My Mistakes (Eleanor Friedberger song)

Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz reviewed the single favorably, commending Friedberger for "striking the perfect balance between wistfulness and whimsy" and opining that by the saxophone solo, "it's hard not to be swept along by the track's carefree vibe".[14] Zoladz also commended Friedberger's casual tone, crediting it with making the song one of Friedberger's "most instantly inviting" songs.[14] Heather Phares, in a review of Last Summer for Allmusic, wrote that Friedberger's "charm… shows up in spades" on "My Mistakes", calling it — along with "I Won't Fall Apart on You Tonight" — "perhaps the most accessible songs Friedberger has ever sung."[25] In his review of Last Summer, Murphy praised the song's selection as the record's opening track, calling it "a perfect introduction to the album" that "kicks (it) off… beautifully", as well as describing it as "bright, sunny, catchy but with a weird edge to it that makes for a compelling listen".[16] James Reed, in a Boston.com review, deemed the track "the stunner" of the album and praised it for demonstrating "the album's deep sense of longing and nostalgia."[24] Tiny Mix Tapes highlighted "My Mistakes" as one of the two "stand-outs" on the album.[26] Reviews by both Under the Radar and BBC deemed the song one of Friedberger's catchiest songs.[27][28]

The single became Friedberger's first (and, to date, only) entry on the Mexico Ingles Airplay chart, a Billboard chart tracking the most-played English-language songs in Mexico.[29] "My Mistakes" debuted at number 50 on the chart dated August 20, 2011, and rose to number 44 the following week before falling off.[30] It re-entered the chart the week of September 10, 2011, and the following week jumped seven spots to its peak position of number 36.[31][32] It fell off the following week, but re-entered for one week at number 38 on the chart dated October 1, 2011.[33]

Britt Daniel, lead singer of rock band Spoon, suggested that Friedberger include new footage in the music video.

For the song's accompanying music video, Friedberger drew inspiration from a humorous fifteen-year-old VHS tape her friend Beth Lieberman found from when the two were students at the University of Texas.[19][34] Friedberger had appeared in the video for Lieberman's art-class assignment. She decided, for the "My Mistakes" video, to use some of the scenes from the VHS, deciding that "it fit the tone of the song perfectly."[19][34]

At the suggestion of Britt Daniel, frontman of rock group Spoon and a classmate of Friedberger's at UT who also appeared in the old video, she also included new footage, filmed in her Brooklyn apartment, of her doing the same things as in the old footage.[19][35] She remarked that the alternation between old and new in the video matched the song's lyric, telling The Quietus that "I thought it was fun to go back and forth in time like that, which is what's happening in the song too."[34] Another friend of Friedberger's, Sara Magenheimer, shot the modern footage for the music video.[34][36] She also noted that she still owned many of the items — such as a Greek tourism poster and a dress — that appeared in the old video, allowing her to show them both in the new and old footage.[19][34] She quipped that her still being able to fit into the old dress was "from doing all those sit-ups".[19] Friedberger stated that the hardest part of filming the video was deciding how to end it.[34] She and Magenheimer initially considered ending it with the date for which she's been preparing, but she ultimately decided on another conclusion.[34] In an interview with Vogue, Friedberger remarked that the video "might have been trying to make some feminist statement, but it’s supposed to be a little bit of a joke."[37]

The video depicts Friedberger preparing for a date, chatting on the phone, doing sit-ups, shaving her legs, and playing a vinyl record, alternating between footage of her doing those things at age 19 and now.[19][21] The old footage also shows her on the date, making out with Daniel.[19] Rather than recreate the scene with Daniel, she opted to close out the video with a scene in which she plays an acoustic guitar while sitting on a stoop "full of the sort of odd neighborhood characters she likes to sing about". She elaborated that she opted to finish it in that fashion because she wanted to show that "I do learn from my mistakes and choose something new, which is music. It's corny, but I like the sentiment."[21][34]

The music video for "My Mistakes" premiered on Pitchfork on June 14, 2011.[21][22] The Village Voice observed that initially, the video appears to be "a cautionary tale about how not much has changed for women since the era of VHS fuzz-outs" before turning out to be "sort of a sweet love letter to her relationship with music, and the fine art of eating on a New York City stoop on a summer day."[38] Consequence of Sound interpreted one of the video's themes as being that people's "daily routines remain constant" despite technological and lifestyle developments since the 1990s.[39] Rolling Stone commended the video's concept as a "clever idea".[35]

Paste noted that the video had been "making its internet rounds" in the month leading up to the album's release.[10] Some viewers didn't recognize Friedberger in the old footage; in a 2011 interview with The Quietus, Friedberger noted that "People have been asking me who the other girl is."[34]