i relate extremely closely to her timbral and melodic choices
― imago, Tuesday, 23 October 2018 23:58 (five years ago) link
I think that's what I said?
Fwiw, I still think "I don't get 'relating' to lyrics. They're someone else's stories" is different from "it is possible to relate to someone else's stories" but those explanations were great, thanks to you and Brad.
― The nexus of the crisis (Sund4r), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 01:33 (five years ago) link
the thread just seemed to have settled on a consensus of "relating to songs is fake/is annoying/is bad criticism/see even Welles said so," which wipes out a good 75% of my method of and pleasure/catharsis in listening to music
(like anything else "relatability" is a tool and songwriters can wield it in different ways. the example that comes to mind is St. Vincent singing through gritted teeth "I am a lot like you, I am alone like you" in a song directed at audiences -- she also calls herself "(their) casualty." the mitski record doesn't weaponize this so much, but its directness in lyrics definitely seems written with that in mind. of course, to relate to, say, "I'm not wearing my usual lipstick" you need to be the sort of person who has a usual lipstick)
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 12:57 (five years ago) link
I appreciated your posts.
― The nexus of the crisis (Sund4r), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:04 (five years ago) link
Art enables us to experience the world in new ways, and one way lyrical art does so is by describing, in a glimpse, the experience of being another person. I can see many reasons why people would want to avoid that experience, but for me it's a fundamental reason to keep listening to lyrical music.
― droit au butt (Euler), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:08 (five years ago) link
that is not the consensus this thread came to but fine
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:12 (five years ago) link
i think the point me and alfred were making is that not relating to mistki songs isn't an obstacle to enjoying her music. we were primarily reacting to a series of very bad posts. we weren't trying to be prescriptive about anyone else's approach to music
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:14 (five years ago) link
any good resonant art imo we should see a wider picture than just ourselves in, and anytime as a critic my first reaction is "i relate to this" i work v hard to get outside of it bc it seems a v solipsistic relationship to have with art and that it doesn't necessarily inform anybody else of why that art is good
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, October 10, 2018 5:33 AM (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
like, this is just my approach, it doesn't have to be anyone else's. i just try to keep myself open and available to experiences that are not my own and distrust whenever i like something bc it resembles my experience
also obv i like a ton of music bc i relate to it, and "relate" even seems like an inadequate word at this point; i love death metal bc it sounds like the inside of my head, which is probably a way of relating!
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:23 (five years ago) link
apologies, a consensus is just what it had seemed like
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 14:36 (five years ago) link
Theory: Mitski's father was a CIA operative (from wiki but it's from a guardian interview)
https://i.postimg.cc/zGtcYPWX/mitski.jpg
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 22 February 2019 16:13 (five years ago) link
Mitski uses irony in a way that seems unique for a songwriter and very contemporary.
― treeship., Thursday, 11 March 2021 21:10 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYbXt4_r9Pw
oh this rules but as usual with her stuff i wish it were longer
― ufo, Tuesday, 5 October 2021 20:31 (two years ago) link
Wild how the concept of "hits" has been warped by the streaming age -- largely by TikTok, particularly in the alt/indie world. "Your Best American Girl" not currently listed in Mitski's 10 most popular songs page on Spotify, but three songs from her 2013 self-released LP are. pic.twitter.com/SiwXyHCRfy— Andrew Unterberger (@AUgetoffmygold) October 5, 2021
― o. nate, Tuesday, 5 October 2021 20:44 (two years ago) link
Thanks 4 heads up on this!
― kinder, Wednesday, 6 October 2021 12:19 (two years ago) link
"Your Best American Girl" has higher streaming numbers than three songs in that list, though; the thing is that Spotify's Popular lists seem to work on a mix of different criteria.
― anatol_merklich, Thursday, 7 October 2021 13:52 (two years ago) link
Agreed that it rules, but I think her economy is one of her greatest strengths.
― Hannibal Lecture (PBKR), Thursday, 7 October 2021 14:09 (two years ago) link
Not sure what criteria are for the Popular list. Maybe it weights more recent streams higher?
― o. nate, Thursday, 7 October 2021 15:02 (two years ago) link
feel like it bears repeating that this is an exceptional comeback by any metric
― imago, Thursday, 7 October 2021 15:30 (two years ago) link
wish it was longer? it's 5 minutes long!
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:22 (two years ago) link
haha
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:23 (two years ago) link
in fact, this is longer than any song on any of her last three albums.
it's 72 seconds longer than the *longest* song (by quite a bit) on Be The Cowboy!
this is looong for Mitski!
