Mitsuki Miyawaki, better known as Mitski, is a Japanese-American singer and songwriter that performs music in the Alternative and Indie genre. Mitski switches between a raspy, raw alto voice to a sweet, clean soprano. She is well-versed in playing instruments like the bass, piano, and guitar to leave an emotional impact on her listeners.
For instance, in the Audiotree live recording of “Class of 2013,” Mitski strums the guitar, and later scream-sings, causing a sickly vibration effect to elevate the line, “Mom, would you wash my back this once then we can forget. And I’ll leave what I’m chasing.” This line, along with the song, expresses the terror many graduates feel while being pushed into the adult world, wishing to go back to simpler times. Many of her lyrics are often described as melancholy and provide insight into her vulnerable state of mind and emotion.
How did Mitski become popular?
Mitski has been creating music since 2012, the first one being a self-released album during her junior year of college titled “Lush.” Continuing her musical journey, she released seven albums for the Dead Ocean, a record label. Two of these albums have brought her into the mainstream view, “Puberty 2” (2016) and “Be the Cowboy” (2018). Due to the help of TikTok edits and YouTube videos, “Me and My Husband” flooded TikTok fyp’s due to Mitski dramatic lyrics. For instance, “And I am the idiot with the painted face. In the corner, taking up space. But when he walks in, I am loved, I am loved” were used by Tiktokers to create sad romance edits based on anime shows.
YouTube exposed viewers to her with the “Nobody” music video released June 26, 2018, on the Mitski channel. The music video might confuse first-time listeners due to the video having bright colorful sets and outfits, but throughout the video, the imagery becomes strange and warped, like a faceless picture of the singer being ripped apart from hands bursting out of the wall and her trying to find the answer, but every book filled to brim with the word “nobody”.
Later, during an interview with the YouTube channel Genius, Mitski revealed the inspiration of the song was a vacation she took in Malaysia, expecting it to be a relaxing break, but there was a wave of loneliness she felt while all the people she knew were having fun elsewhere. For instance, the chorus of “Nobody” bought into life after a mental breakdown. This gives the listener a sense of relatability and comfort that went through something similar, gaining her fans.
For “Puberty 2”, the song that became popular was “I Bet on Losing Dogs” for the metaphor of staying in a relationship that you know is doomed to fail or the other partner bringing far too much damage. Using the symbolism of race dogs and betting is a risky activity, especially with the lyrics describing Mitski losing by them, becoming so lost and trapped like she is dying.
A look into Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart
“Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart” was released on Mitski 2013 album titled “Retired from Sad, New Career in Business,” her second studio album. The song starts with Mitski narrating the slow revelation that she loved her ex, but it was just too late. Her ex fed the relationship, but Mitski closed herself out due to the anxiety and fear in her heart: “There’s some kind of burning inside me It’s kept me from falling apart. And I’m sure that you’ve seen what it’s done to my heart. But it’s kept me from falling apart.”
The other person tries so desperately for her to love them like they imagine, the way that they are to Mitski, but she can’t be that, hating herself for that. Feeling like a bother and viewing the ex as someone better than her: “And I don’t blame you. If you want to bury me in your memory. I’m not the girl I ought to be, but. Maybe when you tell your friends. You can tell them what you saw in me. And not the way I am.”
This song could be extremely relatable to students due to many of them starting their first ever romantic relationships. A common struggle that they might face is love-bombing in which one partner shows an overbearing amount of love too fast that makes the other feel like they’re drowning. The opposite side is not knowing how to show your feelings to them once you’re in the relationship that causes the other to feel unimportant, creating issues that destroy the relationship. I believe that students can find comfort and understanding with this song, showing they aren’t alone in these complex and strange times no matter what age they are.
A breakdown of Cop Car and This is Life
Mitski’s popularity didn’t stop at the online level, but reached a new high when she was able to write for two movies. One being a horror movie titled “The Turning” and the other being “Everything Everywhere All at Once” a Sci-fi/Action film.
For the movie “The Turning”, Mitski created a song called “Cop Car”, which began to play in the film during a stressful driving scene. The main character of the film’s named Kate, a tutor and nanny for two odd children named Miles and Flora, wanted to take them into the town. Flora was terrified; however, her brother Miles convinced her it was safe. The scene continued with Kate turning on the radio and “Cop Car” playing through.
The specific line playing was “I get mean when I’m nervous like a bad dog. I get mean when I’m nervous like a bad dog. I want to jump into blue water. And I miss riding horses, I miss running fast.” The lyrics predict Flora’s reaction, who begins freaking out due to her fearing that if she leaves the house grounds she will die like her parents and the past tutor. Shouting and screaming just like a scared little dog, she cries her eyes out. Miles screams at Kate, blaming her for his sister’s pain. This moment filled with tension works with Mitski’s grunge style of guitar in the song and repeated lines like “bad dog” and “never die.”
The next song is “This Is a Life” for the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. For me, this movie fits Mitski better because of the theme of familiar connection especially between daughter and mother, the struggles of acceptance due to trauma and personal thinking, and letting love in your heart. The movie deals with the idea of different realities and dimensions, with Mitski’s song specifically. She sings that no matter what, through the physical and mental planes of existence, they will choose each other because even the simples thing can bring great happiness and purpose. For instance, with the line “This is a light. Many lives that could’ve been. Free from entropy. Entangled for eternity. Not only hands and toes. Not only what we’ve known.” Even without the connection of the movie, it shows the beauty of choosing someone to be with for as long as you have in this world, a common strength of Mitski, painting a beautiful portrait of the human mind and emotion.
Watch Mitski Live
1)https://youtu.be/VNtWMwWe0fY?si=fzYuVq_xlr12CSR7
2) https://youtu.be/jD04JnObPoA?si=bmbhqdhhmi6s3ckb
3) https://youtu.be/pKJGgJeGyTo?si=AQY_oG05Fr46AH4E
New fans starter music
1) https://youtu.be/Qy9LTRu89FA?si=PyAf7walGFFRgMMU
2) https://youtu.be/mHKTdlUyyko?si=A8Rlh7Myg-uJiTKc
3) https://youtu.be/DVIaDzs1EH4?si=pgE167sH_fsPNBZW
