Hi! I did want to add that I found out more about the poet Charles Reznikoff but I accidentally left that slide out! It is interesting how the song references that. Definitely want to read his work! 0:14 Texas Reznikoff 3:36 Townie 8:53 First Love / Late Spring 16:14 Francis Forever 18:29 I Don't Smoke 22:50 Jobless Monday 24:42 Drunk Walk Home 28:00 I Will 31:20 Carry Me Out 36:28 Last Words of a Shooting Star Lyrics Faves: Townie, First Love/Late Spring, Francis Forever, I don’t smoke, I will, carry me out, last word of a shooting star
I Will always makes me so emotional because she said she wrote it as the words she wanted someone else to sing or say to her at the time. Hit me harder every time after that.
me too. i always listen to it as if someone else is singing it to me, i listen as if mitski is singing that she will wash my hair and dry it off with care and there’s no need to be brave.
i think the interpretation on genius about last words of a shooting star is quite literal, in my opinion based on literally listening to it hundreds of times i think the song talks about deciding to k1ll y0urself but making sure that there's no mess left behind. especially with the blood-sniffing shark line... it's one of her most haunting songs
i agree. i think the line “i am relieved that i left my room tidy, they’ll think of me kindly when they come for my things” is very literal: she’s glad that the last memory of her will be a positive one. a clean room, a blank slate, etc. they dont have to worry about the hour’s she’s spent pondering s**cide in that room, they don’t even have to worry about tidying it. the whole plane crash thing is very literal too. she’s glad that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted, because it doesn’t give her a chance to change her mind. she has accepted the fact that she’s going to die, and she’s relieved that she doesn’t have to do it herself.
Okay, so this is just based on my personal experience with depression, but I feel like it's less about deciding to k*ll yourself and more of the apathy surrounding your own life that comes with depression. It's a plane crash, she's not choosing to die, but she's not upset over it. A lot of people are s**cidal without ever actually making plans, I've actually said to people I know before during bouts of depression that if I was in a car accident (plane crash parallel) I wouldn't be upset or afraid if I died. You're not choosing it because you're too much of a coward to, but when the plane starts shaking, you can't help but be okay with it. That's why she's happy that this time she's left her room clean, because people with depression tend to leave them messy for extended periods of time, this is one of the few times it's clean. There's also the fact that often you're called a coward if you do attempt, but you feel like one if you don't. She doesn't want the people in her life to think it was intentional, that she took "the coward's way out". I've had this exact reaction to near death experiences before, and she illustrates it perfectly.
townie is about mitski’s experience as an asian women. asian women are stereotyped and fetishized to be innocent and meek, ‘caring and sharing’ but mitski is saying she’s doesn’t want to fall into these stereotypes, ‘i wanna be what my body wants me to be’. i think it’s like she’s gonna own her body, be her own person. she wants to experience things without fear or guilt, my experience and interpretation as a woc, she wants to have a fun life carefree experience like the ones we see on screen.
@Grant i wouldn’t call it an interpretation because that’s the reason/ influence mitski had for writing songs like townie and your best american girl. her reason for writing these songs were her japanese american heritage.
Carry me out is criminally underrated, i interpret it as an unrequited/deceased love where she ultimately commits su!cide to be closer to the lover she lost. Even more when she sings “And the headlight spirits, they lead me down to the styx.” as in the river styx from greek mythology, in correlation with her love being taken and wanting to be closer to them through means of jumping off the roof at night and having them carry her out.
to me its about wanting to be closer to someone and begging life to get you closer to someone but you can not, no matter how much you try. I see the line "And the headlight spirits they lead me down the styx" like fantasizing about getting closer to them, hence talking about spirits and the river styx, both fictional things. This song literally changed me right after the "CARRY ME OUT" choir I said "holy hell I need to hear more from this woman"
i personally always thought of last words of a shooting star as a suicidal person in a plane as it crashes, they had never been able enough to commit before, but they are glad for the crash, as they never had to plan it out for themself, glad for the turbulance that wasnt forcasted. the title of the song plays into that too, a crashing plane being reminiscent to a shooting star.
I think of the turbulence as the rough times that everyone goes through at some point without warning, but the world or the "intercom" sees this and seemingly apologizes after the fact, metaphorically, of course. Almost everyone will struggle in life and mitski feels like we recognize this in eachother, we all live on the same ground after all.
I love the shooting star/crashing plane metaphor I always thought of it as the way a lot of people misinterpret the outward emotions of people dealing with depression. From afar it looks like a shooting star, but it’s really a crashing plane. People congratulate her for her success, not realizing where it came from.
I read that Mitski actually wrote “I will” to be a love song but didnt have anyone to write it about, so she wrote what she wanted someone to say to her instead. She’s saying how she wants someone that will take care of her and love her despite her flaws.
I listened to Retired from Sad, New Career in Business for the first time a few weeks ago and it is now my favourite Mitski album. It is more acoustic and orchestral and I think you would adore it. If not for a video, check it out in your spare time!
0:38 Texas reznikoff 3:37 townie 8:52 first love / late spring 16:13 Francis forever 18:30 I don’t smoke 22:50 jobless Monday 24:44 drunk walk home 27:59 I will 36:28 last words of a shooting star
IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG great great reaction, love how you feel the song! fun fact: mitski said once she wrote 'i will' for herself and the lyrics are things she wanted to hear from someone else, WHICH makes the song sadder to me.
to me drunk walk home is so raw and angry and i love it so much!!!! i like how most of the other songs in the album are more sad and flowy (?) but its just like BAM screaming i can relate to all the anger and aggressiveness of the song and idk it just itches my brain very nicely (especially the FUCK YOU part i love it)
This is how I partially interpret last words of a shooting star. I think its about performativity- This first shows up when she talks about her room, its tidy, and because shes been lied to, she thinks that because of that people will perceive her as tidy and under control. However the people ,coming for her things’ know that she ultimately commited suicide but because of her perceived notion that the performance of life is more important than the real thing- she fails to evaluate that. Her facade is clean and she is too. This kinda thinking also repeats when she talks about her lover-they ought to love like in the movies. Not the real thing (love) but the performance of it. Dishonesty has become part of her life, and putting up a facade is at the center of it (to her). The liberty bell metaphor undermines this too (the liberty bell was replaced, because it broke, it didn’t fulfill its purpose.) and even tho its not the real thing anymore, its still considered a symbol of liberty- when it actually represents perfectionism, being clean and pretty, the bell didnt even have the liberty of breaking- of being honest- it had to be replaced.
