Pretty Little Head is the second album by singer Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay , is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums, and for her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera , for which she won a Theatre World Award...

. It was released October 31, 2006, on Nellie's own Hungry Mouse label. Initial reports indicated that the album would be released on the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 in January, with a possible conventional release in February; however, this did not end up being the case. Speculation existed that the album's release would be timed to coincide with the start of The Threepenny Opera

The Threepenny Opera

The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...

which McKay began starring in on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in April, but this did not take place either.

It features duets with Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

 ("Beecharmer") and k.d. lang

K.D. Lang

Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...

 ("We Had It Right"). Other songs include "Columbia Is Bleeding", "Cupcake" ("...about gay marriage..."), and "The Big One" ("...about a tenant's rights activist...").

Pretty Little Head was originally set to be released October 18, 2005. The release date was subsequently delayed until December 27, 2005 and finally 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.http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-mckay20dec20,1,7784158.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter Just over two weeks following this announcement, a New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

article surfaced stating McKay said she had been dropped by Columbia Records.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/arts/music/03nell.html

The album was being marketed and manufactured on the SpinArt Records

SpinART Records

spinART Records is a now-defunct New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by artists such as The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black and Michael Penn....

 label until the label's bankruptcy in 2007. Pretty Little Head is now being distributed by Sony in its original, 23-track 2-CD version, effectively bringing the album back to Columbia.

Columbia's version

1. "Cupcake" (4:44)
2. "Pink Chandelier" (1:38)
3. "There You Are in Me" (2:46)
4. "The Big One" (4:02)
5. "G.E.S." (1:42)
6. "I Will Be There" (2:55)
7. "The Down Low" (3:36)
8. "Long & Lazy River" (3:47)
9. "Beecharmer" featuring Cyndi Lauper
   Cyndi Lauper
   Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
   
    (4:02)
10. "Real Life" (2:49)
11. "I Am Nothing" (1:47)
12. "we had it right" featuring k.d. lang
    K.D. Lang
    Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
    
     (2:20)
13. "Columbia Is Bleeding" (3:41)
14. "GLADD" (3:06)
15. "Happy Flower" (2:27)
16. "Tipperary" (2:56)

spinArt/Hungry Mouse version

Disc One

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" (2:55)
8. "The Down Low" (3:36)
9. "Long & Lazy River" (3:47)
10. "I Am Nothing" (1:47)
11. "Beecharmer" featuring Cyndi Lauper
    Cyndi Lauper
    Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
    
     (4:02)
12. "Swept Away" (1:53)

Disc Two

1. "Real Life" (2:49)
2. "Tipperary" (2:56)
3. "Gladd" (3:06)
4. "Food" (3:00)
5. "We Had It Right" featuring k.d. lang
   K.D. Lang
   Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
   
   (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)

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Billboard Heatseeker Chart	10
Billboard Independent Album Chart	24