Soviet Kitsch

Soviet Kitsch
Studio album by Regina Spektor
Released August 17, 2004
Genre Anti-folk, indie rock, punk rock
Label Sire
Producer Gordon Raphael, Alan Bezozi, Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor chronology

Songs
(2002)		 Soviet Kitsch
(2004)		 Live at Bull Moose
(2005)
Singles from Soviet Kitsch
  1. "Carbon Monoxide"
    Released: 2004
  2. "Your Honour / The Flowers"
    Released: 2004
  3. "Us"
    Released: 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
The A.V. Club (favorable)[2]
Blender [3]
Pitchfork Media (6.8/10)[4]
PopMatters (7/10)[5]
Prefix Magazine (7/10)[6]
Rolling Stone [7]
Stylus B−[8]

Soviet Kitsch is the major label debut and third album by American singer/songwriter Regina Spektor. The title is drawn from Milan Kundera's expression for the vacuous aesthetics of Stalinist-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".

Track listing

All songs written by Regina Spektor.[9]

  1. "Ode to Divorce" – 3:42
  2. "Poor Little Rich Boy" – 2:27
  3. "Carbon Monoxide" – 4:59
  4. "The Flowers" – 3:54
  5. "Us" – 4:52
  6. "Sailor Song" – 3:15
  7. "***" – 0:44
  8. "Your Honor" – 2:10
  9. "Ghost of Corporate Future" – 3:21
  10. "Chemo Limo" – 6:04
  11. "Somedays" – 3:21
Deluxe Version bonus track
  1. "Scarecrow & Fungus" – 2:29

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: backing punk band ("Your Honor")

Eric Biondo: songwriter (one lyric and melody sampled in "Somedays")

Reception

In 2009, the album was included in NME's list of 100 greatest albums of the decade.[10]

Releases

Year Label Format Catalog no. Country
2004 Sire CD 48833 US
2004 Sire CD/DVD 48890 US
2004 Shoplifter CD 005 UK
2005 Sire LP 48953 US
2007 WEA CD 9362493522 UK

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ The A.V. Club review
  3. ↑ Blender review
  4. ↑ Pitchfork review
  5. ↑ PopMatters review
  6. ↑ Prefix Magazine review
  7. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  8. ↑ Stylus review
  9. ↑ Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch
  10. ↑ "The Top 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade". NME. Retrieved July 21, 2012.