Eytan Mirsky (born December 18, 1961) is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based American singer-songwriter.

Career

He is known mainly for his original contributions to film soundtracks, including the title songs for the critically acclaimed films ''

Happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...

'' (sung by

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...

) and ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interva ...

'' (in which he himself appeared singing the theme). He also contributed three songs to the film ''

The Tao of Steve ''The Tao of Steve'' is a 2000 romantic comedy film written by Duncan North, Greer Goodman, and Jenniphr Goodman, directed by Jenniphr Goodman, and starring Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. The film was produced by Ted Hope and James Schamus' G ...

'', including the title song and “(I Just Wanna Be) Your Steve McQueen.” He also contributed music to the films ''

Palindromes A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the words ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date and time ''11/11/11 11:11,'' and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panam ...

'', '' The Company and'' ''

Desert Blue ''Desert Blue'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Morgan J. Freeman, starring Brendan Sexton III, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, Sara Gilbert and John Heard. Plot A rising Hollywood starlet become ...

''. Mirsky’s 1996 debut album, ''Songs About Girls (& Other Painful Subjects),'' garnered praise from critics, as did six subsequent albums. Mirsky also contributed a cover of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

's "

Don't Bother Me "Don't Bother Me" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 UK album ''With the Beatles''. It was the first song written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, to appear on one of their albums. An uptempo rock an ...

" to a 2002 tribute album, ''He Was Fab,'' as well as a cover of

Rupert Holmes David Goldstein (born February 24, 1947), better known as Rupert Holmes, is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). ...

' "

Escape (The Piña Colada Song) "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" is a song written and recorded by British-born American singer Rupert Holmes for his album '' Partners in Crime''. As the lead single for the album, the pop song was recommended by ''Billboard'' for radio broadc ...

" to 2013's ''Drink a Toast to Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock''. Among the musicians who have played on Mirsky's recordings are Jon Gordon, best known for his guitar work for

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

, and Larry Saltzman, guitarist on a number of

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

tours. Formerly a student of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

’s Graduate Institute of Film and Television, Mirsky worked as an assistant sound editor on the films ''

What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store cler ...

'', ''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels ''Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacin ...

'' and ''

The Bonfire of the Vanities ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City, and centers on three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish as ...

'', and as a sound effects editor on the films ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' and '' A Beautiful Mind'', both of which won Academy Awards for Best Picture. Mirsky also appeared as a contestant on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' in January 1988, finishing in second place.
''J! Archive''.

Discography

* ''Songs About Girls (& Other Painful Subjects)'' (Mirsky Mouse Records, 1996) * '' Get Ready for Eytan!'' (M-Squared Records, 1999) * '' Was It Something I Said?'' (M-Squared Records, 2001) — features "(I Just Wanna Be) Your Steve McQueen" from ''

'' * ''Everyone's Having Fun Tonight!'' (M-Squared Records, 2004) — features "Happiness" and "American Splendor" * ''Year of the Mouse'' (M-Squared Records, 2012) * ''Funny Money'' (Mirsky Mouse Records, 2016) * ''If Not Now...Later'' (Mirsky Mouse Records, 2019)

References

External links

Eytan Mirsky
at BandCamp * * Eytan Mirsky on Allmusic.com
Eytan Mirsky interview with Michael McCartney on The Time Machine

Eytan Mirsky interview on Films42 website

Review of "Funny Money" - Rockerzine.com 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirsky, Eytan Living people 20th-century American Jews Jeopardy! contestants Singers from New York City 1961 births 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from New York (state)