Laughing With - [Regina Spektor]

With a few excellent exceptions this year, it seems that often the anticipation of a new CD release proves to be more thrilling than the actual CD itself. The curse of hype? Perhaps. Already, Regina Spektor is getting "reviews" left and right for Far, to be released June 30, despite the fact that most people have only heard "Laughing With" and base their feelings on that song alone. Am I placing a hex on a CD by writing my own anticipatory blog before it comes out? Maybe I'm a Time Lord and I've already heard it in my childhood. You don't know.

The issue that most people have with "Laughing With", it seems, is that the poor song is accused of being too "mainstream" and "poppy". Some even seem to be upset about the religious nature of the piece... but maybe these individuals should look up who Samson is on Wikipedia. People are ready to draw and quarter Far because it seems to be riding on the Begin to Hope railroad track instead of jumping back on the train to her roots as "the real Regina". What you may or may not know, is that Regina herself stated that Begin to Hope is what her first two CDs would have sounded like had she the money to doll them up a bit. So isn't this the real Regina? Honestly, I happen to like "Laughing With" and its firm chords, steady rhythm and blues influence, soft violin, and the lifting of Regina's voice during the chorus as if she were floating clouds on her notes. I do understand the disinclination to enjoy the fact that she may be straying too far from basic indie roots and maturing into new blends of genres. But before you begin throwing stones (another epigram rooted in religion for those unfamiliar with who Samson is), I urge you to wait for the CD and give the whole thing a listen. A handful of the other songs on the track listing have been played by Regina at live shows, and I have previously fallen in love with all of them. Die-hard Regina fans have been hearing "Dance Anthem of the 80s" or "Folding Chair" for some time now. I am rather looking forward to hearing what she does with the instrumentation of such brilliant songs given the studio, the money, the time, and the lack of obnoxious people whose conversations can be heard in mp3s from live performances.

Be your own judge with "Laughing With", and then see how you feel about one of my favorite previously unreleased songs (to be the twelfth track on Far), "One More Time With Feeling" (not to be confused with the pyrrhic victory song of a well dressed demon over a vampire slayer, a witch, and their best friend the carpenter).

Download - Laughing With

Download - One More Time With Feeling