Mitski: From Indy Darling to Mainstream Maven
By Rian Tran
Mitsuki Miyawaki, better known by her stage name Mitski, is a Japanese-American singer and songwriter best known for her haunting vocals and heartbreaking lyrical metaphors. Her music is best described as indie/folk rock mixed with sobering slam poetry.
Mitski was born on September 27, 1990, in Mie Prefecture, Japan to her American father and Japanese mother. The artist moved more than thirteen times during childhood due to her father’s job in the U.S. State Department. Though an American citizen on paper, she lived in international destinations such as Turkey, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, and many other countries before settling in the United States during high school.
Mitski’s debut in music began at SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music, where she wrote and self-released her first album Lush (2012), followed by Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013). She met Patrick Hyland at SUNY Purchase, who would produce all of her future music. Mitski signed on with Double Double Whammy for her third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek (2014), and later signed on with Dead Oceans for her next four albums.
Mitski’s heartfelt lyrics explore desire, loneliness, depression, isolation, yearning, and other deeply-human experiences. Her songs resonate with young adults, with many treating her like a patron saint of emotional suffering.
Though absent from the internet, Mitski has garnered an impressive fan base on social media, with her most cult-like fanatics residing on TikTok. Her single “Nobody” from Be the Cowboy exploded on TikTok in June 2021, attracting and introducing hordes of young fans to the musician’s work. “Once someone is dead, they become this hero. And I’m dead on the internet, so they make me out to be a hero,” she said in a New York Times article regarding her sudden online fame.
Outside of her personal work, Mitski has been featured on multiple projects such as “This Is A Life” with Son Lux on the soundtrack of the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once, a cover of “Fireproof” by One Direction for the fundraiser album Our First 100 Days, and a cover of “I’m a Fool to Want You” by Frank Sinatra for the benefit compilation album 7-inches For Planned Parenthood.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2023) is Mitski’s most recent and most divergent album yet. The artist departed from the rock-pop and piano her audience had come to expect and delivered an 11-song orchestral folk album. Mitski describes the record as her most American album with a central theme of love. The album features a 17-person choir, guitar, and crooning vocals inspired by spaghetti Western soundtracks.
Lyrically The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We remains as deeply metaphorical as previous albums. However, unlike previous albums, the songs on The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We feel like miniature narratives, portraying characters and experiences outside of Mitski’s life. We watch the artist try on the shoes of a lonely alcoholic in “Bug Like an Angel”, the album’s first track, then a wanderer in the woods who trades their soul in “The Deal”.
While its predecessors allowed the audience a peek into Mitski’s emotional world, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We follows Mitski as she explores experiences not her own. At only 33 years old, Mitski boasts a sonically diverse discography, vocals on indie-pop albums and cinematic soundtracks, and a writing credit for the upcoming Queen’s Gambit musical.
As she tackles increasingly ambitious projects, Mitski elevates herself from indie sweetheart to industry staple with every passing year.
By Rian Tran
Mitsuki Miyawaki, better known by her stage name Mitski, is a Japanese-American singer and songwriter best known for her haunting vocals and heartbreaking lyrical metaphors. Her music is best described as indie/folk rock mixed with sobering slam poetry.
Mitski was born on September 27, 1990, in Mie Prefecture, Japan to her American father and Japanese mother. The artist moved more than thirteen times during childhood due to her father’s job in the U.S. State Department. Though an American citizen on paper, she lived in international destinations such as Turkey, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, and many other countries before settling in the United States during high school.
Mitski’s debut in music began at SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music, where she wrote and self-released her first album Lush (2012), followed by Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013). She met Patrick Hyland at SUNY Purchase, who would produce all of her future music. Mitski signed on with Double Double Whammy for her third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek (2014), and later signed on with Dead Oceans for her next four albums.
Mitski’s heartfelt lyrics explore desire, loneliness, depression, isolation, yearning, and other deeply-human experiences. Her songs resonate with young adults, with many treating her like a patron saint of emotional suffering.
Though absent from the internet, Mitski has garnered an impressive fan base on social media, with her most cult-like fanatics residing on TikTok. Her single “Nobody” from Be the Cowboy exploded on TikTok in June 2021, attracting and introducing hordes of young fans to the musician’s work. “Once someone is dead, they become this hero. And I’m dead on the internet, so they make me out to be a hero,” she said in a New York Times article regarding her sudden online fame.
Outside of her personal work, Mitski has been featured on multiple projects such as “This Is A Life” with Son Lux on the soundtrack of the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once, a cover of “Fireproof” by One Direction for the fundraiser album Our First 100 Days, and a cover of “I’m a Fool to Want You” by Frank Sinatra for the benefit compilation album 7-inches For Planned Parenthood.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2023) is Mitski’s most recent and most divergent album yet. The artist departed from the rock-pop and piano her audience had come to expect and delivered an 11-song orchestral folk album. Mitski describes the record as her most American album with a central theme of love. The album features a 17-person choir, guitar, and crooning vocals inspired by spaghetti Western soundtracks.
Lyrically The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We remains as deeply metaphorical as previous albums. However, unlike previous albums, the songs on The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We feel like miniature narratives, portraying characters and experiences outside of Mitski’s life. We watch the artist try on the shoes of a lonely alcoholic in “Bug Like an Angel”, the album’s first track, then a wanderer in the woods who trades their soul in “The Deal”.
While its predecessors allowed the audience a peek into Mitski’s emotional world, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We follows Mitski as she explores experiences not her own. At only 33 years old, Mitski boasts a sonically diverse discography, vocals on indie-pop albums and cinematic soundtracks, and a writing credit for the upcoming Queen’s Gambit musical.
As she tackles increasingly ambitious projects, Mitski elevates herself from indie sweetheart to industry staple with every passing year.
Willi Carlisle's Critterland is an emotion-packed
By The Recluse
Love, loss, grief, anger, disappointment. These are all themes in Willi Carlisle’s newest album Critterland. Hailing from the Ozarks with a history encompassing all of these things. Willi has felt all of these and shows it.
With the previous three albums, this isn’t their first outing on these themes. Yet this is the first album solely dedicated to these themes and focusing on Willi and their view on life and touching on family history. Ranging from foot-tapping melody with the opening track of “Critterland” to the anger and sadness, yet the love, of “The Arrangements” to the spoken word of “The Money Grows on Trees”, each song focuses on the battle that is a life with love in it.
I personally love “The Arrangements” the most from this album. Focusing on the message of a father you’re disappointed in and kind of glad died, yet still having love for them. This theme of focusing on Willi’s life also includes the track “I want no children”. As the title suggests, this is Willi’s view on his family and the state of the world and their place in it.
Willi is no stranger to the themes shown in these songs. As they state in the first song, “Critterland”, that “They call me a queer and a communist.” Coming from the Ozarks, you can probably tell why that’s a difficult upbringing. Compounding with the rest of the tracks and family history, you learn about Willi. You can see this is a personal album for them. With this they stay true to their folk sound though.
The first instruments you hear are harmonica, fiddle, and guitar. The final thing you hear in the album is Willi speaking. I’m not a stranger to folk; I have my grievances with it, yet I always come back to it.
Willi has become one of my favorite folk artists. Simple yet complicated. Perfect for all of the tones and issues touched on. Relistening to the album as I type this, I had to take a break. Not from exhaustion, but emotionally. Willi is able to pour all the soul and anger and love they have built up and let it out.
I think the first song best sums up this album and Willi. “I could’ve been someone else, but I was poor and got arrested.” Yet as they continue on with “The great depression”, “They won’t waste a single moment of the love that brought them here.”
