Regina Spektor: Imagining a New World

If songwriter and performer Regina Spektor was ever to write a memoir, she says it would probably be fiction. Reality for the standout is often merely a jumping-off point for her relentless imagination. But whether she’ll ever need to write a memoir, in the end, may be a moot thought, since so much of Spektor’s experience is already embedded in her bevy of brilliant songs. Not necessarily literally, of course. Rather, emotionally so. For Spektor, it’s about the feeling of a work rather than its adherence to real-life detail. But that doesn’t mean her life has been boring. In fact, it’s been tumultuous since her birth abroad in the censorship-rich country of Russia. Spektor, who moved to the United States at the age of 9, has often known a tough day. For example, her beloved musical father passed away earlier this year. Now, though, Spektor has a new album out in the world: Home, before and after, which dropped on June 24. It marks her latest marvelous and gut-wrenching chapter.