I don’t want your pity

I don’t want your pity, I just want somebody near me,” she croons lightly on “Nobody,” and she might as well be asking for a few people to give her music the time of day. Almost every song in her discography is under three minutes. This isn’t an artistic choice, Mitski stresses–it’s tactical: “I’m not a straight white guy. No one’s going to listen to me noodle for 45 minutes.” Instead, she has made a career out of producing art that is “precise and concise,” like her.

Back in the Manhattan tea shop, she finishes her matcha latte and asks for a to-go container for some leftover sweets. Later, she’ll disappear into the city for a few days and crash at a friend’s place to save cash. Then she’ll head back out on the road, alone again.