Idk why.. but I always imagine Last Words of a Shooting Star as the last words and thoughts of an astronaut who's spaceship is breaking up exiting the atmosphere. They worked their entire life to get to space, pouring themselves into their work and abstaining from human connection. They don't care that they're going to die alone, they completed their life's dream.
Townie is a song is about self-destruction and the willingness to give in. "I'm holding my breath with a baseball bat" is actually not about hesitancy, but actually the opposite. When you're playing baseball, you often hold your breath at the plate and exhale as you strike the ball. So she's holding her breath in a sort of vigilance, ready to strike as soon as she needs to. But then she follows this line with "But I don't know what I'm waiting for" So, I'm a biracial asian woman from a small town in the south, and baseball is just everywhere, so I think it really gets that "townie" feel. The imagery is so spot on. I remember laying in the grass at a bonfire party at someone's 15 acre back yard. Its so damn humid here that the grass is always wet and everything smells like smoke and alcohol. very reminiscent of small southern town high school/college parties, and I think there is also a sort of disconnect that comes from being Asian in a primarily white community. Mitki's is a white man, so her rebellion isn't going against Japanese parenting, rather she wants to accept herself as an Asian woman. But this inner struggle comes with a sense of self-destruction as well. She can't be a white daughter, and she can't be accepted as an Asian woman while simultaneously being accepted by the "Townies." So she resigns herself to giving into physicality, while her internal monologue shows that she is not truly comfortable. She wants a deep love that is all consuming, but she settles for unpleasant sex at an outdoors party with white men who want to take "more, more, more" from her.
You are 2 out of 5 so im so excited for your reaction to the rest of her discography. *Lush *Retired From Sad, New Career in Business *Be the Cowboy I think Be the Cowboy was more polished than the other two remaining ones. Your choice, anyway, Mitski's one-liners and couplets are always piercing. Happy for having new insights especially at the last track of the record.
how i personally take comfort in francis forever is definitely something only i can understand “I don't know what to do without you” starting off summarizing the whole thing, i dont know what to do sometimes without my mom here because i was so young when she passed away so just naturally all my life ive looked for at least mother figure, even now, six years after she passed away and im 14 “I don't know where to put my hands” ive always had trouble with physical affection and i remember it obviously being easy to hug my mom and stuff but with everyone else it feels like somethings wrong “I've been trying to lay my head down But I'm writing this at three AM” i know ive always had sleeping issues, for gods sake its literally 4:35AM right now, and my mom always had me fix them, one time she even told me to count to sleep and i counted to 2000 when i was only 6. and that inability to sleep carried on even now and i always get more emotional at night. “I don't need the world to see That I've been the best I can be, but” one thing i know is that ive always been trying my best and ive tried me hardest if fought my hardest and i try to convince myself that i should be proud of it, which i am- (continues next lyric) “I don't think I could stand to be Where you don't see me” but like the lyric says, i cant help but feel that i just cant be somewhere and do something without my mom no matter how hard i do try “On sunny days I go out walking I end up on a tree-lined street” surprisingly this fits too, i like to go on walks occasionally because it feels like the only time i can really think and focus on gathering my thoughts and a lot of those thoughts are just about how odd life is especially without my mom, and i also like how the tree lined street fits too because my area has a lot of trees and big ones, too. i do live in florida after all. “I look up at the gaps of sunlight” i grew up christian so i always associated sky with heaven and heaven with my mom, i may not be christian now but i still do think ‘i wonder if she can see me from up there’ “I miss you more than anything” i like this line because how mitski sings it, its almost like she has to force it out because she couldn’t hold it in any longer or she didnt want to admit it; and thats exactly how i feel. i always joke and say that its okay and it was a long time ago im not sad over her death but i am, and i know i always will be and sometimes when i admit it it feels like a balloon with too much air, being popped. “I don't need the world to see That I've been the best I can be, but I don't think I could stand to be Where you don't see me” its the same as the last part “And autumn comes when you're not yet done” this broke my heart because my mom died in autumn, her funeral was the day before my 9th birthday and i found out recently she wasnt done planning my first birthday party and she was gonna make it olaf themed, because of an olaf stuffed animal she gave me for my 8th bday that i still sleep with now. “With the summer passing by, but I don't think I could stand to be Where you don't see me” these lines, too. it was around summer and i wouldve been 10 or 11, when i finally processed death and actually in my 5th grade class i cried when my teacher said we were making mothers day gifts. i know its not the meaning of the song but i like to listen to it and take comfort in one of those ways i interpret it
Im so sorry you had to experience this at such a young age.This has such a personal meaning to you it's like she wrote it for you. It's wonderful you can find comfort in that song. I hope that you have a good day. Lots of love ♡
i don't smoke is not a song, but a freling. I personally relate to everything, and she also knows exactly how to express those feelings through words, i remember being desperate of my ex begging him to hit me so he would feel better and not ghost me for days.Mitski fan since 2010💕
For me, the part in last words of a shooting star where she goes ‘the turbulence wasnt forecasted, apologies from the intercom’ is her apologizing to the people around her for her not being able to collect herself and appear stable in front of others. The other lyric that’s similar, ‘and I am relieved that the turbulence wasnt forecasted, I couldn’t have changed anyway’ explains her being relieved that she couldn’t tell she was going to lose her calm because she knew she would snap one day and she knew she couldn’t change it and herself in time. It’s that comfort in the idea of death that reassures you that one day everything will be over and you won’t have to think or feel anymore.
Idk if someone’s said this already but I recently learned that Mitski has said that “I Will” was written as what she wished someone would have told her at the time, so she’s not the “I” in the song, she’s the “you.” Completely changed how I view the song it’s so amazing. Love your commentary!
