Dissect - S9E13 - Good News by Mac Miller

Episode Date: January 25, 2022

We resume our analysis of Mac Miller’s Circles with its beautiful lead single “Good News.” Follow Dissect on Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter. This season includes discussion of substance misuse and addiction. For resources on these topics, visit spotify.com/resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it was announced there would be a new Mac Miller album released posthumously in January of 2020, over a year after his passing, Mack's family and team inherently faced a question. What's the first thing you want Mack to say from beyond? How do you best introduce the world to the world of circles? Well, how about a song that is unlike anything we've ever heard from Mac Miller? A song that immediately makes clear that Circles isn't some random compilation of song scraps and half-baked ideas, that it is, rather, a body of work the world needed,

a work that contains some of Mac's most honest, most intimate, most beautiful art he's ever created. From Spotify, I'm Cole Kushner and Mrs. Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short, digestible episodes. Today we continue our serialized examination of Mac Miller Circles with its lead single, Good News. Good News was written and produced by Mac Miller and John Bryan. According to Brian, the song was one of the more collaborative tracks the two worked on together. He told Volture, quote, Mac had a vocal, but didn't quite know what to do,

and he had all the verses, all of which killed me. There was some meandering music behind it, and I just said, Hey, it just doesn't sound like you made a decision about the music, and it's not as good as your lyrics and your melody. Mac agreed and said he didn't know what to do and wanted me to have a go at playing. So I played keyboard live,

and I'd play chord changes until maybe he'd jump up and down or I'd see his body move a bit. That's kind of a fun, exciting process if you're playing, when somebody suddenly gets outwardly affirmative. It's no wonder why the chord progression Brian played Excited Mac. It contains a number of cool compositional features that require a few choruses in music theory to truly appreciate. But one thing I'll point out is its use of what's called contrary motion,

which in music refers to two melodic lines that move in opposite directions simultaneously. One moves up while the other moves down. In the first half of the progression, the bass moves downward. Each note is lower than the one before. Meanwhile in the upper register, we find a chromatic line that moves up, where each note is higher than the last. In the second half of the progression, the rolls reverse. The bass moves up while the higher register moves down. This roll reversal right in the middle of the progression creates a nice bit of symmetry when we hear it in full. Traditionally speaking, sustained downward motion in music conveys sadness or even mourning, while upward motion implies levity or brightness.

Thus the contrary motion heard throughout good news is for me one reason why the song for feels simultaneously hopeful and melancholic, both cheerful and dejected. Of course, these chords are not ultimately heard on keyboard. Rather, they're heard on a collage of plucking guitars played by both John Bryan and Wendy Melvoint, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution. The percussive texture these guitars create, together almost sound like orchestral strings being played pitticado, where the strings are plucked rather than bowed. Also in the mix is a vibraphone, marimba, bass, and eventually drums, a very orchestrally inspired, arrangement that showcases John Bryan's exceptional ear for instrumentation.

Mac begins good news singing, I spent a whole day in my little spring cleaning, I'm always too busy dreaming. Notably the song begins at the end of a day. While time and its measurement have been central throughout swimming, they are perhaps emphasized even further on circles, given the symbol of the clock established in the opening track and the upcoming finale once a day. In terms of the highs and lows that Mac oscillates between constantly, we appear to be in a reflective downturn. It's almost as if these lines are describing the album cover of circles, where Mac's head is within both his hands and the cloudy fog of his own head, an effect created by overlapping two photos of Mac with mixed opacity. These opening lines also feel similar to come back to Earth, where he's saying, I just need a way out of my head, I'll do anything for a way out of my head. On good news, Mack seems to have succumbed to the stasis of milling about in his own mind once again.

