When Nellie met Tom...

I've just started listening to Nellie McKay's debut album 'Get Away from Me'. I'd heard that she was getting rave reviews in the States and I have to say that I'm enjoying her unique sound and witty lyrics. That's not to say that I agree with her political point of view - she seems to be somewhat nearer the liberal end of the scale than myself. Indeed, on the back cover of the album (couldn't find the image on-line) she explains that she's a member of PETA and shows her feeding some pigeons. In a Washington Post interview she says:

I have a friend who covers Tom Lehrer in piano bars, and one of the songs he covered was 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.' That kind of put me off Tom Lehrer.

A somewhat childish sentiment, but she is only 19...
Anyway, the pigeon picture on the back of her album caught my eye, because it very closely resembles this Tom Lehrer publicity shot:

This is either quite a nice joke on Nelly's behalf, or (I'd prefer to think..) one at her expense.
Incidentally, for my money, The Remains of Tom Lehrer is one of the funniest collections that one could buy. He even did a song about the Second Vatican Council. (I might post some more about Tom anon.)