"It was my little secret garden that I tended to. No one else was allowed in. Things get lost, break, or disappear. People come and go. But my songs, my writing, it was mine." - Mitski
Mitski is an artist shaped by contradiction. Born in Japan and raised across the globe before settling in America, a misplaced sense of identity plagued her upbringing. Yet this internal conflict eventually found a home. Mitski unleashed her raw vulnerability into music so uniquely passionate that listeners fell in worship. Unwittingly, Mitski became the voice for a generation of sadness. Her calling kept her afloat while the pressure of her rabid fandom pushed her down. Her brilliance had become both a gift and a burden.
Stay Soft, Get Eaten is the most comprehensive Mitski biography to date. By collecting hundreds of her quotes pulled from interviews, articles, and social media, we trace her rise from isolation to icon, unpacking her thoughts on the industry, depression, romance, and, of course, cultural identity. Using the crumbs of her wisdom, this book gradually unravels the enigma that is Mitski.
More importantly, we focus on Mitski's music, giving ample pages to the entirety of her critically acclaimed discography, including The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Puberty 2, and Be the Cowboy, which Pitchfork called the Best Album of 2018. If the information is out there, it's in here, the definitive Mitski Bible. When you finish this book, you'll know more about Mitski than anybody, and you will understand why Iggy Pop deemed her "the most advanced American songwriter I know".
Readers Reviews