I resonate with First love/late spring in my experiences with childhood trauma. It forced me to behave maturely from a young age but ultimately harmed my emotional development and my ability to feel secure in myself and relationships.
I just stumbled upon these videos but I just had to comment because I'm loving them - I don't know if you bring it up in the next part, but something I love about Mitski's songs is how, even when I, like you say, don't like it sonically, it feels so cathartic to listen to because the music so perfectly captures what she's trying to say. It seems you interpret these songs quite charitably, I feel like completely differently; all of her songs give me this intense feeling of yearning, anger, sadness, anguish and all of her music just feels like... sonically venting your emotions out. It's very cathartic to listen to someone so intensely and accurately belt out horrible feelings you're also feeling.
Mitski said her song "I Will" is everything she wish someone would say and do for her. the whole song is like a love letter she wish she would receive :(
i know im a bit late but what i understand from last words from a shooting star is a suicide note - the song in a whole talks about someone whos inside of a falling airplane, thats why "shooting star" it represents an airplane fastly falling from the sky - shes relieved she "left her room tidy" and people will be thinking of her kindly when they come to pick up her stuff; "theyll never know how i stared at the dark in that room, with no thoughts, like a blood-sniffing shark" --- i see this part as "people will never know how much i suffered after im gone, theyll think my life wasnt as messed up as it really is" - i agree with you about the narcissistic relationship and how much it affected her ("and youd say you love me and look in my eyes, but i know, through mine you were looking in yours") - "did you know the liberty bell is a replica silently housed in its original walls" --- something is made up to be a symbol of endurance is actually fake, its an illusion - "all of this tubulence wasnt forecasted, apologies from the intercom" --- all of the confusion and sadness wasnt something she was expecting for ------ ive loved to see your point of view, your videos are super interesting !!! thank you for making this ! (and for anyone whos reading this, thank you ily
This album means so much me growing up, it came out on my birthday when I was 16, im nearing 23 now and still listen to it often as the topics of the song came to apply to me as an Asian American as well dealing with growing up and interpersonal relationship, your analysis helped put into words a deeper meaning or great appreciation for this album! Thank you, and I’m glad you liked it even though some of the punkish sound wasn’t to your taste! I wanted to add that adding lyrics in a foreign language despite growing up with mostly English is a deliberate choice I’d say, I do the same with my own Japanese and Tagalog for when I want to say something that’s on my mind deep down, but am too afraid to reveal my true intent to my English speaking peers or loved ones. Yaeji does the same in her song “drink I’m sipping on” where in her English lyrics she seems confident but in her Korean lyrics she seems hesitant and apprehensive. If this reveals any deeper meaning to First Love / Late Spring for anyone! I could go on about each song, I love mitski and her lyrics so much, definitely my hugest inspiration as I’ve tried to write my own music this year! I have a hard time being concise as mitski, but love to dive into the topics she covers as it comes from a similar place of heart.
Mitski's music is so powerful. Any time I just take a second to experience and truly listen to it, the power of her lyricism and instrumentation always bring tears to my eyes, it's just so moving and powerful in a very raw way. I loved watching this video, the satisfaction of another person listening to Miiski for the first time and having that "holy shit" reaction never gets old. And also having the validation of another write'poet paying attention to her work, all the small details, is so gratifying. I loved when a song cued up and I knew some powerful lyrics were coming and I waited to watch your reaction, like in Townie "I want a love that falls as fast as a body from the balcony" or in I Don't Smoke when she says "If you need to be mean be mean to me, I can take it and put it inside of me..." and your were like "......... wow." and I was sitting at my computer like "YUP. IT HITS DOESNT IT." lol. I saw someone recommend Retired from Sad, New Career in Business and I'm totally looking forward to your experience of that album. Thank you so much for this video!
Mitski's new album should be coming out soon!!! I'll be waiting for when you do that one too! It's so interesting to understand the meanings behind her songs in more detail!
Hi! I loved your reaction to this album!! I want to also recommend a reaction to Tyler the Creator's album "IGOR". It was released in 2019 and it's about a love story, from start to finish. Each song represents a phase in the relationship and the storytelling is simply amazing. I think you're gonna love the lyrics! It also won a grammy and had high critical acclaim so it's a very good album in general
Very excited for your future reaction to Be the Cowboy. Sonically, very different from Bury Me At Makeout Creek, so I imagine you'll like it a lot, especially since her lyrical talent is always so consistent.
I've never watched your videos before but this was really lovely to watch and it was so interesting to hear someone else's interpretation on songs I've been listening to so much! Lovely!
Loved this as usual! If you like her stuff that doesn't feature that intense distorted guitar sound as well as something that highlights her skill with narrative, Be the Cowboy is an excellent choice. Its her most sonically diverse record and was a deliberate attempt to make something less autobiographical, though there are a couple of tracks that do pull from her experiences with being an artist and experiencing loneliness.
carry me out, at least in my interpretation, follows a narrator who is still in mourning over someone they lost. whether this be literal or metaphorical is left intentionally vague. The narrator sits on the rooftop, letting down their hair, which is most often done as an act of relaxation, as it “unleashes the night”; this likely points to the narrator watching the sun set as their hair is behind them, so the imagery is that their dark hair is engulfed in the darkness behind them of the night. The mention of “the scent of flowers still in bloom from morning showers” likely is driven by ‘still’ as in something that realistically should be gone, but lingers like the feelings left behind from loss. the narrator experiencing all of these things only intensifying their feelings of isolation. then saying this persons name from the rooftop as it is likely the closest to “the stars” they can get. The second verse is the narrator driving recklessly. They’re out on the road at night. describing headlights as ‘spirits’ and the road as ‘the styx’. This likely infers that the reckless behavior during driving will kill the narrator. The styx is the river that not only separates the mortal world from the underworld, but it is also the river all spirits must cross to reach the afterlife. so by saying “the headlight spirits lead me down the styx” the narrator is saying that those headlights are leading them towards the path to death or of self destruction. lastly the chorus is a resounding and repeating plea to “carry me out” which holds a double meaning. on one end it could be “carry me out of here” as in take me with you away from this place, as the narrator feels as though they are unable to do so themself. alternatively, it could be pleading for someone to acknowledge and end their suffering, the method by which it is done being unknown. carry me out is lyrically one of mitski’s best songs, it has some of her most succinct imagery and not only that, but also combines beautiful vocals and instrumentals.
