Influences: Mitski

I’ve never been much of a fan of nostalgia, probably because as a queer person it’s difficult to look fondly upon past times as being “the good old days.” Maybe that’s why I’ve always had a sort of love/hate relationship with Country music—and by extension with a lot of today’s alternative rock that also gets tagged with the “Americana” genre.

That kind of makes it sound like I hate American musical tradition, which is far from true. My own music is very obviously built on it, even though I grew up in liberal Northern California. I recently read this great article by Paola de Varona about her conflicted relationship with Country music which, as a Latina woman, she describes as “a genre that seems intent on shutting people like me out.” Exactly how I feel.

“Mitski’s latest album, at least to my ears, is like the Trojan horse of new Americana.”

I get that music, like most art forms, is a cultural conversation that takes place over generations. The dialog between “what was” and “what is” can be profound and fascinating, not to mention wildly entertaining (big props to you, Lil Nas X.)

Where I start to get squirmy with contemporary Americana is when it verges on some kind of non-ironic mid-Century America nostalgia porn. There are only a few acts who make me feel this way, but they seem to frequently show up among the “similar artists” listings whenever I’m streaming Mitski. And that makes me smirk a little.

That’s because Mitski’s latest album, at least to my ears, is like the Trojan horse of new Americana in this regard. The Nashville-produced sound immediately lures you into thinking that it’s going to be a big luscious slice of nostalgia pie, but once you really bite into it, you realize you’re about to get a sublime lesson on the doom loop of American cultural conformity.

That’s surely a gross over-interpretation of Mitski’s intentions on The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, but come on, just look at the album title! Better yet, listen closely to it and decide for yourself:

The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski

Listen to The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We album by Mitski on any music platform. Links generated and arranged by Lynkify

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You'll find Mitski along with dozens of other artists who have influenced my songwriting over the years on my Spotify artist playlist: The Ellis Court Influencers.