Retired from Sad, New Career in Business

2013 studio album by Mitski

Studio album by

Mitski

Released

August 1, 2013 (2013-08-01)

Genre

Orchestral pop^[1]

Length

23:54

Label

Self-released

Mitski chronology

Lush
(2012)

Retired from Sad, New Career in Business
(2013)

Bury Me at Makeout Creek
(2014)

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 was accompanied by a music video, each video playing a part in an ongoing story,^[3] and it is Mitski's only visual album. 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]

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

Original Bandcamp version and revised 2022 version^{[nb 1]}
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

Re-release version^[7]
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.
^ ^a ^b 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.