3/9/07, 5:14 pm EST

Assignment Eight Finalist: Mordechai Shinefield on Russian Musicians in America

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

Russian Musicians in America

by Mordechai Shinefield
Age: 22

Maybe the Kremlin is funnier than we give it credit. From foul-mouthed, independent comedian Eugene Mirman to pixieish anti-folk symbol Regina Spektor, a recent slew of Russian immigrants have made entire careers out of mocking their ridiculous accents and milking their heritages. Gary Shteyngart, who wrote the critically acclaimed debut The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, followed up this year with Absurdistan, a supposed fiction about a Russian Jewish immigrant who takes a bath in vodka and then gets circumcised. Mirman’s latest comedy album En Garde, Society! also mines from autobiography, containing an explanation of why he never learned Russian curses. “I was five years when we immigrated,” he explains. “My parents were reasonable that way.”

Regina Spektor writes songs about chemotherapy, whales and statues in Moscow. Like Mirman and Shteyngart, Spektor immigrated to the United States with her family when she was still underage. Also like Mirman and Shteyngart, Spektor is outspokenly Jewish. One of the songs on last year’s Begin to Hope was about the Biblical freedom fighter Samson, and she explained, “It seems like all my songs are about sex and the Bible.”

Not all critics are thrilled about America’s latest trend. Mark Ames, Editor-in-Chief of ex-patriot Moscow magazine eXile says people like these artists “because American readers prefer warmed-over shit to something genuinely challenging or surprising, irrespective of their ethnicity. Hacks like Gary Shteyngart fulfill this lowest-common-denominator demand perfectly.”

Manhattan avant-garde band Frantic Turtle’s lead singer, Jake Marmer, also a Russian immigrant, has a more philosophical take on the phenomenon. “Everyone feels like an outsider deep inside, but would rather live it out through the artist. And here comes somebody Russian plus Jewish plus immigrant - a triple-alien!” Marmer exclaims. “On top of that, the over-educated shlemiel complex and the exotic, irresistible looks. What’s not to like?”