"Happy" | ||||
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Single by Mitski | ||||
from the album Puberty 2 | ||||
Released | May 3, 2016 | |||
Studio | Acme, Westchester, New York | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Dead Oceans | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mitski | |||
Producer(s) | Patrick Hyland | |||
Mitski singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Happy" on YouTube |
"Happy" is a song by American singer Mitski, released in 2016 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Puberty 2 . [1] [2] A music video for the song was released on May 23 that year, [3] [4] which Paste described as "chilling", [5] while Vice called it "anything but happy". [6]
Stereogum wrote "Sonically, the song follows an opposite trajectory, building from eerie metallic clattering and mournful whispers to an exultant explosion of guitar and saxophone. By the end, though, the excitement has died down and the eerie clattering returns, as it always does." [7]
About the song, Mitski said "Happiness fucks you. Once it's in your hands, you try to hold onto it, but the nature of happiness is that it passes through and eventually leaves, and something else—sadness, anger, a low after the high—has to follow. This song is about this exhaustive and exhausting cycle, and how sometimes one would rather not have any of it at all than be constantly thrown about by the waves of these fleeting states." [8] [9]
DIY wrote that the song is about "what happens once happiness has fled the scene; the tidying up, sadness, and exhausting anger that lives and thrives on the flip-side." [10]
Pitchfork wrote that "Happy" might be one of Mitski's bleakest songs yet, and further wrote "Mitski resists psychic death by constantly pushing forth into bolder textures, refusing to be meek and sedated even as joy feels compromised: a stubborn drum machine begets chuntering percussion, the tentative melody finds its feet, and brash saxophones push everything up a gear." [11]
AllMusic considered the song to be one of the highlights from Puberty 2, writing that it's "full of bite and irony as she describes a hook-up and his stealthy exit in a context of grooving rhythms, a catchy melody, and poppy saxophone solos. Through it all in the background -- though it's brought to the fore in the intro and outro -- is the relentless pounding of a drum." [12]
Yume no Uta/futari de...(夢のうた/ふたりで... / Dream Song/us two...) is singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's 33rd single under the Rhythm Zone label, and is her second attempt at a double a-side. The single charted at No. 1 on Oricon and stayed on the charts for sixteen weeks, out-selling her previous single, 4 Hot Wave. This made her first No. 1 single since feel. The single came in CD and CD+DVD and both a-sides have their unique cover art.
Jay Watson is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a touring member of the psychedelic rock band Tame Impala and as a co-founder of the psychedelic rock/pop band Pond, with whom he's recorded nine albums. Watson also records solo material under the name GUM and, as of 2023, has released six studio albums under this name. In addition, he sometimes collaborates with fellow Pond member James Ireland as the duo GUM & Ginoli, remixing songs originally recorded by a variety of different artists, and occasionally contributes production and mixing to the solo projects of fellow Pond members.
Bleachers is an American rock band from New Jersey and the official stage name of songwriter and record producer Jack Antonoff. Bleachers' rock music is heavily influenced by the late '80s, early '90s, and the high school-based films of John Hughes while still using modern production techniques. Their debut single "I Wanna Get Better" was released in February 2014, followed by three studio albums: Strange Desire (2014), Gone Now (2017), and Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (2021).
"Hey QT" is the only single by the one-off music project QT. The project consisted of American performance artist Hayden Dunham, English producer A. G. Cook, Scottish producer Sophie, and British singer Harriet Pittard. The song was released on 26 August 2014 via XL Recordings. The single's release was accompanied by a photo of QT with a blonde wig trimmed into a messy bob cut. The promotional image was made by Diamond Wright, a team that includes PC Music musician Hannah Diamond.
Mitski Miyawaki is an American singer and songwriter. She self-released her first two albums, Lush (2012), and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013), while studying studio composition at Purchase College's Conservatory of Music. The albums were originally made as her senior project. Her third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, was released in 2014 on the label Double Double Whammy.
Puberty 2 is the fourth studio album by American indie rock singer-songwriter Mitski, released on June 17, 2016, the first release through Dead Oceans. It was produced by longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland. Upon its release, Puberty 2 received widespread acclaim from music critics, with many praising Mitski's emotional delivery and lyrically complex themes, which include longing, love, depression, alienation and racial identity. The album was preceded by the lead single "Your Best American Girl" on March 1, 2016, alongside the announcement of the album, and the second single "Happy" on May 3, 2016. A music video for "A Burning Hill" was released on October 11, 2016, followed by a tour covering North American and Europe.