Sher, if you are not familiar with them, there is this band called The National I would really really love to see you react to at least an album by them, you won't be disappointed by the story telling and the poetry and the vocals 😋please please please 😭
I loved this video!!!! This is her heaviest album in terms of rock and punk vibes, so I definitely think you will like Be the Cowboy better. It has some amazing songs and so many different genres that there is so much to love. Also, her first album Lush is, in my opinion, her best album lyrically and feel like you will appreciate that album as well! Again I love your Mitski reviews!!!
Once I fell asleep while listening to this album which I find kind of funny since I was listening to it with earbuds and it is so agressive at some times.
what a beautiful reaction and personal explanation to this album! mitski is my favorite artist and this is one of my favorite albums of all time. thank you!!
also, big reccomendation! if you aren't familiar with the artists AURORA, you should check out her music! her lyrics, and her whole production are gorgeous.
Loved your take on this album, i remember it changing my life in 2014. The lyrics rly brought me in. I think you'd like Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville", it's a similar narrative-based album, with a coming of age feel. It 's less punk than this, but it's really good.
Heyy sher! Another lovely and honest reaction.. loved your comments on it as usual! The Daddy’s Home album by St. Vincent is out and wow... you really should react to that one and comment on the lyrics from it as well, I mean... one of the most personal and well produced records from Annie Clark and if you’re not really into her music yet , it could be a great start!! The record is mostly and very focused on the prison of her father and how she felt at the time... Also there’s this song called “The Melting of The Sun” which approaches some of her heroes (all women) and talks about how they helped in the process of building this path we are walking in searching from freedom - really interesting! Anyways hope you read my comment, you’re great and intelligent and a very special one sher :)
Texas Reznikoffs lyric "Texas is a landlocked state" references an inside joke between Mitski and the person the song is written about. I don't know if you already figured that by now, but yeah!
I know it's an inside joke, but I always interpreted it as mitski saying that Texas feels trapped, like even though one side of it is actually connected to the gulf, its just so suffocating it feels landlocked, no way to just actually leave everything and leave
(im pretty sure i read this im sorry if im wrong) but ! the song “i will” was made about how she wants someone to love her, as he had no one to sing about she made a song about the love she so desperately wants...and thats also just how i interpreted the song :> again sorry if this is wrong !
Hopefully you check out Lush and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business! I love them both dearly but I often feel like they're overlooked compared to her other albums :(
Hi! I did want to add that I found out more about the poet Charles Reznikoff but I accidentally left that slide out! It is interesting how the song references that. Definitely want to read his work!
0:14 Texas Reznikoff
3:36 Townie
8:53 First Love / Late Spring
16:14 Francis Forever
18:29 I Don't Smoke
22:50 Jobless Monday
24:42 Drunk Walk Home
28:00 I Will
31:20 Carry Me Out
36:28 Last Words of a Shooting Star Lyrics
Faves: Townie, First Love/Late Spring, Francis Forever, I don’t smoke, I will, carry me out, last word of a shooting star
Are you gonna react to Fearless Taylor's Version in full?
we have the same faves!!!!
omg plz try seeing class of 2013 it’s soooo good. love ur vid btw
lmao ur faves are literally the whole album
You must listen to 'Class of 2013' and 'Why Didn't You Stop Me?'!
I Will always makes me so emotional because she said she wrote it as the words she wanted someone else to sing or say to her at the time. Hit me harder every time after that.
me too. i always listen to it as if someone else is singing it to me, i listen as if mitski is singing that she will wash my hair and dry it off with care and there’s no need to be brave.
ive been listening to it on repeat for weeks
One of my favourites, words I wish I could hear, too 🥲
sameeeeeeeeee
@@myunsolicitedopinion i kinda wanna sing this to my friends, but I also want them to sing it with me
i think the interpretation on genius about last words of a shooting star is quite literal, in my opinion based on literally listening to it hundreds of times i think the song talks about deciding to k1ll y0urself but making sure that there's no mess left behind. especially with the blood-sniffing shark line... it's one of her most haunting songs
i agree. i think the line “i am relieved that i left my room tidy, they’ll think of me kindly when they come for my things” is very literal: she’s glad that the last memory of her will be a positive one. a clean room, a blank slate, etc. they dont have to worry about the hour’s she’s spent pondering s**cide in that room, they don’t even have to worry about tidying it.
the whole plane crash thing is very literal too. she’s glad that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted, because it doesn’t give her a chance to change her mind. she has accepted the fact that she’s going to die, and she’s relieved that she doesn’t have to do it herself.
@@RBRCR-se2gz EXACTLY. this comment captured my thoughts on the song perfectly; thank you!
@@RBRCR-se2gz THIS!!!
i always listened to this song as if it IS a su*cide letter
Okay, so this is just based on my personal experience with depression, but I feel like it's less about deciding to k*ll yourself and more of the apathy surrounding your own life that comes with depression. It's a plane crash, she's not choosing to die, but she's not upset over it. A lot of people are s**cidal without ever actually making plans, I've actually said to people I know before during bouts of depression that if I was in a car accident (plane crash parallel) I wouldn't be upset or afraid if I died. You're not choosing it because you're too much of a coward to, but when the plane starts shaking, you can't help but be okay with it.
That's why she's happy that this time she's left her room clean, because people with depression tend to leave them messy for extended periods of time, this is one of the few times it's clean. There's also the fact that often you're called a coward if you do attempt, but you feel like one if you don't. She doesn't want the people in her life to think it was intentional, that she took "the coward's way out".
I've had this exact reaction to near death experiences before, and she illustrates it perfectly.
townie is about mitski’s experience as an asian women. asian women are stereotyped and fetishized to be innocent and meek, ‘caring and sharing’ but mitski is saying she’s doesn’t want to fall into these stereotypes, ‘i wanna be what my body wants me to be’. i think it’s like she’s gonna own her body, be her own person. she wants to experience things without fear or guilt, my experience and interpretation as a woc, she wants to have a fun life carefree experience like the ones we see on screen.
THIS
wait did mitski confirm this?
@@idkmd6288 yes
@Grant that’s literally the meaning of it
@Grant i wouldn’t call it an interpretation because that’s the reason/ influence mitski had for writing songs like townie and your best american girl. her reason for writing these songs were her japanese american heritage.
Carry me out is criminally underrated, i interpret it as an unrequited/deceased love where she ultimately commits su!cide to be closer to the lover she lost. Even more when she sings “And the headlight spirits, they lead me down to the styx.” as in the river styx from greek mythology, in correlation with her love being taken and wanting to be closer to them through means of jumping off the roof at night and having them carry her out.
Idk what it is about carry me out but it definitely sounds like it’s a Pink Floyd song. It’s a fave.
to me its about wanting to be closer to someone and begging life to get you closer to someone but you can not, no matter how much you try. I see the line "And the headlight spirits they lead me down the styx" like fantasizing about getting closer to them, hence talking about spirits and the river styx, both fictional things.
This song literally changed me right after the "CARRY ME OUT" choir I said "holy hell I need to hear more from this woman"
i personally always thought of last words of a shooting star as a suicidal person in a plane as it crashes, they had never been able enough to commit before, but they are glad for the crash, as they never had to plan it out for themself, glad for the turbulance that wasnt forcasted. the title of the song plays into that too, a crashing plane being reminiscent to a shooting star.
And shooting stars are usually romantic (romanticizing death) and made for making wishes, the crash was a wish come true.
i didn’t take the turbulence literal, i thought maybe she was dying just by anything and that this time it wasn’t planned tbh
I think of the turbulence as the rough times that everyone goes through at some point without warning, but the world or the "intercom" sees this and seemingly apologizes after the fact, metaphorically, of course. Almost everyone will struggle in life and mitski feels like we recognize this in eachother, we all live on the same ground after all.
I love the shooting star/crashing plane metaphor
I always thought of it as the way a lot of people misinterpret the outward emotions of people dealing with depression. From afar it looks like a shooting star, but it’s really a crashing plane. People congratulate her for her success, not realizing where it came from.
I read that Mitski actually wrote “I will” to be a love song but didnt have anyone to write it about, so she wrote what she wanted someone to say to her instead. She’s saying how she wants someone that will take care of her and love her despite her flaws.
"Heartbreaking... I love it!!" That's it, that's the entire Mitski vibe
I think every single mitski fan has said that at least 1 time while listening a mitski song, including me 😭
I JUST DROPPED EVERYTHINGGG FOR THISSS OMG SO EXCITED LETS GO
litreLLY SAME
I KNOW!!! Like I ain’t ready.
I listened to Retired from Sad, New Career in Business for the first time a few weeks ago and it is now my favourite Mitski album. It is more acoustic and orchestral and I think you would adore it. If not for a video, check it out in your spare time!
That sounds like my vibe! I will definitely check it out. I plan to react to most of her work slowly but surely!
@@sherthetruth you are making so many mitski fans happy!!!
@@sherthetruth i cannot recommend lush and retired from sad, new career in business more. they’re so great and the lyrics are awesome.
FR, RETIRED FROM SAD THE BEST‼️‼️
0:38 Texas reznikoff
3:37 townie
8:52 first love / late spring
16:13 Francis forever
18:30 I don’t smoke
22:50 jobless Monday
24:44 drunk walk home
27:59 I will
36:28 last words of a shooting star
IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG great great reaction, love how you feel the song!
fun fact: mitski said once she wrote 'i will' for herself and the lyrics are things she wanted to hear from someone else, WHICH makes the song sadder to me.
Love that!
to me drunk walk home is so raw and angry and i love it so much!!!! i like how most of the other songs in the album are more sad and flowy (?) but its just like BAM screaming
i can relate to all the anger and aggressiveness of the song and idk it just itches my brain very nicely (especially the FUCK YOU part i love it)
First Love Late Spring has been my favorite Mitski song since I heard it years ago.
This is how I partially interpret last words of a shooting star. I think its about performativity- This first shows up when she talks about her room, its tidy, and because shes been lied to, she thinks that because of that people will perceive her as tidy and under control. However the people ,coming for her things’ know that she ultimately commited suicide but because of her perceived notion that the performance of life is more important than the real thing- she fails to evaluate that. Her facade is clean and she is too.
This kinda thinking also repeats when she talks about her lover-they ought to love like in the movies. Not the real thing (love) but the performance of it. Dishonesty has become part of her life, and putting up a facade is at the center of it (to her). The liberty bell metaphor undermines this too (the liberty bell was replaced, because it broke, it didn’t fulfill its purpose.) and even tho its not the real thing anymore, its still considered a symbol of liberty- when it actually represents perfectionism, being clean and pretty, the bell didnt even have the liberty of breaking- of being honest- it had to be replaced.
this is a gorgeous analysis
Wow-
@@catpillowhaver thank youu
If you like her slower songs your def going to want to go to her earlier albums like lush and retired from sad!
ESPECIALLY lush; there's some incredible poetry there
@@neorose6814 right
YES! Love them both and would love to watch her react to it
@@neorose6814 you mean especially retired from sad. Way better lyrically than lush and laid back. Lush still has fast songs like brand new City
Idk why.. but I always imagine Last Words of a Shooting Star as the last words and thoughts of an astronaut who's spaceship is breaking up exiting the atmosphere. They worked their entire life to get to space, pouring themselves into their work and abstaining from human connection. They don't care that they're going to die alone, they completed their life's dream.
That's such a beautiful interpretation
Your interpretation of "Drunk Walk Home" being a sequel to "Jobless Monday" blew up my mind. I never thought about it that way. Very nice work!
Im always realizing possible connections to different songs everytime I listen to mitski, its crazy
also for "i will" i think she said in an interview that its what she wants to hear from a lover
MY FAV ALBUM EVER
I'm gonna guess that you'd love Lucy Dacus. Give her album "Historian" a try.
YES historian is so good
omg night shift reaction please please
Yes, pleaaaase
YESS LUCY IS SOOOO GOOD
the shell would be so good to hear her thoughts on omgggg
Uhmm the gasp I let out when I saw this in my inbox is actually embarrassing- I‘m so hyped !!!
💕💕💕
Townie is a song is about self-destruction and the willingness to give in. "I'm holding my breath with a baseball bat" is actually not about hesitancy, but actually the opposite. When you're playing baseball, you often hold your breath at the plate and exhale as you strike the ball. So she's holding her breath in a sort of vigilance, ready to strike as soon as she needs to. But then she follows this line with "But I don't know what I'm waiting for"
So, I'm a biracial asian woman from a small town in the south, and baseball is just everywhere, so I think it really gets that "townie" feel.
The imagery is so spot on. I remember laying in the grass at a bonfire party at someone's 15 acre back yard. Its so damn humid here that the grass is always wet and everything smells like smoke and alcohol. very reminiscent of small southern town high school/college parties, and I think there is also a sort of disconnect that comes from being Asian in a primarily white community. Mitki's is a white man, so her rebellion isn't going against Japanese parenting, rather she wants to accept herself as an Asian woman. But this inner struggle comes with a sense of self-destruction as well. She can't be a white daughter, and she can't be accepted as an Asian woman while simultaneously being accepted by the "Townies." So she resigns herself to giving into physicality, while her internal monologue shows that she is not truly comfortable. She wants a deep love that is all consuming, but she settles for unpleasant sex at an outdoors party with white men who want to take "more, more, more" from her.
You are 2 out of 5 so im so excited for your reaction to the rest of her discography.
*Lush
*Retired From Sad, New Career in Business
*Be the Cowboy
I think Be the Cowboy was more polished than the other two remaining ones. Your choice, anyway, Mitski's one-liners and couplets are always piercing.
Happy for having new insights especially at the last track of the record.
If you like mitski's slower songs, I suggest listeneing to her debut album, Lush. It's full of slow, lyrically songs you'd love.
how i personally take comfort in francis forever is definitely something only i can understand
“I don't know what to do without you” starting off summarizing the whole thing, i dont know what to do sometimes without my mom here because i was so young when she passed away so just naturally all my life ive looked for at least mother figure, even now, six years after she passed away and im 14
“I don't know where to put my hands” ive always had trouble with physical affection and i remember it obviously being easy to hug my mom and stuff but with everyone else it feels like somethings wrong
“I've been trying to lay my head down
But I'm writing this at three AM” i know ive always had sleeping issues, for gods sake its literally 4:35AM right now, and my mom always had me fix them, one time she even told me to count to sleep and i counted to 2000 when i was only 6. and that inability to sleep carried on even now and i always get more emotional at night.
“I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be, but” one thing i know is that ive always been trying my best and ive tried me hardest if fought my hardest and i try to convince myself that i should be proud of it, which i am- (continues next lyric)
“I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me” but like the lyric says, i cant help but feel that i just cant be somewhere and do something without my mom no matter how hard i do try
“On sunny days I go out walking
I end up on a tree-lined street” surprisingly this fits too, i like to go on walks occasionally because it feels like the only time i can really think and focus on gathering my thoughts and a lot of those thoughts are just about how odd life is especially without my mom, and i also like how the tree lined street fits too because my area has a lot of trees and big ones, too. i do live in florida after all.
“I look up at the gaps of sunlight” i grew up christian so i always associated sky with heaven and heaven with my mom, i may not be christian now but i still do think ‘i wonder if she can see me from up there’
“I miss you more than anything” i like this line because how mitski sings it, its almost like she has to force it out because she couldn’t hold it in any longer or she didnt want to admit it; and thats exactly how i feel. i always joke and say that its okay and it was a long time ago im not sad over her death but i am, and i know i always will be and sometimes when i admit it it feels like a balloon with too much air, being popped.
“I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me” its the same as the last part
“And autumn comes when you're not yet done” this broke my heart because my mom died in autumn, her funeral was the day before my 9th birthday and i found out recently she wasnt done planning my first birthday party and she was gonna make it olaf themed, because of an olaf stuffed animal she gave me for my 8th bday that i still sleep with now.
“With the summer passing by, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me” these lines, too. it was around summer and i wouldve been 10 or 11, when i finally processed death and actually in my 5th grade class i cried when my teacher said we were making mothers day gifts.
i know its not the meaning of the song but i like to listen to it and take comfort in one of those ways i interpret it
Im so sorry you had to experience this at such a young age.This has such a personal meaning to you it's like she wrote it for you. It's wonderful you can find comfort in that song. I hope that you have a good day. Lots of love ♡
i don't smoke is not a song, but a freling. I personally relate to everything, and she also knows exactly how to express those feelings through words, i remember being desperate of my ex begging him to hit me so he would feel better and not ghost me for days.Mitski fan since 2010💕
For me, the part in last words of a shooting star where she goes ‘the turbulence wasnt forecasted, apologies from the intercom’ is her apologizing to the people around her for her not being able to collect herself and appear stable in front of others.
The other lyric that’s similar, ‘and I am relieved that the turbulence wasnt forecasted, I couldn’t have changed anyway’ explains her being relieved that she couldn’t tell she was going to lose her calm because she knew she would snap one day and she knew she couldn’t change it and herself in time.
It’s that comfort in the idea of death that reassures you that one day everything will be over and you won’t have to think or feel anymore.
Idk if someone’s said this already but I recently learned that Mitski has said that “I Will” was written as what she wished someone would have told her at the time, so she’s not the “I” in the song, she’s the “you.” Completely changed how I view the song it’s so amazing. Love your commentary!
I resonate with First love/late spring in my experiences with childhood trauma. It forced me to behave maturely from a young age but ultimately harmed my emotional development and my ability to feel secure in myself and relationships.
