Do we want our musical heroes to be the same people in real life as they are onstage? 

When we profiled “your new indie rock life coach” Mitski last year, we found an artist searching for some real humanity -- in an echo chamber where public figures are often seen as computerized avatars, lacking human hearts and souls. "I think that's actually very dangerous and I want to make people know I'm a real person with flaws and feelings.”

Mitski Covers One Direction's 'Fireproff': Exclusive Song Premiere

A year later, Mitski is out promoting her new album Puberty 2. It arrives though the “major” indie Dead Oceans -- a sizable jump from her D.I.Y. past -- and has so far garnered virtually unanimous critical acclaim. As a public figure, she’s becoming far more public than ever, but she appears to have a far better handle on it than your average artist entering the spotlight. She dove deep into this on the latest episode of the Alt In Our Stars podcast.

Mitski opened up about her Myers-Briggs personality type, her aversion to celebrity meet-and-greets (“Just think of yourself as a normal person being told to stand somewhere and hug a thousand strangers”), and how she’s seen the media react to her mixed-race identity.  

“I am half-Japanese… If we don’t talk about it we won’t move forward; we won’t enter a landscape where everyone is represented. But at the same time, when that’s all people latch onto… I end up not being seen as an artist. My music ends up not being important in these narratives.”

Past Episodes: Shamir | Into It. Over It. | Courtney Barnett | Car Seat Headrest | Scott Stapp | Peter Bjorn and John | Modern Baseball | CHVRCHES | The Strumbellas

Mitski’s got jokes too: Was there a Puberty 1 album? “No, that was a private experience.”

To keep up with the podcast (a new episode comes out every Friday) and to stream old episodes, subscribe to The Alt In Our Stars podcast on iTunes. Let us know what you think on Twitter (@cpayneonaplane) and by rating the podcast on iTunes.