Music: Nellie McKay -- she's so unusual

New York singer/songwriter Nellie McKay is absolutely brilliant and bloody confounding.

She has more retro range than Amy Winehouse, more musical depth than Alicia Keys and more sexy charisma than Rihanna. And she may be more talented than all three combined. Seriously.

She is to music what "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano is to fashion: fierce, funny, full of herself and over-the-top gifted beyond her years. She is an ambitious, idiosyncratic musicmaker who creates a smart/smart-alecky and intoxicating mix of Broadway, cabaret, jazz, hip-hop and humor.

Trying to interview McKay, 25, is a cat-and-mouse game. "Interviews should be vague," she said from Los Angeles.

I asked her to choose 10 adjectives that described her in addition to "vague." Her response: "Vaguer. Vague-est. V8-full. Vigorous. Vapid. Vacuous. Vengeful. Violet-colored. Vile. Vicious."

Very cute if a bit vaporous.

"She's a total oddball, but everybody that's around her falls in love with her -- girls and boys," said Minneapolis singer Adam Levy, who toured with her last year as part of Aimee Mann's Christmas show. "Some people think it might be an act, but there's a kind of naiveté about her. Her music sounds like it's from another era, but she knows what's up."

It was obvious that McKay was a handful when she recorded her debut disc in 2004. Columbia rejected such proposed titles as "Penis Envy" before settling on "Get Away From Me," a jab at Norah Jones' blockbuster "Come Away With Me." The 18 songs were a double espresso compared with Norah's mocha latte, reflecting McKay's eclectic tastes, biting humor and lefty, pro-PETA politics.

Last year, McKay reined herself in on "Obligatory Villagers" -- nine songs covering rap, reggae, disco and her brand of jazz. Her lyrics are still razor-sharp, as evidenced on "Mother of Pearl," which is to feminism what Randy Newman's hit "Short People" is to the vertically impaired.

Over the years, McKay has amassed a vast knowledge of popular music and quite a collection of old vinyl. When asked to talk about her trove of tunes, she simply says: "It's very dusty."

She's obviously aware of contemporary music as well. How much hip-hop does she listen to?

"It makes up about 13.7 percent of my listening repertoire," she said.

McKay did step out of character twice to jump on her soapbox. The first came as she discussed performing in "Threepenny Opera" with Cyndi Lauper in 2006. While she enjoyed the work, she was displeased by how the political message of the show was downplayed and by the overpriced tickets. Her other harangue was about Columbia University's plans to demolish 18 acres for a biotech research center.

Will she get political at the Dakota Jazz Club this week in Minneapolis? Will she perform "Sari," a 2004 rap tune in which she rants about things that irritate her -- including herself -- and namechecks the late Sen. Paul Wellstone?

"Do you think I should?" she asked.