I just stumbled upon these videos but I just had to comment because I'm loving them -
I don't know if you bring it up in the next part, but something I love about Mitski's songs is how, even when I, like you say, don't like it sonically, it feels so cathartic to listen to because the music so perfectly captures what she's trying to say. It seems you interpret these songs quite charitably, I feel like completely differently; all of her songs give me this intense feeling of yearning, anger, sadness, anguish and all of her music just feels like... sonically venting your emotions out. It's very cathartic to listen to someone so intensely and accurately belt out horrible feelings you're also feeling.
Mitski said her song "I Will" is everything she wish someone would say and do for her. the whole song is like a love letter she wish she would receive :(
i know im a bit late but what i understand from last words from a shooting star is a suicide note
- the song in a whole talks about someone whos inside of a falling airplane, thats why "shooting star" it represents an airplane fastly falling from the sky
- shes relieved she "left her room tidy" and people will be thinking of her kindly when they come to pick up her stuff; "theyll never know how i stared at the dark in that room, with no thoughts, like a blood-sniffing shark" --- i see this part as "people will never know how much i suffered after im gone, theyll think my life wasnt as messed up as it really is"
- i agree with you about the narcissistic relationship and how much it affected her ("and youd say you love me and look in my eyes, but i know, through mine you were looking in yours")
- "did you know the liberty bell is a replica silently housed in its original walls" --- something is made up to be a symbol of endurance is actually fake, its an illusion
- "all of this tubulence wasnt forecasted, apologies from the intercom" --- all of the confusion and sadness wasnt something she was expecting for
------
ive loved to see your point of view, your videos are super interesting !!! thank you for making this !
(and for anyone whos reading this, thank you ily
This album means so much me growing up, it came out on my birthday when I was 16, im nearing 23 now and still listen to it often as the topics of the song came to apply to me as an Asian American as well dealing with growing up and interpersonal relationship, your analysis helped put into words a deeper meaning or great appreciation for this album! Thank you, and I’m glad you liked it even though some of the punkish sound wasn’t to your taste!
I wanted to add that adding lyrics in a foreign language despite growing up with mostly English is a deliberate choice I’d say, I do the same with my own Japanese and Tagalog for when I want to say something that’s on my mind deep down, but am too afraid to reveal my true intent to my English speaking peers or loved ones. Yaeji does the same in her song “drink I’m sipping on” where in her English lyrics she seems confident but in her Korean lyrics she seems hesitant and apprehensive. If this reveals any deeper meaning to First Love / Late Spring for anyone!
I could go on about each song, I love mitski and her lyrics so much, definitely my hugest inspiration as I’ve tried to write my own music this year! I have a hard time being concise as mitski, but love to dive into the topics she covers as it comes from a similar place of heart.
"I don't smoke" is one of my favorite songs ever
the first time i listened to last words of a shooting star, it was honestly the first time a song had ever hit me so hard on a first time listen
Can’t wait for you to react to “Retired From Sad, New Career in Business” and “Be the Cowboy”
Os maiores do mundo 😭
Taste!
Mitski's music is so powerful. Any time I just take a second to experience and truly listen to it, the power of her lyricism and instrumentation always bring tears to my eyes, it's just so moving and powerful in a very raw way. I loved watching this video, the satisfaction of another person listening to Miiski for the first time and having that "holy shit" reaction never gets old. And also having the validation of another write'poet paying attention to her work, all the small details, is so gratifying. I loved when a song cued up and I knew some powerful lyrics were coming and I waited to watch your reaction, like in Townie "I want a love that falls as fast as a body from the balcony" or in I Don't Smoke when she says "If you need to be mean be mean to me, I can take it and put it inside of me..." and your were like "......... wow." and I was sitting at my computer like "YUP. IT HITS DOESNT IT." lol. I saw someone recommend Retired from Sad, New Career in Business and I'm totally looking forward to your experience of that album. Thank you so much for this video!
Mitski's new album should be coming out soon!!! I'll be waiting for when you do that one too! It's so interesting to understand the meanings behind her songs in more detail!
Her face when she heard the switch on Texas reznikoff ✋🏼😭
your video makes me want to whip out an analytical essay on mitski right here right now
i would read/watch it
you should react to "Lush" by Mitski! that album is much calmer for the most part and I think you would really like it
Hi! I loved your reaction to this album!!
I want to also recommend a reaction to Tyler the Creator's album "IGOR". It was released in 2019 and it's about a love story, from start to finish. Each song represents a phase in the relationship and the storytelling is simply amazing. I think you're gonna love the lyrics! It also won a grammy and had high critical acclaim so it's a very good album in general
i second this!!!
Literally my fav album and so poetical
your analysis of her music is genius - things i skipped over when i listen you explain so perfectly! thank you
i loved when she started screaming and you just paused the song and said 'ok' 💀
Amazing👏👏Mitski is *cheff kiss*💛
this is the best thing i have ever seen: BIG mitski reactions with AMAZING commentary cjdjdjsjs im so happy
Very excited for your future reaction to Be the Cowboy. Sonically, very different from Bury Me At Makeout Creek, so I imagine you'll like it a lot, especially since her lyrical talent is always so consistent.
Mitski created a new genre of poetry/songwriting. Change my damn mind.
i don’t smoke and texas reznikoff are my favorite 2 off the album 😍
Your reactians are always just so pleasant. It's so nice to see intelligent person's insight on truly beautiful albums
you’re just so eloquent. i love your videos so much,, couldn’t agree more with the things you have to say :))
HOLY SHIT IVE NEVER CLICKED SO FAST IM SO HYPE FOR THIS VIDEOOOOOOOOOOOO
THIS WAS SO GOOD THANK YOU
You should react to aurora all my demons greeting my as a friend, her lyricism so good and its fun to analyze and interpret her songs
I've never watched your videos before but this was really lovely to watch and it was so interesting to hear someone else's interpretation on songs I've been listening to so much! Lovely!