All of the songs have shown how hatred and depression and grief is mixed with love. Whether true love, love for the sake of love, or annoying love, Willi and I both share the same view, I think. Life without love isn't life.
Ranging from being a freak and an outcast to angry and bitter, Critterland is an album I recommend everyone to listen to, at least once. And to let Willi sum up “So clean the slate and roll away the stone, the devil has enough evil on its own.”
By The Recluse
Love, loss, grief, anger, disappointment. These are all themes in Willi Carlisle’s newest album Critterland. Hailing from the Ozarks with a history encompassing all of these things. Willi has felt all of these and shows it.
With the previous three albums, this isn’t their first outing on these themes. Yet this is the first album solely dedicated to these themes and focusing on Willi and their view on life and touching on family history. Ranging from foot-tapping melody with the opening track of “Critterland” to the anger and sadness, yet the love, of “The Arrangements” to the spoken word of “The Money Grows on Trees”, each song focuses on the battle that is a life with love in it.
I personally love “The Arrangements” the most from this album. Focusing on the message of a father you’re disappointed in and kind of glad died, yet still having love for them. This theme of focusing on Willi’s life also includes the track “I want no children”. As the title suggests, this is Willi’s view on his family and the state of the world and their place in it.
Willi is no stranger to the themes shown in these songs. As they state in the first song, “Critterland”, that “They call me a queer and a communist.” Coming from the Ozarks, you can probably tell why that’s a difficult upbringing. Compounding with the rest of the tracks and family history, you learn about Willi. You can see this is a personal album for them. With this they stay true to their folk sound though.
The first instruments you hear are harmonica, fiddle, and guitar. The final thing you hear in the album is Willi speaking. I’m not a stranger to folk; I have my grievances with it, yet I always come back to it.
Willi has become one of my favorite folk artists. Simple yet complicated. Perfect for all of the tones and issues touched on. Relistening to the album as I type this, I had to take a break. Not from exhaustion, but emotionally. Willi is able to pour all the soul and anger and love they have built up and let it out.
I think the first song best sums up this album and Willi. “I could’ve been someone else, but I was poor and got arrested.” Yet as they continue on with “The great depression”, “They won’t waste a single moment of the love that brought them here.”
All of the songs have shown how hatred and depression and grief is mixed with love. Whether true love, love for the sake of love, or annoying love, Willi and I both share the same view, I think. Life without love isn't life.
Ranging from being a freak and an outcast to angry and bitter, Critterland is an album I recommend everyone to listen to, at least once. And to let Willi sum up “So clean the slate and roll away the stone, the devil has enough evil on its own.”
A double bio of Missy Mazzoli and Zoe Keating
by Brian Naylor
Missy Mazzoli and Zoe Keating’s music has opened impressive and controversial forms of classical music in a modern cultural life.
Zoe Keating is the composer for the soundtrack of the CBS hit crime drama, Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. Her other smash hits are ‘Escape Artist’, ‘Macworld’, ‘Into the Trees’, and the soundtrack for the HBO film Oslo. Keating wasn’t always a writer for classical music. She pursued an education in the topic of electronic and contemporary composition as part of her Liberal Arts degree at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester, N.Y.
After graduation, Keating began working as an information architect and data analyst in San Francisco. Keating also spends her free time moonlighting for rock bands as a cellist. Her first performances were on cruise ships, music halls and restaurants. As Keating made her next debut, she wrote and composed background and character theme music for various TV and films and NPR’s (National Public Radio) Morning Edition, and the theme music to OnBeing. Keating then became part of a new form of classical music for conductors and composers that mix modern technology with old fashioned, wood-based instruments (Preferably the cello or any other string instrument she would have).
