The Calculation

Album: Far (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song that touches on evolutionary theory was the opening track from Jewish-American singer songwriter Regina Spektor's fifth studio album Far.
  • Hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem) helmed this track.
  • Spektor told Entertainment Weekly that this song "happened completely by accident." She explained that Elizondo and her "were basically done with the four songs we'd been working on and Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam, Tori Amos), who drummed on all the Elizondo tracks, was still there and he was about to fly off back home, and we just had a couple of hours. They said, 'Let's jam.' And I was thinking, 'I don't f---ing know how to jam!' I only know how to write something, then learn it, then play it. I got all freaked out. Then I remembered I had this song I just wrote. I quickly showed them the song and we recorded it in a few takes. I sat and played keyboard, Mike sat next to me on the couch and played bass and Matt was in the live room on the drums. It just sort of came together. Something happened with that song that makes me really happy. It had this carefree air about it, like I wasn't trying."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."