Loved this as usual! If you like her stuff that doesn't feature that intense distorted guitar sound as well as something that highlights her skill with narrative, Be the Cowboy is an excellent choice. Its her most sonically diverse record and was a deliberate attempt to make something less autobiographical, though there are a couple of tracks that do pull from her experiences with being an artist and experiencing loneliness.
carry me out, at least in my interpretation, follows a narrator who is still in mourning over someone they lost. whether this be literal or metaphorical is left intentionally vague. The narrator sits on the rooftop, letting down their hair, which is most often done as an act of relaxation, as it “unleashes the night”; this likely points to the narrator watching the sun set as their hair is behind them, so the imagery is that their dark hair is engulfed in the darkness behind them of the night. The mention of “the scent of flowers still in bloom from morning showers” likely is driven by ‘still’ as in something that realistically should be gone, but lingers like the feelings left behind from loss. the narrator experiencing all of these things only intensifying their feelings of isolation. then saying this persons name from the rooftop as it is likely the closest to “the stars” they can get.
The second verse is the narrator driving recklessly. They’re out on the road at night. describing headlights as ‘spirits’ and the road as ‘the styx’. This likely infers that the reckless behavior during driving will kill the narrator. The styx is the river that not only separates the mortal world from the underworld, but it is also the river all spirits must cross to reach the afterlife. so by saying “the headlight spirits lead me down the styx” the narrator is saying that those headlights are leading them towards the path to death or of self destruction.
lastly the chorus is a resounding and repeating plea to “carry me out” which holds a double meaning. on one end it could be “carry me out of here” as in take me with you away from this place, as the narrator feels as though they are unable to do so themself. alternatively, it could be pleading for someone to acknowledge and end their suffering, the method by which it is done being unknown.
carry me out is lyrically one of mitski’s best songs, it has some of her most succinct imagery and not only that, but also combines beautiful vocals and instrumentals.
i listen to this album almost everyday and i love seeing other people appreciate it as much as i do :')
This record is amazing, I love how you interpreted the lyrics 🥰
Sher, if you are not familiar with them, there is this band called The National I would really really love to see you react to at least an album by them, you won't be disappointed by the story telling and the poetry and the vocals 😋please please please 😭
if you decide to, their album "Trouble Will Find Me" is their best :)
I would die for this. But also I might recommend Boxer first but idk. They both such good choices.
@@taylor11111 Boxer is great but I think TWFM is suitable for new listeners :p it's a bait to get her hooked to their music *shsshhhh shsshhhhh*
So... be the cowboy next? I love this so much hahah
your videos are so comforting to me !! thank u for mitski reactions :)
we need more mitski videos queen! love u
i love that i have been obsessed with mitski these weeks and you are also getting in the mitski journey so i feel we are both experiencing it haha
Omg so happy that you're listening to more Mitski! You always have such beautiful and amazing insight! Keep up the good work ❤
I loved this video!!!! This is her heaviest album in terms of rock and punk vibes, so I definitely think you will like Be the Cowboy better. It has some amazing songs and so many different genres that there is so much to love. Also, her first album Lush is, in my opinion, her best album lyrically and feel like you will appreciate that album as well! Again I love your Mitski reviews!!!
Unpopular opinion but this is my favorite Mitski album
i LOVE how you analyze these songs!!! Mitski is such an inspiration for me i love her
i love this so much, if this is a series might i recommend marika hackman too, her lyrics always enchant me, much love to you
Once I fell asleep while listening to this album which I find kind of funny since I was listening to it with earbuds and it is so agressive at some times.
what a beautiful reaction and personal explanation to this album! mitski is my favorite artist and this is one of my favorite albums of all time. thank you!!
she gets it
also, big reccomendation! if you aren't familiar with the artists AURORA, you should check out her music! her lyrics, and her whole production are gorgeous.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO REACT TO CLASS ON 2013 🥺
Loved your take on this album, i remember it changing my life in 2014. The lyrics rly brought me in. I think you'd like Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville", it's a similar narrative-based album, with a coming of age feel. It 's less punk than this, but it's really good.
Heyy sher! Another lovely and honest reaction.. loved your comments on it as usual! The Daddy’s Home album by St. Vincent is out and wow... you really should react to that one and comment on the lyrics from it as well, I mean... one of the most personal and well produced records from Annie Clark and if you’re not really into her music yet , it could be a great start!! The record is mostly and very focused on the prison of her father and how she felt at the time... Also there’s this song called “The Melting of The Sun” which approaches some of her heroes (all women) and talks about how they helped in the process of building this path we are walking in searching from freedom - really interesting! Anyways hope you read my comment, you’re great and intelligent and a very special one sher :)
Your analyses are so interesting I love these videos
I absolutely love your analysis. Thank you. Subscribed!
Shinnie
You will love LUSH
I love your content so much you're literally my favorite youtuber and i love how you're passionate and true about music.
I'm always discovering great artist because of your reactions haha
oooooh i’m early asf and it’s my fav album with Lush
i love your reactions so much you are so sweet 💕💕💕💕💕 keep doing this you are great !!!
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS YESSSSS
Omg I'm so hyped for this :) love your analysis ❤
i feel like u would love julien baker so so so much!!!!!!!! u should react to her newest album little oblivions its so beautiful its insane
great video! loved your reactions and analyses 😃
Texas Reznikoffs lyric "Texas is a landlocked state" references an inside joke between Mitski and the person the song is written about. I don't know if you already figured that by now, but yeah!
I know it's an inside joke, but I always interpreted it as mitski saying that Texas feels trapped, like even though one side of it is actually connected to the gulf, its just so suffocating it feels landlocked, no way to just actually leave everything and leave
@@jakerell5115 oooo I like that
You should do lush I love it!
been waiting for thisssss
ive been WAITING for this one omgggggggg
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REACT TO ULTRAVIOLENCE
Yo this is itttt I love Mitski so much and these analyses of her album is awesome!
Yaay mitski reaction, thank you! ❤️
your interpretation is so genius omg
the way i accidently commented the same thing twice bc i watched this video multiple times and forgot😭😭😭
(im pretty sure i read this im sorry if im wrong) but ! the song “i will” was made about how she wants someone to love her, as he had no one to sing about she made a song about the love she so desperately wants...and thats also just how i interpreted the song :> again sorry if this is wrong !
Hopefully you check out Lush and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business! I love them both dearly but I often feel like they're overlooked compared to her other albums :(