As a cellist, Keating performed alongside musicians of her caliber, such as Imogen Hemp, Amanda Palmer, Tears for Fears, DJ Shadow, Dan Hicks, and Sean Ono Lennon. And through all the performances and fame from her music, Zoe still made enough time to spend with her friends, family and her husband, who eventually passed away in 2015 from stage 4 cancer. This gave Keating just cause to help others via charity groups and organizations to alleviate victims suffering from medical-related issues of every kind. In conclusion, (for this part of the blog) Zoe Keating’s music has become a part of a definite reboot of cultural concertos for any generation to enjoy.
Missy Mazzoli is another musician with a love of classical music that has given modern generations a love and respect for nostalgia. Though some of her pieces are controversial like Zoe Keating’s, her works are still widely regarded for their impressive forms of melodic tones. Such works include ‘Dark with Excessive Bright’, a concerto that premiered in 2021 with mixed reviews from critics. Some have said that the dark tones go well with its dark melodies, while others have said the tone becomes less that agreeable to listen to at the second act.
Mazzoli’s early works such as ‘Orpheus Undone’ (2019) her spin of the tragedy of Orphus and Eurydice, and her next piece, ‘The Reviewers’ is based on Karen Russell’s short story from 2013 about a 1800s Nebraskan homestead family and their stubbornness in the face and failure and suffering is a parallel to similar events in our world today, received better praise from critics.
And let’s not forget Mazzoli’s first opera from 2012, ‘Song from the Uproar’, a critically-acclaimed success as a telling of the life of Isabella Eberhart and the events of misery in a French occupied Algeria that led to her failed suicide pact with her friends and allies and eventual death by flooding before she reached 30 as the finale nears! Mazzoli’s other works include music in TV and films such as, the theme of the fictional character Thomas Pembridge from the Amazon TV series, ‘Mozart in the Jungle’, the documentaries, ‘Detropia’, ‘The book of Conrad’, and the film ‘A Woman, A Part’.
Some critics have labeled her as ‘The 21st Century Gatecrasher of new classical music’, because of her way to write a villain in her operas and plays to irredeemable qualities, some of these critics would say while some villains should have some sympathy and have them be a tiny bit admirable to a fair few. However, some of her supporters would say Mazzoli has impressive ways for her characters committing crimes to get their just desserts as it were. The message, they would say, is that no villain, sympathetic or otherwise, is something to idolize!
Missy Mazzoli and Zoe Keating’s works in the new age of classical music genres are and always will be very melodious and powerful to many a man and woman’s ears as they listen. In the concert halls the orchestra’s perform, the listener’s souls will be wowed and in awe as they hear the stories their music tells them. I would go out and purchase tickets to Mazzoli and Keating’s latest opera and/or concert or listen to their works online. But be sure you have the time and the legal means to be at said concerts. You won’t regret it if you do!
by Brian Naylor
Missy Mazzoli and Zoe Keating’s music has opened impressive and controversial forms of classical music in a modern cultural life.
Zoe Keating is the composer for the soundtrack of the CBS hit crime drama, Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. Her other smash hits are ‘Escape Artist’, ‘Macworld’, ‘Into the Trees’, and the soundtrack for the HBO film Oslo. Keating wasn’t always a writer for classical music. She pursued an education in the topic of electronic and contemporary composition as part of her Liberal Arts degree at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester, N.Y.
After graduation, Keating began working as an information architect and data analyst in San Francisco. Keating also spends her free time moonlighting for rock bands as a cellist. Her first performances were on cruise ships, music halls and restaurants. As Keating made her next debut, she wrote and composed background and character theme music for various TV and films and NPR’s (National Public Radio) Morning Edition, and the theme music to OnBeing. Keating then became part of a new form of classical music for conductors and composers that mix modern technology with old fashioned, wood-based instruments (Preferably the cello or any other string instrument she would have).
As a cellist, Keating performed alongside musicians of her caliber, such as Imogen Hemp, Amanda Palmer, Tears for Fears, DJ Shadow, Dan Hicks, and Sean Ono Lennon. And through all the performances and fame from her music, Zoe still made enough time to spend with her friends, family and her husband, who eventually passed away in 2015 from stage 4 cancer. This gave Keating just cause to help others via charity groups and organizations to alleviate victims suffering from medical-related issues of every kind. In conclusion, (for this part of the blog) Zoe Keating’s music has become a part of a definite reboot of cultural concertos for any generation to enjoy.
