareNaked Ladies to name but a few...
Nellie's writing has appeared in The Onion, Interview magazine and The New York Times Book Review.
Nellie and I discuss Totalitarianism, the War State, Profit, Education, the Ideal Role of Artists in Society, Music, Who Owns the Media, Corporate Farms, Climate Change, Thoreau, Censorship, Our Two Party System, Trump, Obama, How Our Voices Are Beaten Out of Us at A Young Age, Organizing at a Local Level, and the Importance of Clean Socks.
This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Courage."
We share another wonderful essay written and read by our associate producer and resident essayis Dr. Michael Pavese (aka Uncle Cesare.)
We have a poem called "Creature."
Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, Jimi Hendrix, Nellie McKay, Cannonball Adderley, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard.
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