And if we spend so much of our lives in our heads, we might as well make them a nice place to be, evidenced by Mack doing a little spring cleaning for his dreaming. Spring cleaning is the tradition of preparing the inside of our homes for the upcoming good weather of summer. For Mack, this is perhaps a symbol of decluttering his head so he can enjoy the life in the outside world. This is progress or growth from what Max stated and complicated, just two tracks prior to good news. Here Max sings, inside my head it's getting pretty cluttered. I try, but I can't clean up this mess I made. Before I start thinking about the future, first can I please get through the day. Again we get an emphasis on time, the cyclical nature of each day, paired with the

clutter of his internal thoughts roaming about his head. But while complicated, sees Max sitting amidst the storm of cloudy weather, good news finds Mack in motion. He'll do a little spring cleaning and tidy up the clutter. He's going to take care of the mess as a means of unburdening himself and moving towards the sun. Pushing himself to get on with it, Max sings, well, maybe I should wake up instead. A lot of things I regret, but I just say I forget. Waking up is a call to awareness, a desire for the fresh start of a new day after spending this one in his head. To get there, he admits a flaw, that he's lied about his regrets, claiming forgetfulness to avoid confrontation. Being honest in this way is part of the spring cleaning, as he attempts to rid his mind of the clutters of lies and regrets.

Max's focus on the things he regrets is another callback to the beginning of swimming. My regrets look just like texts I shouldn't send. Yet again, the regrets are made more difficult in communication, whether questionable texts or unsaid feelings. It's in the music that Mac finds the ability to emit these shortcomings, to express the previously inexpressible. This sets the tone for a song where instead of keeping stuff in, instead of letting his inner mind become dirtied and cluttered, instead of covering up the things he doesn't like, he's going to try and say how he feels, he's going to be honest about his lying, he's going to stop keeping it inside and let those regrets out. This honesty is the cleaning process,

as he takes care of the mess so that he might live, instead of feeling the weight of all that's left said. Matt continues the verse pleading, Why can't it just be easy? Why does everybody need me to stay? The open-ended quality of why can't it just be easy suggests grand existential scope. That is to ask, why isn't it easy to be alive?

Why must we suffer? It seems twisted that the gift of life can at times be too much to bear. Even still, we are called to stay here with each other, and while our connections offer meaning and purpose, Mack still wonders why everybody needs him to stick around. This introduces a central theme, of the song, the ways in which we feel responsible for living for the sake of others. Now sometimes the pressure and weight of that can feel like a burden we don't always want to carry.

Mac's concern for others was well documented. In the aftermath of his passing, there's been countless testimonials praising his charisma and connectivity. As publicist Nick Deerell remembered, quote, Mac had an uncanny ability and sense for making people that were in the room with him feel good. He had a knack for reading a room and making sure that everyone was in a good spirit. having the ability to do that in times where he himself wasn't in very good spirits. He would take it upon himself to make sure everyone in the room was feeling good and prioritized that ahead of his own feelings.

There's something to be said for the selflessness that he showed and being attentive to other people's emotions, whether he knew them for five minutes or 15 years, unquote. In swimming, we found Mack constantly preoccupied with others, whether thinking of the neighbors he wanted to be friends, promising the homies that none of them would go hungry on what's to use, were struggling to swim away from those calling, to him from the shores of Perfecto. This was why the group of friends singing alongside Mac on the

final track, So It Goes, was so satisfying, because Mac had found harmony with those around him. Mac continues good news admitting, oh, I hate the feeling, when you're high, but you're underneath the ceiling. Mac hating the feeling of a high is a result of the limits on that high. What should be a pleasant experience is dampened by some external or internal force or presence. Knowing Mac's motific use of high over the years, we understand this could have multiple intended meanings. It could be that some genuine felt joy is dampened by his recurring anxiety, that he's unable to fully experience the high of happiness in the moment because he knows all too well of the inevitable fall to come. Mike could also be referring to the high of substances here,

with the indoor ceiling being in line with what he described as a common situation for his drug use, just being bored inside his house and using drugs to escape that boredom. But that's more dangerous than actually LA is just kind of just sitting there by myself all the time. it becomes like a, it becomes toxic. It started by me just sitting inside all day, and then it's like, then you get bored. Then you're like, well, I could just be high, and I could have a whole adventure in this room.

