Regina Spektor

An unusual singer/songwriter (I hate that phrase), Regina Spektor is a Jewish girl from Soviet Russia, who immigrated to New York at a young age. However, she retains aspects of an odd Jewish/Russian accent that colors all of the lyrics in her songs, and the way she expresses herself. Well known for her odd vocal inflections and tonal sounds, Regina is deserving of the fame she is starting to achieve. Spektor has deep meaning in her piano driven music that is not about the typical topics most songwriters select (love, sex, money, beatin’ yo’ hoe). Or, if she does choose to speak on a common topic, she addresses it from a different perspective than most other people due to her unique upbringing. There are no stereotypical words to describe her style, other than beautiful.

Furthermore, Spektor uses intellectual stories for her music. There are many references to Biblical/Jewish history, as well as literary figures, such as Shakespeare, Sophocles, and Fitzgerald. This adds depth that most popular artist miserable fail to achieve. Spektor avoids the irritating idea that a chorus should be the same word repeated twenty hundred times (see every song Britney Spears has ever performed), and deviants from the standard pattern that most music on the radio has. For that, I appreciate her greatly.

Her albums are 11:11, Soviet Kitsch, and Begin to Hope. For those of you wondering, Kitsch means an inferior form of art, and 11:11 refers to a superstition that a wish will come true of you see the clock read 11:11. Some singles to sample if you like Spektor or not are Fidelity, Carbon Monoxide, Edit, and Samson.