ARticle by freelancer sanya wason
The release of Mitski’s new album “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” was perfectly timed as a new addition to everyone’s fall playlist. You may even recognize the song “My Love, Mine all Mine,” which blew up on Tik Tok. As an avid Mitski listener who also happens to love Fiona Apple I’ve noticed some similarities between the two staple fall girls.
Both Mitski and Apple manage to encapsulate the anger and the raw sadness that comes with being a woman. The production of both their discographies is always skillfully instrumental. Plus, in an interview Mitski even admits that she “pulled a Fiona Apple title” with her new album.
One example of their lyrical similarities is Fiona’s song “Sullen Girl” in which she sings “he took my pearl and left an empty shell of me,” and Mitski’s single “A Pearl” where she sings “nobody told me it ended, but it left a pearl in my hand.” These lyrics may describe the artists’ different experiences, but the symbolism of the pearls go hand in hand (no pun intended). While Apple is left with nothing but an “empty shell,” Mitski is desperately grasping at her “pearl,” which is all she has left.
Both “Paper Bag” by Fiona and “Real Men” by Mitski radiate female rage regarding double standards. As Mitski sings “real men don’t eat because they’re above that, dammit/ oh, I’m gonna be a real man”, Fiona sings “hunger hurts but I want him so bad, oh it kills/ hunger hurts, but starving, it works.” This proves how both women have to sacrifice so much to be with a man who hardly thinks twice about them. On top of that, the motif of not eating can be linked to the women’s struggle with fitting societal standards. Fiona’s lyric later in the song “I thought he was a man but he was just a little boy” compares with Mitski’s “little boys cry and look around for comfort and always get what they want/oh, you are my little boy” to show the immaturity of the men in question.
The song “I’m Your Man” off Mitski’s new album uses the sound of dogs barking in the background, especially in the outro. When I first listened to it, I immediately thought of Fiona’s “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”, which features the use of barking dogs (especially prominent in the outro)! “I’m Your Man” almost seems like a saddened sequel to Fiona’s song, which is arguably about not fitting into typical societal standards.
Needless to say, both Fiona Apple and Mitski are unique in their own way, yet similar, and provide the perfect soundtrack to every girl’s fall playlist!