During these times, Mack was literally high, but underneath the ceiling, using substances indoors without actually going out into the world, which feels fitting on a track in which Mac has been inside his head all day, dreaming. Coming off the line, Why does everyone need me to stay, and Mack's constant concern for the emotions of others, the ceiling to his high could also be the guilt Mac might feel when using drugs,

knowing he might be disappointing those closest to him, those that care about him most. Mac then sings, got the cards in my hand I hate dealing. Continuing the gambling motif of swimming in circles, Mac is positioned as the dealer, with the task of giving everyone else their cards. It's a similar situation to the one where we all need him to stay,

so he can help us play the game. Clearly, Mac doesn't always want this leadership responsibility or the pressure to provide. The cards being in Mac's hand could also reflect his privileged position. He had what he needed to win the game, but didn't always feel like playing. In other words, while he had the resources and knowledge needed to tackle the obstacles in his life, Mac might be expressing frustration with the fact that these obstacles must be tackled at all, that we all have problems to deal with in the first place. Like you said earlier, why can't it be easy?

oftentimes we know exactly what we have to do to improve our lives, but don't enjoy the effort required to enact that change, which can cause guilt and regret. Mac then continues, get everything I need that I'm gone, but it ain't stealing. The ain't stealing here feels like it's meant to indicate that he's had to sacrifice to achieve his success, trading in his well-being for the cards he holds. Mac's saying he's gone has a few possible meanings. Is this the gone of retiring for music, the gone of being high, or gone from our earthly plane? The latter interpretation of mortality conveys a recognition that our time on this planet isn't ours forever.

Maybe we aren't stealing our time here, but we're definitely borrowing it. As if exhausted by his own need to justify a simple existence, Mac then worries, can I get a break? I wish I could just get out of my goddamn way. The desire for relief or respite from the quandaries of life is understandable, yet also impossible. While alive, we will always be alive. There is no break from this. When Mack here frames the path of life as a way and wishes to get out of his own way, recalls the influence of Taoism or the way we discussed last episode, the idea of experiencing our life in a way that fully accepts the path,

like water flowing on the path of least resistance, relieving ourselves of the struggle to assert any control over what lies outside our reach. The desire to get his own self out of his own way also recalls the ego death necessary in the pursuit of the way of Taoism. Our ideas of self, our patterns of behavior, our attachment to the physical world, our desires, they all get in the way of us being present in this life. Mack, like all of us, can be his own worst enemy.

Mack then continues relenting, what is there to say? There ain't a better time than today. While he's fretted over what to say throughout this entire track, trying to be honest, here he comes to a central, ultimate piece of wisdom. There is no better time than today because today is all we ever have. The present moment is the only time we will ever actually be in. It's a very Taoist conclusion, because when we let things take their natural course and live in the present moment, what is there to say? To quote the Tao De Ching,

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? The master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present and can welcome all things. As good news continues, Mac switches his delivery to a more drawn-out crooning. He sings, Well, maybe I'll lay down for a little instead of always trying to figure everything out. Lying down for a little sounds like the break Mac desired,

temporarily giving up on the struggles of trying to solve our lives, as if that's even possible. Lying down for a little also sounds like internal bargaining. It's a decision to stop swimming, but justifying it by saying it will be for just a little bit. Fittingly, back in 2011, Mac tweeted, I'll never understand life. I don't know if I'm supposed to try and figure it out or just say fuck it.

Well, this desire to say fuck it could simply be a decision to live life as it comes, or at least not think about it too hard. There is the darker possibility that when Mack wants a reprieve to lie down, he's thinking of lying down for the last time. The truth is, in our most exhausted moments, the imagined sustained rest of death can seem appealing, even if we don't consider a serious option. Then in another moment of pure, fearless honesty, Mack sings, and all I do is say sorry,

half the time I don't even know what I'm saying it about. Continuing the negative thinking of lying down and surrendering to the struggle of life, Mac apologizes, as if feeling shame for the very human desire for rest. It also displays Mack's concern for others that runs throughout the track. It seems he takes the blame as a default, even when he's not totally sure. It brings back the guilt he feels in holding the cards, being responsible for dealing to others, to those who need him to stay. As good news continues, Mack delivers the song's chorus, continuing this thread of Mack living for others and the pressure he feels to put on a good

face. That's right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we heard Mack truthfully expressing the weight of his responsibility to others, and how he sometimes just wants to lie down, wants a break. This leads us into the first iteration of the song's chorus. What's the difference When you think Mac begins the chorus singing Good news, that's all they want to hear No, they don't like it when I'm down.

As if responding to his own never-ending worries expressed in the first verse, Mack thinks to himself that no one wants to hear his troubles and in a powerful act of honesty puts this on record. The wording of good news that's all they want to hear recalls the calming question, do you want the good news or bad news first?

It seems like they only want the good news while skipping over the battle together. And there's a profound truth here, but sometimes we want to hear others are okay, even when it might not be true, simply because we don't want the burden of trying to help them. And often we don't express our bad news or feelings because we don't want to be that burden. The vagueness of they leaves who Mack is talking about up for interpretation. It could be us, his fans, the media, or the public more generally, and or it could be his family and close friends. In the case of his fans, media, or the public at large, Mac might be referring to the impossibility of being both a celebrity and an

We want art to be meaningful, and often the most meaningful art comes by expressing our most vulnerable or darkest feelings. Yet at the same time, we also want our celebrities to appreciate their position in society, and we very often invalidate or fail to empathize with their struggles. I have a tortured soul, you know what I mean? And us with tortured souls, sometimes you try and numb the things that hurt your tortured soul, but in reality, you can't. You have to face your problems. You can't push them down and save them from them. What are your problems, though? You have like the nicest family ever. Your mom's the nicest lady in the world.

Look, man, we're not here talking about the negative. Right now we're talking about good a.m. the album, September 18. 18. In stores, you know what I mean? That's right. Kiermack is forced to play off his admission of struggle with jokes, something he seemed to do often in public interviews. There's a quote that says, from you, the happiest little kids or the saddest little kid in their alone.

Really? Yeah. What did I say that? On Twitter. That's genius. There's a while again. Yeah, wow. Wow.

It's deep. Man, Mac Miller, you're so deep. Yeah. What? Hey, this is where I go goofy to cover up me saying something. We also know from his interview with Zainlow at the time of Swimming's release that Mac felt a pressure or need to assure those around him that he's okay. And you get the urge and the itch to tell people, don't worry, I'm okay, don't worry, I'm okay.

As any listener of Mack Miller's music knows, one place he seemed to feel safe expressing some of his more somber or darker feelings was in his music. But even within the safety of his art, Mack expressed some hesitations. Sometimes I start saying something, and I'd be like, ooh, not there. Let me not go there. Or like, you know what I mean?

Like, I don't know. I guess I'd try and do whatever is natural. And like if I'm writing a super dark verse, I'll lay it down. Yeah. And then decide if that's where I want the song to go. And just so I understand, why would be, if you write something really dark, what would be a reason not to want to, not to think it would be right? I don't think that that's the only aspect of life.

Yeah. Would appear Mac was in a constant balancing act, perpetually debating the places to take his music, knowing all too well the attention and scrutiny his every word is subject to, and the influence he has on others. For someone who is so wholly dedicated himself to the act of creation, it would seem this relentless internal debate was at times exhausting. And a somewhat rare and rostring of tweets following the passing of his musical hero, Prince,

Max said, quote, I just want all of you to understand what these artists that you listen to sacrifice for you. Just appreciate that shit, man. This ain't easy. Motherfuckers give their lives for music. They lose everybody around them. They are left alone with nobody but music and people that listen to it. You guys are very important and thank you always for supporting me, but you have no idea.

Prince is fucking dead. Michael is fucking dead. The list goes on. And everybody wants to talk about drugs. Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs. That's what killed this person. Blah, blah, blah, blah. No, it is music.

And here we are on the internet laughing and talking about people who put everything they have into music and end up with nothing but money. People fucking die. So be grateful for you. for that song that comes on your Pandora, that piece of music that you tweet your girlfriend, somebody died for you, unquote. If these kinds of feelings are what's beneath the surface of good news's hook, if they is us, his audience, it feels like an honest call to remember the humanity of the artists we cherish. Wealth and notoriety doesn't absolve anyone from the human

experience. We should respect and empathize with their struggles as we would anyone else. We might also consider that Mack is addressing his close friends and loved ones in this hook. Throughout the first verse, Mac admitted how he always feels the need to apologize, intrinsically taking the blame for things, even when he's not totally sure he was in the wrong. These feel like intimate confessions that apply more to loved ones or romantic partners than the public. Now we can couple that with the choruses following lines, no, they don't like it when I'm down, but when I'm flying, oh, it makes them so uncomfortable, so different, what's the difference? Given that Mac made a somewhat blatant reference to being high in the verse, it's hard to hear these

lines and not think of Mac flying as a reference to being intoxicated, especially since this high appears to make those around him uncomfortable. It's a dynamic he's discussed before, how his closest friends and loved ones didn't condone his drug use. You know what? I have the people in my life are the same people that have been in my life forever, and it was such a positive effect on the people around me, and I didn't realize it, and I didn't want to, I didn't realize how substantial that would be.

just for me to take care of myself because that's really a thing you know what I mean it's people like you want to take care of those rounds you take care of yourself first you know what I mean and I'm always like yeah right like that's some bullshit but like in reality like that this was this was it and um fear man like you just you just tackle all of that and you realize you had nothing to be afraid of but I like I had to kind of start changing up maybe different ways I did things but but everyone around me had kind of been sitting there like come on man come on you know what I mean so it was like I have people that are the greatest support system ever rather than a bunch of people like what you mean man you don't want this drink

man you don't want this drink man With C C Cumbags With C C CMAX's desire then to lay down for a little while to temporarily indulge in substances as a respite from his cluttered mind It's complicated by the feelings he knows

those closest to him will have about this indulgence. It adds to the weight of living for more than himself, knowing all too well that his actions and desires affect those he cares about most. Of course, there's always the possibility this isn't a drug reference, or at least not entirely one, as Mac being high or down could also simply be a straightforward reference to joy and sadness. Whether he's flying high or down in the dumps, Mac feels people will still have a problem with him. He can't win, he can't possibly please everyone. If that's the case, what's the difference? What's he supposed to do? Mac tries to alleviate his grief, Mac might be in his own from work,

but Mac tries to alleviate his grief by saying that it ain't that bad, that it could always be worse. Calling back to the first verse, Mac might be getting in his own way by saying this, as if refusing to acknowledge his struggle, or feeling like, maybe as a result of comparison, that he has no right to feel this way, especially given his elevated position in society. This sort of comparative thinking is only self-defeating, as each of our struggles are valid,

and thinking about the struggles of others ought to bring empathy and understanding, not the downward spiral of competition. Mac continues by offering a sobering image, singing, I'm running out of gas, hardly anything left, hope I make it home from work, while I'm so tired of being so tired. reinstating the vehicular symbolism of swimming in circles, Mack feels run down, hoping to find relief from his time on the road. Once again, that place of relief is represented by an interior space, the home,

a symbol we also heard used in a similar way on the outro of self-care, when Max sang, let's go back to my crib and play some 45s. It's safer there, I know there's still a war outside. We can spend our nights all liquored up, our mornings high. Can you feel it now? Oblivion. Max running out of gas on good news is a far cry from the high-flying Mac who once said he'd never run out of jet fuel. As we suspected then, that sentiment was an expression of the euphoria of

a moment, thinking the high will last forever. Now we're at the sobering end of the ride, and a depleted mac hopes he has enough gas left in the tank to make his way home. The downtrodden so tired of being so tired also cleverly plays off the tires of a car, a double entendre mac also used on small worlds when he rapped, I'm tired, don't got a spare second. He's exhausted by his own fumes, the very act of being in that car, the ride of fame, work, overthinking, and or substances, leaving him depleted. It again brings to mind those tweets Mac made after Prince's passing, the utter sacrifice and exhaustion caused by giving everything to his art, leaving little energy to expend on anything else, including himself.

Completely burnt out, Mac wonders, why I got to build something beautiful just to go set it on fire? Building off the previous line, the massive energy spent creating something beautiful can simultaneously destroy everything else around you, including the very thing you created. This could be general commentary on personal progress, be it periods of sustained sobriety destroyed by relapse, beautiful romantic relationships destroyed by self-destructive behavior, or any number of improvements we make in our lives that we backtrack on or fail to see through to the end, destroying the progress we made. It's the very essence of the idea of swimming in circles, finding ourselves right back where we started. Following the image of fire, Mac checks his pants

and sings, I'm no liar, but sometimes the truth don't sound like the truth. Even when trying to be honest, we often fail, because what feels true to us may not be true to others. It's technically not a lie if you believe it's the truth, but it doesn't mean it's the truth either. Mack then elaborates saying, I just love the way it sound when I say it. It's what I do. If you know me, it ain't anything new. Here, Mac admits that things he wants to be true sounds so good to him, which is why he says them. It's something we all at times fall victim to, idealizing our lives or filtering our feelings to others, even when we know deep down we're not being completely truthful.