A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in 2015, and her death in July 2016. Elverum wrote and recorded the songs over a six-week period in the room where she died, mostly using her instruments. His sparse lyrics and minimalistic musical accompaniment drew influence from a broad range of artists, including the poet Gary Snyder, author Karl Ove Knausgård and songwriter Julie Doiron.
"Your Best American Girl" is a song by American singer Mitski, from her fourth studio album, Puberty 2 (2016). The song was released on March 1, 2016, as the lead single from the album. It was written by Mitski and produced by Patrick Hyland.
"Without Love" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter Alice Glass. It was written by Glass, Lars Stalfors and Jupiter Keyes, and produced by the latter two and Matt Rad. The song was released by Loma Vista Recordings on 10 August 2017, as the lead single from Glass' self-titled debut EP.
Bury Me at Makeout Creek is the third studio album by American indie rock musician Mitski, released through Double Double Whammy on November 11, 2014. The album was written entirely by Mitski, with production handled by Patrick Hyland, who also produced her previous record, Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013). The title of the album is a quote from the Simpsons episode "Faith Off".
Be the Cowboy is the fifth studio album by American indie rock musician Mitski, released on August 17, 2018, through Dead Oceans. Produced by longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland, the album widens Mitski's palette with a return to the piano featured on her first two records alongside synthesizers, horns and the guitar that became her signature instrument. Upon its release, Be the Cowboy received widespread acclaim from music critics, who later ranked it among the best albums of 2018. It was preceded by the singles "Geyser", "Nobody", and "Two Slow Dancers". Be the Cowboy was Mitski's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, and also entered the charts in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
"Geyser" is a song by American singer Mitski, released on May 14, 2018, as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Be the Cowboy. She performed the song on The Daily Show in September 2018.
Lush is the debut studio album by American indie rock musician Snail Mail, released on June 8, 2018 through Matador Records. The album was produced by Jake Aron.
"Nobody" is a song by American singer Mitski, released in 2018 as the second single from her fifth studio album, Be the Cowboy. The Harvard Crimson, considering the song to be about loneliness, wrote that it is eerily upbeat, with melancholic lyrics contradicting its catchy melody.
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American recording artist Mitski has released seven studio albums, three extended plays, and 16 singles. Her fifth studio album, Be the Cowboy, charted in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other territories. Mitski's sixth studio album, Laurel Hell, proved to be her most successful album to date, peaking at number 5 on the US Billboard 200.
"Washing Machine Heart" is a song by American singer Mitski, released in 2018 on her album Be the Cowboy. Although not released as a single, it is considered to be her most famous song. The song peaked at number 93 on the Irish Singles Chart as well as number 26 on the UK Indie charts. The A.V. Club write Katie Rife described "Washing Machine Heart" as a "deranged domestic ballad with a pleasantly disorienting beat". A slowed-down and sped up version of the song has become popular on the social media app TikTok for its use in animated remakes of famous airplane crashes.
"Working for the Knife" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mitski. It was released on October 5, 2021, through Dead Oceans, making it her first major release since her hiatus following the release of her 2018 studio album Be the Cowboy, and her subsequent tour in 2019. Written by Mitski and produced by her longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland, it is a dark, midtempo rock, and electro-industrial song led by synths and percussion. Lyrically, it revolves around "the knife", a metaphor for the expectations placed on Mitski to continue laboring over her music.
"The Only Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer Mitski, released on November 9, 2021 as the second single from her sixth studio album, Laurel Hell. The song was written by Mitski and Dan Wilson. The single became Mitski's first to reach number 1 on the charts, reaching that spot on the US AAA chart.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mitski, released on September 15, 2023, through Dead Oceans. Produced by Patrick Hyland, it was recorded at the Bomb Shelter studio in Nashville and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. The album was promoted by the release of the singles "Bug Like an Angel" and "Star" / "Heaven" in July and August 2023, respectively. The Land Is Inhospitable was received with unanimous praise by critics, who appreciated the emotional rawness of Mitski's lyrics as well as the stripped-down nature of the music.