ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nellie McKay - Singer/songwriter
Nellie McKay sings, croons, raps, grooves and -- barks? -- to glowing critical acclaim.

Why you should listen

Playful, quirky, hilarious, endearing: not attributes of your typical political agitator. But singer-songwriter-producer-activist Nellie McKay merits the description. Her music is whimsical, colorful, catchy and as engaging as it is restless. Toying with antique genres and yet undeniably contemporary, it flirts with multiple styles of delivery while maintaining a sharp social conscience.

For these and other eccentricities, McKay has gained a devoted fan following. On stage and off, she's an outspoken advocate of animal rights, a friend and ally to any arch political quip and -- lucky for us -- artistically uncompromising. After cutting two major-label records, her own indie label, Hungry Mouse, produced her latest, Obligatory Villagers.

More profile about the speaker
Nellie McKay | Speaker | TED.com
TED2008

Nellie McKay: "Clonie"

Filmed:
836,733 views

Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay performs the semi-serious song "Clonie" -- about creating the ultimate companion.
- Singer/songwriter
Nellie McKay sings, croons, raps, grooves and -- barks? -- to glowing critical acclaim. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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But anyway, this is about the evils of science, so I think it’s perfect.
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♫ My oh my, walking by, who’s the apple of my eye? ♫
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♫ Why, it's my very own Clonie. ♫
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♫ Oh, if I should stroll the hood, who knew I could look so good ♫
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♫ just talking on the phone to Clonie. ♫
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♫ We are pals, it's cool, 'cause we're not lonely, ♫
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♫ shallow gene pool is nothing to my only Clonie. ♫
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♫ Me and you, hustling through, holding on through thick and thin, ♫
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♫ just day by day, our DNA, so the Olson twins got nothing on us. ♫
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♫ We'll survive, side by side. Mother Nature, don’t you call her phony, she’s my Clonie. ♫
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♫ Was wealthy, but not healthy, had no one to dwell with me, ♫
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♫ so look who I got born -- Clonie. ♫
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♫ Far from broke, bored, rich folk, we don't need no natural yolk -- ♫
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♫ our babies come full-formed, Clonie. ♫
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♫ We'll be huggable, get a publicist ♫
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♫ and show them, be the most lovable thing since fucking Eminem. ♫
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♫ Oh my friend, multiply, we’re a franchise, like Walt Disney or Hannibal Lecter. ♫
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♫ We can tell our cancer cells are more benign than old Phil Spector. ♫
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♫ We’ll survive side by side, should have signed with Verve instead of Sony. ♫
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♫ You’re my Clonie. ♫ "Oh Clonie, how I love you."
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"Ha, I'm the only person I ever loved."
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♫ Gee, that's swell. I guess you're just my fatal attraction-ie. You’re my Clonie. ♫
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nellie McKay - Singer/songwriter
Nellie McKay sings, croons, raps, grooves and -- barks? -- to glowing critical acclaim.

Why you should listen

Playful, quirky, hilarious, endearing: not attributes of your typical political agitator. But singer-songwriter-producer-activist Nellie McKay merits the description. Her music is whimsical, colorful, catchy and as engaging as it is restless. Toying with antique genres and yet undeniably contemporary, it flirts with multiple styles of delivery while maintaining a sharp social conscience.

For these and other eccentricities, McKay has gained a devoted fan following. On stage and off, she's an outspoken advocate of animal rights, a friend and ally to any arch political quip and -- lucky for us -- artistically uncompromising. After cutting two major-label records, her own indie label, Hungry Mouse, produced her latest, Obligatory Villagers.

More profile about the speaker
Nellie McKay | Speaker | TED.com

THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM