Mitski: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

August 31, 2015by BOB BOILEN

Watching Mitski perform at my desk, there are moments when I was worried for her. In her opening song, "Townie," the boys "are driving and they'll be drinking" — and a verse later, Mitski sings of love in ways that feel vengeful, not fruitful.

And I want a love that falls as fast

As a body from the balcony, and

I want a kiss like my heart is hitting the ground

I'm holding my breath with a baseball bat

Though I don't know what I'm waiting for

I am not gonna be what my daddy wants me to be

Moments later, she holds her guitar high with her mouth close to the pickup, which acts like a microphone as she screams to her mother for help:

Mom, would you wash my back?

This once, and then we can forget

And I'll leave what I'm chasing

For the other girls to pursue

Mom, am I still young?

Can I dream for a few months more?

Then, she closes with a song of dying in the hope of leaving a tidy room and being well-regarded when they come get her things. If it all sounds depressing, it is, but the glimmer of beauty comes in her smile and laugh at the end of her set. It's part nerves, part angst, and it all makes for a heartfelt performance sans filters: That's why Mitski Miyawaki is such an incredible performer. At night, at a club with the lights down and drinks in hand, it can be more pensive for all — more thought-provoking. But here in an office, the starkness somehow makes her music even scarier.

Set List
"Townie"
"Class Of 2013"
"Last Words Of A Shooting Star"

Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Walker, Lani Milton; Assistant Producer: Elena Saavedra Buckley; photo by Lydia Thompson/NPR

[tarynnago]

i burst into tears at "can i dream for a few months more?"

[tiredb]

i’m so glad mitski invented the whole world she’s so considerate

[eleanor]

It’s like she’s playing alone in her room, except we’re all watching her. Such an intimate and vulnerable performance. thank you mitski

[finn]

the raw almost uncomfortable sounds of the first two songs are soothed SO DEEPLY by the last. she knows exactly what she's doing and it's incredible

[lesbiasian]

my favorite quote of hers: "i've gotten a lot of complaints saying that I can't play guitar, and it's true, i'm a keyboardist. but I do this because for a lot of girls it's kind of scary to try to start playing guitar cause you feel like you immediately won't be good enough. so I'm telling you right now, I can't play guitar and I'm playing guitar on stage. you can just start where you can."

[maggie]

When I was 18 I laid in bed and listened to this and cried so hard because I hated myself and everything so much. I’m 24 now and life is beautiful.

[leothelion]

When she was yelling into that gets it

[macncheeselvr]

I wish mitski was never embarrassed about this tiny desk concert vid, she’s amazing and so powerful in here it’s mind blowing.

[andiem]

Mitski with exposed acne scream singing into her guitar has been constantly in my head since I saw this years ago and tbh it’s why I get up every day the raw energy in this is so powerful

[grantboyer]

the control of the shakiness in her voice reminds me of johnny cash but with teenage angst i’m all here for it.

[linss]

we all have unresolved childhood trauma but we all thought why get a therapist when you can watch mitski scream into a guitar

[fionagallagherapologist]

"mom, im tired" *instant tears*

[muppetfriend]

i love mitski, she makes me feel like an inside out sock

[jhonestebanramirezquintana]

I think she deserves a new performance here

[antonmedina]

this is not an npr video this is therapy

[feryourmomslover]

Therapy is very expensive, Mitski’s music is free

[eli]

I can't believe mitski invented 2013! She's so powerful 😍

[hannahweedon]

Mistki made me feel confident in my own skin. You can write using simple chord progressions, you can have acne, you can be a singer, you can be all the things

[KiddingProductions]

she absolutely blew me away when she started screaming into the guitar. went through so many emotions in these 8 minutes.

[lovehrz]

i think mitski's music can be described in one word as raw. it's not for people who like polished sounds. mitski's music is meant to be a knife to the gut, a punch to the eye. it's meant to make u feel the pain, & also to make u embrace it as a part of u.