The 10 Best Regina Spektor Songs
From classical roots to wide-ranging sweeps of punk, beatboxing, jazz and pop.
Photo by Reva May
Although she began as a classically trained pianist, singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Regina Spektor has earned both critical acclaim and commercial attention with her take on the anti-folk genre. Born in Moscow, Spektor emigrated to the United States at age nine. The rest of her formative years were spent absorbing all of the culture that residing in the Bronx had to offer. After studying at the SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory, playing everywhere she could throughout the city in her spare time, Spektor kickstarted her career by opening up for The Strokes, an experience she describes in Lizzy Goodman’s recently published Meet Me In The Bathroom.
Over the course of her career, Spektor has evolved from her classical roots to wide-ranging sweeps of experimentation throughout punk, beatboxing, jazz and pop. Spektor’s first effort, 11:11 was an independently-released effort from 2001 originally only available at her shows. Since then, however, Spektor has crafted six other LPs, with albums like 2006’s Begin to Hope and 2012’s What We Saw from the Cheap Seats hitting particular high marks.
Since 2016’s lauded Remember Us to Life, Spektor has been touring throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada in support of her newest record. This Thursday, July 27, she return to New York City to perform at Central Park as part of their Summerstage Concert Series, symbolizing a personal homecoming and a hallmark of what she’s achieved in her career thus far. Here then are Spektor’s 10 best songs.
10. “Bleeding Heart”
This song off Spektor’s latest album, Remember Us to Life, is for those occasions when all of the feels of adolescence come rushing back to you. They can be triggered by something as little as spying a book you read in English class or as big as catching up with an old friend. Listening to Spektor reflecting back on the awkwardness of those days while knowing the success she’s achieved in the current day is reassuring in and of itself; if only we’d known that “someday you’ll grow up, and then you’ll forget all of the pain you endured.”
9. “Hero”
“Hero” paints a near picture perfect image of the gut-wrenching aftermath of unexpected heartache. The simplicity of the arrangement—just Spektor’s voice accompanied by piano—makes this song all the more powerful and allows the lyrics to shine. Her repetition of the simple refrain, “it’s all right,” is a universal sentiment of authentic (or at least attempted) reassurance. And because we’re all at the center of our own universes, the heroes of our own stories, sometimes complete denial is the only salvation.
8. “Small Bill$”
Listening to “Small Bill$,” another song off of Remember Us to Life, feels a bit like taking a journey into Spektor’s subconscious. The lyrics sound a little like something out of an Allen Ginsberg poem. They don’t exactly make sense, but they have an irresistible sense of urgency that’ll have you singing along before you realize it. After years of writing piano ballads, it’s easy to understand why Spektor might be aching to switch things up a bit. This song is her most creative attempt to do just that, having fun and venturing away from her roots without worrying what her fans and critics alike will say.
7. “Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)”
One of Spektor’s more playful tracks, “Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quite pas)” from What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is an ode to two of the greatest cities in the world, New York and Paris. While “Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quite pas)” celebrates these locales, Spektor also acknowledges the loneliness that often accompanies dwelling in either, pleading with the listener not to leave her behind. Her first real foray into a more experimental sound and surreal lyrics, the synth-based beat and incorporation of horns combine to make “Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)” one of her catchiest, easiest to sing along with hits.