“My God, I’m so lonely, so I open the window to hear sounds of people,” indie rock songstress Mitski sings in her heavily-streamed single, “Nobody.”
For college students in New York City, myself included, the idea of being surrounded by people but yet still alone is all-too-relatable.
With each stark lyric, Mitski proves her unwavering power in being open and honest, a characteristic of her songwriting. Declared by Iggy Pop to be “the most advanced American songwriter,” he knows, Mitski Miyawaki, who performs under her first name, is a star on the rise.
With a release party at Bushwick’s Elsewhere in August of 2018, cowboy memes associated with her trending on social media, and the launch of western-themed merch, the once-underground Mitski has become associated with “cowboy culture,” gaining thousands of more followers on all of her social media accounts.
Mitski’s latest album title, Be the Cowboy, was inspired by the classic, masculine image of an American cowboy. Mitski said the album title was “kind of a joke” in a recent interview with The Line of Best Fit, and elaborated more on the idea that served as her main inspiration for her LP. “There was this artist I really loved who used to have such a cowboy swagger. They were so electric live. With a lot of the romantic infatuations I’ve had, when I look back, I wonder, did I want them or did I want to be them? Did I love them or did I want to absorb whatever power they had? I decided I could just be my own cowboy.”
Mitski, a Japanese-born artist, has spoken about how she is treated in the music industry as an Asian American woman, and how the idea of the all-American cowboy is something she could never fully relate to.
“There was just a sort of abandon and confidence, something that I couldn’t embody in my real life,” Mitski said of the reckless outlaw character that inspired the album name. “Something very sure. A freeness. I want to portray something that is free. There is such an idea of freedom around the cowboy.”
Much of Mitski’s subject matter in her most popular songs were related to female guilt, and how Mitski had struggled to feel confident in an American society that constantly reminded her she was an Asian-American female musician. In her most recent release, the notion of Mitski reclaiming a classic American image that she would never be expected to fit into, resonated with listeners who heard its more bold, defying, and unapologetic lyricism.
Be the Cowboy, Mitski’s seventh album, received rave reviews from many music publications, and landed a spot on multiple best-albums-of-the-year ranked lists.
That’s why on March 5, when fellow-acclaimed indie artist Mac DeMarco unveiled his latest single, “Nobody,” from his upcoming album titled Here Comes the Cowboy, fans of the indie genre were genuinely surprised.
Mitski herself tweeted the same morning encouraging her fans not to be angry with Mac DeMarco, and that she thought it was a coincidence that the albums shared a common “cowboy” theme. She also said in the same tweet that her and DeMarco have the same public relations manager, which was confusing to many of Mitski’s fans.
As a female musician myself, I was aggravated to see two artists that I adored caught in a Twitter feud between their fanbases that neither of them seemed to want any part in. I was even more upset when reading speculations that DeMarco may have stolen the ideas of someone I believe to be one of the most inspiring musicians of this era, and my life.
The indie genre and its music scene are regarded by many of my generation to be free of rules and one that promotes true creativity. Mac DeMarco is a pioneer of eccentric, creative expression within his music, and a big name within the genre. As someone who listened extensively to the music of Mitski and Mac DeMarco, I was unsettled by the idea that he may have copied her.
Students at the New School also immersed in the music of both artists gave their input on the similar song and album name stirring up controversy. “I think that’s it’s pretty impossible and also irresponsible for Mac Demarco to say he’s never heard of Mitski because you’d have to be pretty out of touch as an indie pop artist to not be familiar with her music,” said Hannah Tacke, a sophomore and contemporary music major at Lang. “She’s had an insane amount of success.”
Women of color not gaining recognition or notoriety for musical ideas and compositions is unfortunately nothing new. This is a common reason why Mitski’s fans were angered that DeMarco, a white, male artist, would release an almost-identical album name he said to be about calling his friends cowboys.
Mitski’s album, fans said, came from a profound standpoint that evoked discussions of equality and the artistry of women of color. “The reason why Be the Cowboy was so special is because it’s an Asian woman taking and bettering the narrative. ” said Aditya Lal Chadha, a third-year acting and playwright major at the College of Performing Arts. Of DeMarco, Chadha said “It’s just another white dude doing the cowboy narrative again and again.”
“It’s just the old tale of men in the music industry appropriating female artistry for capital gain,” Tacke said. “At this point, Mac isn’t some salt-of-the-earth grunge star that navigates his own career.”
According to DeMarco’s representative, the popular indie rocker said he never heard of Mitski, or her album or song titles, until hearing about controversy stemming from their similarities. This, however, did not anger Mitski, who said in a tweet that she was “laughing” at the whole situation.
Some students thought this incident may attract Mac DeMarco’s fans or new listeners to Mitski’s music. The possibility of Mitski’s fanbase being widened appealed to many of her devotees. “Maybe the ‘bros’ who are into Mac DeMarco will start listening to Mitski because of the drama,” said Emilia Copeland Titus, a third-year culture and media major at Lang.
Overall, as an indie-obsessed listener myself, I admit that reading the headline of the Pitchfork Instagram post on March 5 of Mac DeMarco announcing a new album and single initially excited me. In high school, his 2014 album, Salad Days helped unearth the genre for me, and I grew an appreciation for sliding guitar solos and choruses that echoed with psychedelic reverb.
However, reading about DeMarco’s album title and song that was so similar to those of my beloved Mitski seemed, at first, like a joke or an error. I first heard the 2014 album, Bury Me At Makeout Creek by Mitski in high school that same year. From striking, moving lyricism, to impeccable vocals to her empowering guitar shreds, each of Mitski’s albums is a journey that young female listeners will find utterly relatable and freeing. Mitski taught 15-year-old me a valuable lesson, that femininity never equals weakness, and that there is true strength in female artists expressing emotion, not the stereotypical hysteria or insanity.
Seeing her live at Brooklyn Steel last December was life-changing. The crowd was breathless after she left the stage with a bow and parting curtsy. From cowboy memes airdropped to iPhones in the crowd, to members of the LGBT community wearing cowboy hats to the concert, I saw firsthand how Mitski is reclaiming a symbol of white supremacy, toxic masculinity, and old-time expectations into something young female-identifying and non-binary listeners can relate to. Mitski also posted a series of tweets the day DeMarco announced his album title that emphasized how exhausting social media can be, and that she never wished to incite feuds regarding the situation or that her fans would either.
Whether Mac DeMarco, who I do believe to be an important indie musician himself, copied her or not, one thing is for sure: Nobody has a more astonishing, eloquent songwriting style, kind disposition, or empowering effect on indie listeners than Mitski.
Below is a playlist highlighting the variety, diversity, and depth of Mitski’s music, that is meaningful for many students here at the New School: