On Begin to Hope, Regina Spektor treads a delicate balance between her anti-folk past and her present home on Sire Records. Though the label re-released Soviet Kitsch in 2004, Begin to Hope is Spektor's first original material for Sire, and it feels more like a major-label debut than Soviet Kitsch ever did. The album's big, glossy production and preponderance of drum machines and keyboards inches Spektor toward territory that isn't exactly mainstream, but is closer to a more conventional adult alternative singer/songwriter sound. Her songwriting mirrors this, too: "Field Below," which finds her wishing for the countryside while living in the city, has a mellow, appealingly rambling vibe that grows from the traditional singer/songwriter roots of Joni and Carole; "Better" takes the breathy, literate, pretty side of Spektor's music and tailors it into a radio-friendly single. "On the Radio" takes it a step further and becomes a smart, funny, and sad meta-single, with lyrics like "We listened to it twice/Because the DJ was asleep" backed by poppy synths and beats. But even though Begin to Hope's first few songs might suggest otherwise, Spektor is much too freewheeling and quirky a talent to stick to the straight and narrow for the entirety. Show tunes, classic soul, the Bible, and the backs of cereal boxes are all inspirations for the album. And whether she quotes the melody from Doris Payne's "Just One Look" and pairs it with lyrics about orca whales on "Hotel Song," or begins the lovely, confessional closing track, "Summer in the City," with the line "summer in the city means cleavage," Spektor uses them in unexpected ways. She also places some truly surreal, heady tracks toward Begin to Hope's end: "Lady" is a torchy number arranged for piano, saxophone, and typewriter, while "20 Years of Snow" is buoyed along by impressionistic keyboards that twinkle and tumble like a just-shaken snow globe. "Apres Moi," one of the album's most impressive tracks, showcases her classical piano training, her Russian heritage, and those biblical influences to ominous, paranoid effect. Leaving the more unique, quintessentially Regina Spektor-esque tracks at the end of Begin to Hope isn't so much a bait-and-switch as is a clever way to lure in and loosen the inhibitions of new fans. The album feels like getting to really know someone: at first, it's polite and a little restrained, but then its real personality, with all of its charming idiosyncrasies, finally reveals itself.
As musical genius David St. Hubbins once brilliantly and articulately noted, "It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever." In no genre is that statement more appropriate than the anti-folk scene. The genre was brought to the masses through the quirky underground film Juno, which has left many people on the fence deciding whether anti-folk is a shallow and ridiculous pit filled with amateu...
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last night was amazing. what. an. amazing. voice. singing like that after recovering from a giggle is a talent, as my friend witchy would say. i didn't write down the setlist, but she played these songs:fidelitybettersamsonon the radiofield belowapres moihotel songthat timesummer in the cityuh-mericamusic boxbaby jesuspoor little rich boy (amazing!)the flowershuman of the yearusbobbin' for appl...
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'till it's gone.......Regina Spektor, "Field Below"kinda how I feel....I think.....
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Every time I listen to Begin To Hope (or even Soviet Kitsch, for that matter), I'm completely blown away by Regina Spektor's vocals. Her voice has an amazing lilting quality... It's like you can't pin it down. It's incredible. Anyway, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir when I say that this was one of the best albums of 2006. I've been listening to "Ode to Divorce" a lot lately... definitely th...
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Here is a 2006 top ten list for you:Top ten songs that I played over and over again, that i couldnt stop singing out loud, that were stuck in my head for days, that i couldnt help but love love love this year:[no order by the way]1. "Chinese Children" Devendra Banhart 2. "Hotel Song" Regina Spektor3. "Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)" Clap Your Hands Say Yeah4. "Yoshimi Battles the ...
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Tomorrow will be so much fun. I am going to THE EDGE with my Youth Group tomorrow, where we will go and be merry as we are laser tagging, arcading, and rockwall...ing...? Yeah, anyway I have never played laser tag and I have only gotten good reviews on that game so far so I'm guessing it's fun. Also, I've never been rock wall climbing so, that will be a new experience, but of course I have gone...
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(Shake it up)I never loved nobody fullyAlways one foot on the groundAnd by protecting my heart trulyI got lost in the soundsI hear in my mindAll these voicesI hear in my mind all these wordsI hear in my mind all this musicAnd it breaks my heartAnd it breaks my heartAnd it breaks my heartIt breaks my heartAnd suppose I never met youSuppose we never fell in loveSuppose I never ever let you kiss m...
