By Megan Lorich
Countless discussions have been made over the handcrafted lyrics, raw basslines, and sweet vocals of Mitski, but at the forefront of those discussions are the themes that dominate her songs. Such is the case with her recent release “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We” (“Land is Inhospitable” for short). Mitski’s albums have had central themes and arcs to them before. “Be The Cowboy” sees Mitski use the coolness and suaveness of America’s favorite folk hero as a mask for her loneliness — while “Laurel Hell” gave Mitski the chance to finally dance her heart out.
But Mitski has been incredibly explicit with the themes of “Land is Inhospitable.” While her songs have often discussed love and its importance, have poured sorrows of past relationships, and mulled over pining and rejection — Mitski states definitively that “to love is the best thing [she] has ever done. The most beautiful thing. Better than any song [she] has written, any material possession [she] has gained, any achievement.”
Mitski says this in one of many short videos breaking down the tracks off of “Land is Inhospitable” (all of which have been posted to YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and TikTok). The track in question is “My Love is Mine All Mine,” a song that rejoices in loving and being loved. Since the release of “Land is Inhospitable” the song has shot to the first spot in Mitski’s Spotify Top 10 and gained immense popularity through social media.
This track in particular has risen above the rest. Regardless if it's deserved, Mitski has gained a reputation for creating “sad girl music” largely in part for creating ballads and songs about lost love. Though she has written songs about requited and (for lack of a better term) happy love, “My Love is Mine All Mine” feels distinctly secure in its emotion. Not only that, but the song refutes Mitski’s status as a “sad girl” by having this security. “My Love is Mine All Mine” understands that love includes heartache, confusion, and loneliness as much as it includes joy, compassion, and empathy. It’s the most beautiful thing someone can do.
We can also contrast “My Love is Mine All Mine” with some of Mitski’s earlier tracks tackling the same subject. “Me and My Husband” sees its narrator feel disillusioned in their relationship, “First Love/Late Spring” sees its narrator beg for someone to love and leave them - but “Strawberry Blond” and “Your Best American Girl” serve as a bridge between this first theme of love and Mitski’s other cornerstone topic - identity.
As far as the general population should be concerned, Mitski’s full name is Mitski. Born to a Japanese mother and an American father in the fall of 1990, Mitski’s childhood was a series of new locations due to her father’s job in the U.S. Department of State. She lived all over the world - Turkey, China, Malaysia, Japan - before eventually settling back in the United States. Her life seems fairly simple from then on. She attended SUNY Purchase. She released her debut album “Lush” her senior year. She joined a band. She did thing after thing till she became the indie mega-star we know today. But that constant movement, that shift in identity from place to place, resonates in some form throughout each of her albums.
“Strawberry Blond” is one of many early examples of this, but it’s distinct in its upbeat joyful melody. One could easily say that the melody and allegro of the song act as a facade for its narrator, who watches a friend fall in love with another girl. The song — like many of Mitski’s tracks — has been taken out of context, remixed, and rewritten until it has gained a notoriety devolved from the source material. “Strawberry Blond” now acts as music for small businesses on TikTok to showcase a variety of strawberry-themed wares, a trend that was most popular over the pandemic.
The meaning of a piece of art typically changes over time. This is not a new concept. But it’s important to recognize the cultural aspects of “Strawberry Blond” as Mitski has written it. Mitski, though American, is not white. It is unclear if the strawberry blond mentioned in her words is her friend or the girl they fall in love with, but any reader can understand the underlying heartache — Would you love me better if I looked like someone else?
“Your Best American Girl” is “Strawberry Blond’s” older sister. The song has evolved from the anecdotal experience of “Strawberry Blond” and gone on to involve metaphor after heartbreaking metaphor. While dethroned from her Spotify Top 10, “Your Best American Girl” is the seminal Mitski track. To be blunt, it hits every one of Mitski’s typical themes home, grappling with her identity, love, and sexualization till she becomes secure in all.
The music video for “Your Best American Girl” brings these lyrics, and recalls “Strawberry Blond,” in heartbreaking visuals. Mitski watches as a boy she flirts with begins to aggressively kiss a girl. Both actors are white.
Mitski often takes from her heritage but does not feel the need to include the “Asian” in Asian-American. In a profile with Vulture, Mitski describes being uncomfortable with labels for multiple reasons, but ultimately because they leave her feeling like an outsider. She’s not Asian enough to be an Asian artist. She’s independent, she shouldn’t be sitting with superstars. She’s American and “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” is her most American album to date.
While America certainly has a rich abundant culture, it does not have one cohesive identity. Is America the land of rampant cowboys out west - rootin’ and tootin’ and getting into bar fights? Is America westward expansion - pillaging and burning, the screams of the innocent? Is America the American dream - something arguably long since dead, spoken of in hushed whispers, or used as a buzzword in debates? We don’t know. America is simply a group of people.
Mitski has been given so many labels. Sad girl. Woman. Asian-American. Over time she has found ways to be more secure in these identities, despite their warring efforts against each other.
At the end of the music video for “Your Best American Girl”, Mitski kisses her hand the same way her love interest kisses the girl. She loves herself. She screams “I do. I finally do.” as she repeats the affirmation physically. She becomes secure in her identity.
Though that identity has shifted due to her spike and rise in popularity (“Your Best American Girl” was released pre-pandemic), it seems that once again she has become secure in love and America. “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” has been described as Americana by both herself and critics since its singles were released.
“Be The Cowboy” relished in American iconography with its visuals, but “Land is Inhospitable” feels co-written by Aaron Copland. The strings feel like they should be heard in a cornfield. The horns sound like a clear night sky. Mitski has accepted love, has accepted her identity, and has also accepted her massive reception.
Mitski has considered leaving the music industry several times. The first notable instance was in 2019, when she announced to fans after a concert that she would be quitting music indefinitely. Needless to say, her words sparked outrage. “Laurel Hell” was created as her return, partly because she owed Dead Oceans another record and to create the nostalgic sounds of 80s joy that she desperately craved. Since the album fulfilled an obligation, and because Mitski has been so vocal about the parasocial relationship between her and her fans, people were almost certain that she would not be returning to the stage any time soon.
The singles for “Land is Inhospitable” feel like a return to form. Those oh-so-familiar themes are back and they are loved. One of her songs is being claimed on TikTok with a ferocity unseen. That song is “My Love is Mine All Mine”.
In an interview with The Guardian, Mitski described herself as a black hole. One might conflate this to be another encounter of her space-themed metaphors, but the continuation of the quote is much more heartbreaking. “[She] is the place where anybody can put all of their feelings, their ugliness, that doesn’t have a place in their own lives. [She’s] like the black hole where people can dump all their shit, whether it’s a need for love, or it’s hatred and anger.” I suppose it’s a comfort that the song Mitski fans are currently clinging to is “My Love is Mine All Mine”. Perhaps they will pour love into her black hole.
At the end of the day, Mitski’s identity is American. She has repeatedly told us her identity through her discography while searching for it. “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” is her definitive response — both sonically Americana and lyrically American. To hear who Mitski is, we simply have to listen.