You're listening to Song Exploder,
where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.
I'm Rishikesh Hirway.
Mitski's been making records since 2012.
Her newest record, Puberty II, came out in June 2016 and was critically acclaimed.
Pitchfork gave it Best New Music status.
Her music's also been featured in the TV show Adventure Time.
In this episode, Mitski breaks down the song Your Best American Girl,
along with her longtime collaborator, Patrick Hyland.
My name's Mitski.
My full name is Mitsuki Miyawaki.
I never grew up with musical instruments or with equipment to record.
The way I learned to write was just writing things down on paper and hearing it in my head and kind of hoping for the best.
And I don't work in a band, so I'm alone in my own head.
So the lyrics and the vocal melody are king in my songs.
They always come first.
If I could, I'd be your little spoon And kiss your fingers forevermore But big spoon,
you have so much to do And I have nothing ahead of me The chorus came first.
I was on a bed and I wrote down the words,
your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me, but I do.