''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 Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

. 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 Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

'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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, a theme in his book ''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' ( cs, Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí) is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the no ...

''. 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 Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...

. "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 ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

s 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 Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

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 Oren Bloedow (born July 3, 1965) is an American singer, guitarist and bassist. He founded the band Elysian Fields in 1995 with Jennifer Charles. His father, Jerry Bloedow, was a playwright, poet, and film editor whose theater, the Hardware Poe ...

- guitar *

Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952), is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. He has continued to record and tour with Jackson even w ...

- bass *

Gordon Raphael Gordon Raphael is an American record producer and musician from Seattle, Washington, and New York, currently living in Hebden Bridge (UK), after a few years in Berlin. Raphael is most widely known for his work with The Strokes, whom he met while ...

- 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