Missy Mazzoli is another musician with a love of classical music that has given modern generations a love and respect for nostalgia. Though some of her pieces are controversial like Zoe Keating’s, her works are still widely regarded for their impressive forms of melodic tones. Such works include ‘Dark with Excessive Bright’, a concerto that premiered in 2021 with mixed reviews from critics. Some have said that the dark tones go well with its dark melodies, while others have said the tone becomes less that agreeable to listen to at the second act.
Mazzoli’s early works such as ‘Orpheus Undone’ (2019) her spin of the tragedy of Orphus and Eurydice, and her next piece, ‘The Reviewers’ is based on Karen Russell’s short story from 2013 about a 1800s Nebraskan homestead family and their stubbornness in the face and failure and suffering is a parallel to similar events in our world today, received better praise from critics.
And let’s not forget Mazzoli’s first opera from 2012, ‘Song from the Uproar’, a critically-acclaimed success as a telling of the life of Isabella Eberhart and the events of misery in a French occupied Algeria that led to her failed suicide pact with her friends and allies and eventual death by flooding before she reached 30 as the finale nears! Mazzoli’s other works include music in TV and films such as, the theme of the fictional character Thomas Pembridge from the Amazon TV series, ‘Mozart in the Jungle’, the documentaries, ‘Detropia’, ‘The book of Conrad’, and the film ‘A Woman, A Part’.
Some critics have labeled her as ‘The 21st Century Gatecrasher of new classical music’, because of her way to write a villain in her operas and plays to irredeemable qualities, some of these critics would say while some villains should have some sympathy and have them be a tiny bit admirable to a fair few. However, some of her supporters would say Mazzoli has impressive ways for her characters committing crimes to get their just desserts as it were. The message, they would say, is that no villain, sympathetic or otherwise, is something to idolize!
Missy Mazzoli and Zoe Keating’s works in the new age of classical music genres are and always will be very melodious and powerful to many a man and woman’s ears as they listen. In the concert halls the orchestra’s perform, the listener’s souls will be wowed and in awe as they hear the stories their music tells them. I would go out and purchase tickets to Mazzoli and Keating’s latest opera and/or concert or listen to their works online. But be sure you have the time and the legal means to be at said concerts. You won’t regret it if you do!
From Silver Screen to Hit Music, Ludwig Göransson Impacts Pop Culture
by Jack Evers
Ludwig Göransson is an Oscar and Emmy winning composer who has worked on some of the biggest movies and TV shows of the decade. His credits include Community, Jennifer’s Body, Black Panther, The Mandalorian, and Oppenheimer. In addition to his film credits, he has also produced and written dozens of songs for artists such as Childish Gambino and Adele.
Göransson was born in Sweden and named after famed composer Ludwig van Beethoven. His father was a guitar teacher, sparking Göransson’s interest in music from a young age. He went on to study score composition at the University of Southern California, where he met director and frequent collaborator Ryan Coogler. He started his career as an assistant to Theodore Shapiro, another prolific composer. The first film he composed was the 2008 comedy film Marley & Me, but his true breakthrough was the hit NBC sitcom Community. Here he met Donald Glover, who he later collaborated with to produce music under the name Childish Gambino. Ever since then, Göransson has gone on to score multiple TV shows in the Star Wars universe, both of the Black Panther films, and collaborated with renowned director Christopher Nolan on both Tenet and Oppenheimer, the latter of which recently earned him his second Oscar win.
