ANTI-FOLK

This morning I played connect the dots. Follow along: I’m reading about Microsoft’s pending new music arrival “Zune” that will directly target the iPod juggernaut. The article on news.com specifically mentions a whimsical teaser site for Zune, which I dutifully visit. The site is cute, but the tune playing, “Us” by Regina Spektor, is catchy. I’m hooked. Her voice sounds a lot like Bjork’s. I google Regina Spektor. It turns out Ms. Spektor is a Russian-Jewish émigré from New York City. Wikipedia says that she has prodigious songwriting talent and –as is often the case with former Soviets- possesses excellent classical chops and musical parents. I’m listening to the full version of “Us” and “Survival Guide to Soviet Kitsch” on her website now. (Click on the video section of the site.) For some reason (actually, I know the reason, can you guess?) I wonder if Ms. Spektor and Mila Kunis have ever met. Reading her wikipedia page, I see that there’s something called the “New York Anti-folk scene.” There’s an anti folk movement? I need to read more about this! Well, there’s a link to the anti-folk wikipedia page. And, of course, the obligatory antifolk.net. (I suppose antifolk.com would be too deliciously ironic.) This is fascinating. I think I may delve into this musical genre some more. Stay tuned…