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:27 (two years ago) link
and now i will listen to it for the first time
AW HELL
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:29 (two years ago) link
i just looked at the video run time
still, it's like 4 minutes, which is long for her
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:30 (two years ago) link
anyway ... my bad everyone. please carry on.
If by "like 4 minutes", you mean "2:38", you are OTM. :P xp
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:31 (two years ago) link
it's not even 4 minutes
sheesh
someone delete all my posts, plz
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:35 (two years ago) link
haha xpost
ok, i will slink away in shame
i'm glad she's back. Be The Cowboy was great and "Your Best American Girl" is an all-timer.
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:36 (two years ago) link
to be clear, everyone, the lesson here is: watch the video and listen to the song before you post a bunch of dumb shit. ok now i'm really done.
― alpine static, Thursday, 7 October 2021 17:37 (two years ago) link
the point is it is good
hey speaking of 2:38 did anyone manage to get tickets to any of the shows for the extremely small amount of time it was possible
― Kompakt Total Landscaping (Will M.), Tuesday, 12 October 2021 15:38 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXFF_whkVk
this one's very good, most pop she's ever been
press release indicates this is going to be her synthpop album
― ufo, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:15 (two years ago) link
my response to this song and that news is exactly what you think it is
that said, 'working for the knife' was brilliant as ever so I'm confused and willing to hear more
but seriously tho, if Weyes Blood joins Charli and Mitski in the let's-be-80s-like-everyone-else corner I might blow a gasket
― imago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:19 (two years ago) link
'most pop she's ever been' is just...no, this is the most fashionably and straightforwardly pop she's ever been but she's given us nothing but amazing (if somewhat artful) pop for two if not three albums
― imago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:20 (two years ago) link
my biggest problem with this song isn't the genre so much as the combination of genre and length though. usually her genomic style works beautifully but this doesn't have the space to expand as befits classical synthpop
― imago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:22 (two years ago) link
co-written with dan wilson!
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:22 (two years ago) link
*gnomic ffs
― imago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:23 (two years ago) link
'most straightforwardly pop' is what i mean by 'most pop' yes
― ufo, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:34 (two years ago) link
reminds me of The War on Drugs
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:40 (two years ago) link
it's my loss but I found it pretty dull, and the video pushes it into near-parody for me
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 22:10 (two years ago) link
not like i’m expecting good writing in a press release but i still wish i hadn’t read the press release
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 22:18 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvIkcN5YMH4
this one is underwhelming
― ufo, Tuesday, 7 December 2021 18:06 (two years ago) link
weak chorus yes. kinda wish it had all been that velvet underground goes post-rock first verse tbh
― imago, Wednesday, 8 December 2021 10:32 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4J3Z9xgjWQ
the piano in the middle is fantastic but doesn't quite go far enough?
― ufo, Thursday, 13 January 2022 07:48 (two years ago) link
Oh good, more mediocre synthpop
Pitchfork will of course call this her 'most ambitious album yet'
imo the length of the pandemic has fucked with most of my favourite artists, it's kind of sad
― imago, Thursday, 13 January 2022 10:59 (two years ago) link
i don't love the new material but i'm finding these tracks a little stronger than be the cowboy so far. the synths aren't some huge departure either. still very much the same songwriter with the same strengths & weaknesses.
― ufo, Thursday, 13 January 2022 11:13 (two years ago) link
be the cowboy is her masterpiece imo, kind of think of it like the original incarnation of wire did an emopop album in between chairs missing and 154
― imago, Thursday, 13 January 2022 12:07 (two years ago) link
and the ingenious manipulations of melody just aren't there now; nor are the sonic surprises. i liked 'working for the knife' a lot but all three subsequent singles have felt empty
i don't think it's the length of the pandemic, really. maybe a little or in some cases. i just think (a) it's hard to keep making amazing albums over and over again, and (b) the prevalence of mediocre synthpop (mushcore, as that one guy calls it) and its incredible power over these people (why i do not know), and (c) you also are getting further and further away from the thrill of discovery, hearing new things, evolving in your interests, etc., and Mitski just isn't as interesting to you as she once was. obviously i don't know how you feel, i'm just tossing it out there as a potential factor here.
she was due to get boring, tbh.
― alpine static, Thursday, 13 January 2022 20:28 (two years ago) link
i would be interested to hear why you think the length of the pandemic is causing some artists trouble, though.
― alpine static, Thursday, 13 January 2022 20:29 (two years ago) link
well, full-band arrangements harder to rehearse and perform, for one, but there's more, hang on
― imago, Thursday, 13 January 2022 21:11 (two years ago) link