Given Mack's self-admitted tendency to constantly tell others he's okay or fine, we might might wonder if that's what he's admitting to here. People don't want to hear anything but good news, so that's what he tells them, and he's done this so much over the years that those who know him best know this about him, hence the line, it's what I do, if you know me, it ain't anything new. Mack then sings, wake up to the moon, haven't seen the sun in a while, but I heard that the sky still blue. It's a heartbreaking series of lines. Mack wakes up to the moon, meaning he slept all day, and or he wakes up and immediately feels down. Not seeing the sun in a while indicates this is an ongoing pattern. Not only has he been stuck inside, he hasn't even seen the sun from his window since he

sleeps all day. While he knows things are off, those around him are telling him the good news. The sky is still blue. Things are okay, even though for Mac, things are not okay. The world continues to spin and the sun continues to shine with or without him. It makes no difference. The universe carries on regardless, and distressing truth about all of us. This idea extends into the next line. I heard they don't talk about me too much no more, and that's the problem with the closed door. Another iteration of his inside symbolism, Mack uses a closed door to symbolize how he's closed off from the outside world, to the point that the memory of him is beginning to fade. In our episode on 2009, when Mack's saying, I know it's behind that door, we noted that the door

has been a symbolic motif Mac has used his entire career, representing opportunity, connectivity, and engagement with the world. Being behind a closed door thus eliminates those opportunities for connectivity. He's unable to know the world or other people because he's closed off, whether that be because he's stuck inside his mind or because he's kept his true thoughts inside for too long. Those neighbors that could be friends might not be talking about Mac anymore. He might have missed his chance. Continuing to grapple with public perception, Mack offers another rendition of the chorus, a chorus which, according to John Bryan, we almost never heard.

So once we settled on a chord change, then we started going to town with basic structure. And he came into the control room and he was really excited. He's like, this is great. I love this. I'm like, I'm really into it too. And he started singing over it in the control room. And he sang the chorus of good news. And I look up and go, that's great.

Run onto the mic. He's like, really? Same thing. I swear to God, he said, really? I'm like, yes, that's the chorus. And then he really was like, taken it back. He's like, I don't know, I was thinking maybe this could be some other song in a very rare moment of taking the chance on changing the vibe.

Just went, no, you're wrong. That's the chorus. Go sing it. If you hate it later and we want to argue about it, fine. But go do that. I'm like, that makes perfect sense with everything these other lyrics are about. and your combination of self-awareness and how you worry certain things about you will be perceived,

that's perfect. And at this moment in time and this world where everybody's Twitter and Instagram self-aware as opposed to human self-aware, again, that's not something I created, that's something he was doing, and I was only asking him to recognize that it was already great.

Hearing Brian's dissection of the chorus and its interaction with the verses, forget a sense that good news as a perfect representation of what Max said earlier, that sometimes he'll say something in a song and say, oh, let me not go there. It's a human admission, a natural act of second-guessing, but luckily we have a moment where two human beings accepted

and used honesty for growth. Brian heard Mack's confessions, and Mack heard Brian's support, and the transcendent beauty of good news could be shared proof of the benefit of human connection, of the blessed interaction between all of us, here and beyond, and our unlimited capacity to create and grow if only we help each other move past our earthly limitations.

Mack begins the third verse singing, there's a whole lot more for me waiting on the other side. I'm always wondering if it feel like summer. This feels like a continuation of the previous verse, where Mack was hearing that the sky was still blue behind his closed door. At the same time, wondering if it feels like summer brings the track full circle, back to his mental spring cleaning in preparation for the warmer month of summer. And so on one level, the other side seems to refer to the other side of the door,

outside, and the world he can potentially interact and connect with, opportunities that only exist when one engages with others. There he could see for himself if the sky were blue and enjoy the sun firsthand. But the phrase other side is perhaps most commonly used to describe the afterlife, the other side of death, which also feels like a valid interpretation here. Perhaps this summary destination is the light of heaven, or an afterlife where Matt can finally lie down without the burden of figuring it all out. That summer childlike joy of freedom appeals as an idea, realized respite. Mankind is theorized about what happens after death, what happens on the other side, ever since we've realized we wouldn't be here forever. Will it be nice? Will it be worse? Will it be

anything at all? Completely human and vulnerably honest, Mack contemplates, as we all do at times, what's waiting for us after our passing. These kinds of thoughts can be misconstrued as dark or morbid and we often keep them to ourselves, in line with our constant attempts to only express good news. But here Mac bravely wonders out loud for all of our sake. He then holds steady singing, I know maybe I'm too late, I can make it there some other time. I'll finally discover that there's a whole lot more for me waiting. It's a beautiful recognition as Mack allows himself to come to peace with his own pace, to accept his path and experience of water in its totality.

