Retired from Sad, New Career in Business
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business is the second studio album by American musician Mitski. Mitski self-released the project on August 1, 2013 while still a student at SUNY Purchase. The album was her senior project and featured a 60-piece student orchestra.[2] Every song on the album, excluding Square, was accompanied by a music video, with each video playing a part in an ongoing story.[3] In the summer of 2020, album track "Strawberry Blond" gained a resurgence in popularity on the social media app TikTok, specifically in the cottagecore community.[4]
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1, 2013 | |||
Genre | Orchestral pop[1] | |||
Length | 23:54 | |||
Label | Self-released | |||
Mitski chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business received praise for its blend of "out-of-the-norm orchestral sounds with electronics and 'found' sounds".[3] In a career retrospective following her 2018 studio album Be the Cowboy, Jesse Herb of Atwood Magazine said that the album "completely highlights Mitski’s writing growth in just one year, and also her impeccable composition" and that the album "could be in an off-broadway musical." Herb singled out "Shame", "Circle", and "Strawberry Blond" in particular, saying that the latter "feels like a lost Dar Williams record".[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mitski
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart" | 2:17 |
2. | "Square" | 3:10 |
3. | "Strawberry Blond" | 1:54 |
4. | "Humpty" | 3:21 |
5. | "I Want You" | 3:03 |
6. | "Shame" | 2:24 |
7. | "Because Dreaming Costs Money, My Dear" | 3:05 |
8. | "Circle" | 2:51 |
9. | "Class of 2013" | 1:49 |
Total length: | 23:54 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart" | 2:17 |
2. | "Shame" | 2:24 |
3. | "Because Dreaming Costs Money, My Dear" | 3:05 |
4. | "Humpty" | 3:21 |
5. | "Circle" | 2:51 |
6. | "I Want You" | 3:03 |
7. | "Square" | 3:10 |
8. | "Strawberry Blond" | 1:54 |
9. | "Class of 2013" | 1:49 |
10. | "Square" (solo piano version) | 3:10 |
11. | "Shame" (Jammin' Out Solo version) | 2:33 |
Total length: | 29:40 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from Bandcamp.[8]
- Mitski – songwriting, vocals, drums
- Trevor Fedele – recording engineer
- Patrick Hyland – recording engineer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer
- Will Prinzi – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
- Mike Rasimas – drums
- Scott Interrante – orchestrations
- Sean Mcverry – gang vocals
- Eli Wolf-Christensen – gang vocals, mandolin
- Kenneth "Kenny" Trotter – violin
- Sarah Wolffe – violin
- Michael Mandrin – violin
- Sophie Dolamore – viola
- Naseer François Ashraf – viola
- Elise Linder – cello
- Pete Olynciw – upright bass
- Kevin Schmid – upright bass
- Julie Yeaeun Lee – flute
- Andrew Cowie – clarinet, bass clarinet
- John Cummings – trumpet
- Jerome Burns – trumpet, cornet
- Rich Liverano – trombone
- Cristian Uraga – french horn
- Pixel (as Pixie Doll) – cover model
Notes
- In July 2022, the track listing on streaming services was revised to match the original Bandcamp version, with acoustic versions of Square and Shame omitted. These versions of the tracks are since unavailable on streaming services.[6]
References
- Sutliff, Amileah Sutliff (July 26, 2018). "A Mitski Primer". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Mitski - Artist Biography & Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- Interrante, Scott. "Mitski: "Retired from Sad, New Career in Business"". The Absolute Mag. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- Spellings, Sarah (August 12, 2020). "How Did This Dress Get So Popular in a Pandemic?". Vogue. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- Herb, Jesse (19 October 2018). "FROM 'LUSH' TO 'BE THE COWBOY': ALONG FOR THE RIDE OF MITSKI'S EVOLUTION". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Retired from Sad, New Career in Business - Mitski". Apple Music. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- "Retired from Sad, New Career in Business". Spotify. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Retired from Sad, New Career in Business". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 5, 2020.