There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Alina Simone. She’s an indie artist, born in the Ukraine in 1974, raised in Massachusetts, whose most successful recording is an album covering (in Russian) a Russian punk singer. As it happens, I really like the album. But I would never have guessed how much I’d like You Must Go and Win. It is funny and cynical and moving and educational. Yes, I learned that you can shake an Italian suitor by imparting views on obscure religious castrati sects. And why Craig’s list auditions for female vocalists are bad news. And that a bed on top of abathroom in a Brooklyn apartment runs about $500/month. And why not to stand in the front row at a Russian strip club. Awesome.