He's not seeking the end, he's not running from the end. It'll happen eventually, and then he'll discover what's waiting. At this point, we realize Mack looking towards the other side as him looking for something new and wondering if it's good. Just like us, he's looking for good news. repeating the initial phrasing of the verse, Mack finds a grounded, real vision of all that is waiting for us on the other side, as he sings, I know maybe I'm too late, I could make it there some other time, then I'll finally discover that it ain't that bad, ain't so bad, at least it don't got to be no more. Once again, Mac could be talking about the other side of death here. If so, Mack doesn't seem fearful, but rather thinks it won't be so bad, perhaps imagining it as a place he can finally get some rest.

Matt could also be talking about the other side of the door that leads outside, out of his head, discovering that it ain't so bad out there in the world. Often anxiety can cause us to magnify potential conflicts to the point they appear insurmountable, but when we actually take action and try, well, it ain't that bad. We find we can handle it after all. And so it's possible that Mack here is saying that he knows once he actually steps outside, like he's done in the past, it won't be as detrimental as anxiety makes it out to be. He can ignore the pressure to only express good news, to act or be or feel a certain way and just live freely. Be at life or death, the acceptance, faith, and trust present in these closing lines

is a central piece of understanding Mac expoused at the time of swimming. Quote, I think there's a bit of freedom in knowing that people are going to think all types of shit no matter what. It actually makes me less stressed about how my actions are perceived. It's out of my control. You have to have your own reality, and that has to be the driving force of your life. Everything has so much weight, but it's all just chapters. It's all just pieces of the story.

There's going to be a next part. It's not a big deal. It's not. That's the thing. Trust. The more I trust in who I am as a human being, the more I'm like, okay, this will all kind of figure itself out,

as long as I do what feels natural, unquote. This feeling of acceptance during this period was also observed by those closest to Mack. As Vic Weinstein described, quote, With circles, I saw the Malcolm that finally made peace with a lot of his demons. That opened him up to be able to accommodate this artistic growth and take mentally healthy strides.

He was able to be genuinely happy. It spilled over into what he did with his time. He enjoyed hanging out with friends again. He didn't have to go get wasted. A lot of people talk about his addiction, which wasn't one at all. A lot of the weird error that came after his death, they thought he was an addict or depressed,

and it was none of that, unquote. And to this latter point, there does seem to be a somewhat natural tendency to interpret posthumous work with a magnified lens focused solely on mortality, to point to certain lines and claim morbid foreshadowing. intentional or not. While there are, of course, some eerie coincidences on circles, even specifically here on good news, it doesn't seem like a person forecasting his own end, as much as it is the

byproduct of an artist who continually used as art to explore and confront the deepest aspects of the human experience, an artist who looked deep inside himself and shared whatever he found with the world, be it good news or bad. Every MacMiller album did this. Swimming in Circles is simply the most mature articulation in his ever-evolving career, and the one that ended up close to the world. to his untimely passing. And what we risk when becoming lost and parsing clues for morbid angles is missing the life that's so abundantly present in these great works. To again quote one of Mac's longtime friends, Nick Thierro, I'm really happy circles as providing a sense of closure and peace for a lot of people. I hope people see both sides of this record, not just for the

ways in which it is somber and sobering, in the way that it is someone grappling with themselves. I would hope people don't overlook the lightness and hopefulness on the album that maybe doesn't reveal itself as immediately as other aspects. It is an album of hopefulness, and I would hope that people are taking away that aspect as much as, if not more than, the heavier themes of the record, unquote. Indeed, of all the songs on circles, good news perhaps best exemplifies this balance of someone truly grappling with themselves in the most pointed and deepest ways possible, while simultaneously providing hope in the face of the darker realities of our time here. This is the good news Mac ultimately leaves us with on the track. Outside, life, it ain't so far.

bad. And the other side, death. Well, that won't be so bad either whenever we happen to get there. It's all a part of whatever this all is. We don't need no more.