His first well-known score, Community, focuses mainly on comedy songs. The show uses background music sparingly, but when musical numbers happen, Göransson’s compositional and writing skills are put front and center. Probably the most popular song from the show, “We’re Gonna Finally Be Fine” from the first episode of season 3, is a sarcastically upbeat riff on musicals like Glee. The song, which is imagined by the character Jeff, perfectly captures the sardonic and self absorbed style as it imagines the other characters getting their acts together and being normal. The songwriting masterfully displays an aspect of the character and is also just plain comedic, something that Görransson was able to pull off throughout the show’s entire six season run.
More recently, Görransson composed music for Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer, a film about the creator of the atomic bomb and his struggles with the government and his life afterwards. The only preconception Nolan had for the score was that it should make heavy use of the violin, with the rest being left to Görransson. Görranson described the process for the scoring to be experimental and boundary-pushing, much like the film’s visuals. The score is able to build up tension, most notably in the lead up to the Trinity test’s detonation. The score becomes more frantic as the fear of this new device builds amongst those watching. The silence afterwards keeps the tension up as the mushroom cloud forms, until the inevitable explosion hits. Göransson’s score elevates the visual mastery and is used to portray the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer in a truly harrowing manner.
Ludwig Göransson’s work in film composition is a miraculous achievement. Despite being decently young for the industry at the age of 39, his work has already made waves and established himself as one of the top composers in Hollywood. Though his next project is
currently unknown, he is likely working hard on his next masterpiece.
by Jack Evers
Ludwig Göransson is an Oscar and Emmy winning composer who has worked on some of the biggest movies and TV shows of the decade. His credits include Community, Jennifer’s Body, Black Panther, The Mandalorian, and Oppenheimer. In addition to his film credits, he has also produced and written dozens of songs for artists such as Childish Gambino and Adele.
Göransson was born in Sweden and named after famed composer Ludwig van Beethoven. His father was a guitar teacher, sparking Göransson’s interest in music from a young age. He went on to study score composition at the University of Southern California, where he met director and frequent collaborator Ryan Coogler. He started his career as an assistant to Theodore Shapiro, another prolific composer. The first film he composed was the 2008 comedy film Marley & Me, but his true breakthrough was the hit NBC sitcom Community. Here he met Donald Glover, who he later collaborated with to produce music under the name Childish Gambino. Ever since then, Göransson has gone on to score multiple TV shows in the Star Wars universe, both of the Black Panther films, and collaborated with renowned director Christopher Nolan on both Tenet and Oppenheimer, the latter of which recently earned him his second Oscar win.
His first well-known score, Community, focuses mainly on comedy songs. The show uses background music sparingly, but when musical numbers happen, Göransson’s compositional and writing skills are put front and center. Probably the most popular song from the show, “We’re Gonna Finally Be Fine” from the first episode of season 3, is a sarcastically upbeat riff on musicals like Glee. The song, which is imagined by the character Jeff, perfectly captures the sardonic and self absorbed style as it imagines the other characters getting their acts together and being normal. The songwriting masterfully displays an aspect of the character and is also just plain comedic, something that Görransson was able to pull off throughout the show’s entire six season run.
More recently, Görransson composed music for Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer, a film about the creator of the atomic bomb and his struggles with the government and his life afterwards. The only preconception Nolan had for the score was that it should make heavy use of the violin, with the rest being left to Görransson. Görranson described the process for the scoring to be experimental and boundary-pushing, much like the film’s visuals. The score is able to build up tension, most notably in the lead up to the Trinity test’s detonation. The score becomes more frantic as the fear of this new device builds amongst those watching. The silence afterwards keeps the tension up as the mushroom cloud forms, until the inevitable explosion hits. Göransson’s score elevates the visual mastery and is used to portray the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer in a truly harrowing manner.
Ludwig Göransson’s work in film composition is a miraculous achievement. Despite being decently young for the industry at the age of 39, his work has already made waves and established himself as one of the top composers in Hollywood. Though his next project is
currently unknown, he is likely working hard on his next masterpiece.