There's a bit of magic in everything Regina Spektor touches. In her early days, she captivated New York's East Village crowd by tapping a bench with a drumstick with one hand and exercising her classical piano training with the other - all while speak-singing and belting her way from indie darling to icon. Her whimsical story-songs have earned her praise as this generation's Joni Mitchell, as Charlie Rose noted earlier this month.

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