Mitski

“I think my real influences are out of my control, which are the things that entered my brain when I was a kid growing up.”

“I would love for Rivers Cuomo to listen to my music and see what he thinks.”

“There's this myth that women are supposed to compete with each other or something, or we're supposed to hate each other, and that's totally not productive.”

“Miyazaki movies were what I was raised on. I've watched them since I was very young, and I've been greatly shaped by them.”

“I'm so smart. I am good at doing math really quickly in my head.”

“You can never learn enough about music.”

“Pop artists work really hard, and they might not work for the same things that indie artists do, but they're still musicians, and they're still making art.”

“My father was obsessed with folk music from around the world, and I think the countless artists who performed them are my biggest influences.”

“I've been asked whether I have a hobby, and have felt strangely offended that anyone would assume I have the time.”

“I understand that, because there are so many musicians, you have to make artists into brands, but I sometimes feel like I have to be some kind of non-human icon in order for people to listen to my music.”

“In my first few years of being in New York, I had a major identity crisis because I'd never stayed in one place for so long.”

“I have a very conveniently photographic memory of emotions - it's overwhelming, because things don't fade for me.”

“When I started making music, I was like, 'This is something I can believe I was meant to do.'”

“I don't really listen to pop-country, but I like really, really old country that's closer to folk. Like Johnny Cash, who is considered country.”

“I'm punk, but I love gold.”

“When you're young is the one time when you get to indulge in being morose and take yourself most seriously.”