''Soviet Kitsch'' is the
major label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
debut and third album by American singer/songwriter
Regina Spektor. It was originally released on Shoplifter Records in May 2003 but was reissued in August 2004 when Spektor signed with Sire Records. The title is drawn from
Milan Kundera's expression for the vacuous aesthetics of
Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
-style
communism, a theme in his book ''
The Unbearable Lightness of Being''. One version of the album was released with a bonus DVD, which included a short promotional film titled ''The Survival Guide to Soviet Kitsch'' and the music video for the song "
Us".
Reception
"I became obsessed with ''Soviet Kitsch''," said British singer
Kate Nash. "The songs are so powerful and raw. There's a track called 'Chemo Limo' where she sings about having kids. I was utterly convinced she had children of her own, but it's all made-up. That's one of the great things about her: she has a way of making you believe in what she's singing about."
In 2009, the album was included in ''
NMEs list of 100 greatest albums of the decade.
Commercial performance
As of 2007 the album has sold 54,000 copies in the United States.
Track listing
All songs written by Regina Spektor.
#"Ode to Divorce" – 3:42
#"Poor Little Rich Boy" – 2:27
#"Carbon Monoxide" – 4:59
#"The Flowers" – 3:54
#"
Us" – 4:52
#"Sailor Song" – 3:15
#"* * *" – 0:44
#"Your Honor" – 2:10
#"Ghost of Corporate Future" – 3:21
#"Chemo Limo" – 6:04
#"Somedays" – 3:21
;Deluxe version bonus track
#
"Scarecrow and Fungus" – 2:29
;Standard vinyl release
# "Scarecrow and Fungus" – 2:29
#"December" – 2:10
Track 7 is titled "Whisper" on digital versions of the album. It is a brief spoken word piece in which Spektor and her brother, Barry "Bear" Spektor, discuss the following song ("Your Honor").
Personnel
* Regina Spektor - piano, voice, rhodes, drumstick, percussion, producer, songwriter
* Alan Bezozi - producer, drums, percussion, heartbeat
* Oren Bloedow - guitar
* Graham Maby - bass
* Gordon Raphael - percussion
* Bear Spektor - whispers ("***")
* The 4x4 String Quartet - strings ("Us" and "Somedays")
* Kill Kenada
Kill Kenada is a British rock music group from Bognor Regis, England, formed in 2001 and inspired by Fugazi, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Urusei Yatsura, At the Drive-In, and others. The band's name is a reference to the character Shotaro K ...
- backing punk band ("Your Honor")
* Eric Biondo - songwriter (one lyric and melody sampled in "Somedays")
Releases
References
2004 albums
Regina Spektor albums
Sire Records albums
Anti-folk albums
Albums produced by Gordon Raphael
{{2004-rock-album-stub