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I wasn't really expecting to start out my 'mog' with a negative post but oh well this is what's on my mind right now musicwise. I cannot staaaaand 20 Years of Snow from Regina Spektor's album Begin to Hope. Honestly, what was Regina thinking? The random arpeggios that seem to come from a practice book that i used when i was young and the horribly matched vocal croakes just make me cringe. I...
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I was lucky enough to see the Russian born, Bronx bred piano thumpin creative genius that is Regina Spektor this past week at the Exit/In in Nashville, TN. What an amazing performance. The girl can sing like no one else I've ever heard. I've noticed that either most people I know love her or hate her - there's almost never any middle ground with her. She's sounds just as brilliant live as she s...
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Like I said, I'm extremes (all or nothing). I've fallen head over heels for Regina. I first heard it on World Cafe (yes, laugh at me, I listen to NPR, but it's good shit) but wrote her name on a napkin as I was driving and being the clean freak I am, threw out her napkin.The album is a great mixture of true good vocals (think Kate Earl) and great semi electric indie sound (think Feist and Bro...
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I had a whole page written about how frustrating women can be, but then I saw this picture and decided that it was all drivel.I mean, we all have our faults. Women think the same thing about men...maybe. Women are just more complex, and I love that about them. It's a challenge that never ends. And lets face it, women are simply gorgeous creatures.I mean, Regina said it best..."You are my greate...
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Regina well I love you,,,shit now Im being sentimenal...
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Second time's a charm? Well I seemed to think so today. After braving the elements the first night of Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park, I came prepared today with three sweaters and a pair of comfortable shoes. The day was nice enough with the sun gracing San Franciscans with its rare presence and temperatures in the high 60's.With spirits high, we arrived around 2 only to face a huge...
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I've been listening to this one song quite a lot lately, this one song that reminds me quite a bit of this other song, almost so much so that I would call it an associative climax, but not quite that much. Regina Spektor seems to have realized that she will never in her life write a truly great song, the kind of song that might truly connect with anyone. Her response to this realization has be...
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"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo George & I heart the gays as well. .
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Taking it right down a notch.. even though its only 11am here...blamin it on the java..!!One of my favourite songs...and yes bb you are my sweetest downfall...
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Her new record's so cheap and juicy...I can't stop listening to "That Time".I never thought I'd appreciate the way the word "Marlboro" was prounounced.Listen to "That Time" or any of her new stuff "here":http://hype.non-standard.net/artist/Regina+Spektor.and enjoy her sporadically delicious lyrics here:Hey remember the time when I found a human tooth down on Delancey?Hey remember that time we d...
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If you have ever listened to Regina Spektor, someone probably had you listen to the song Samson. It is a beautiful song and Regina performs it wonderfully. However, there are two different versions of this song. I am posting the second song, which is a little longer and is sung in a lower voice, which completely changes the meaning of the song. I hope you all enjoy.
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This is driving me nuts; I can't get this song out of my head.Out of cumpulsion, I ended up playing about five times today. It's a catchy, simple tune, memorable melody, solid chord work, all with clever lyrics. It's a damn good thing that it's a great little song, or else I'd really be stuck with a problem.This is driving me nuts; but at least this is driving me nuts in a good sort of way.
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Regina Spektor's "That Time" from Begin To Hope. Remember that time when we decided to kiss anywhere except the mouth...
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Every time I listen to Begin To Hope (or even Soviet Kitsch, for that matter), I'm completely blown away by Regina Spektor's vocals. Her voice has an amazing lilting quality... It's like you can't pin it down. It's incredible. Anyway, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir when I say that this was one of the best albums of 2006. I've been listening to "Ode to Divorce" a lot lately... definitely th...
More >
Tomorrow will be so much fun. I am going to THE EDGE with my Youth Group tomorrow, where we will go and be merry as we are laser tagging, arcading, and rockwall...ing...? Yeah, anyway I have never played laser tag and I have only gotten good reviews on that game so far so I'm guessing it's fun. Also, I've never been rock wall climbing so, that will be a new experience, but of course I have gone...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Fidelity |
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| 2 Better |
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| 3 Samson |
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| 4 On the Radio |
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| 5 Field Below |
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| 6 Hotel Song |
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| 7 Aprčs Moi |
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| 8 20 Years of Snow |
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| 9 That Time |
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| 10 Edit |
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| 11 Lady |
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| 12 Summer in the City |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Begin to Hope")
