Dissect - S9E6 - Wings by Mac Miller

Episode Date: November 9, 2021

We continue our season-long analysis of Mac Miller’s Swimming with its sixth track, “Wings.” Shop Season 9 merchandise here. 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

There are few objects that are symbolically as potent as the rose. Perfect in its encapsulation of the Earth's ability to naturally produce beauty. We have appropriately chosen the rose to symbolize love, the most powerful and potent of human emotions. Roses are what we give our mothers as a gesture of appreciation on Mother's Day. They're what we give our lovers as a gesture of affection on anniversaries. We believe so much in the symbolic power of the rose that we think a bouquet of them will somehow correct a mistake we made and help with the process of forgiveness. But because of their overwhelming positive connotations, we often forget that in their natural state, roses have thorns, that if we don't handle them with caution, they will quite literally make us bleed. And a similar thing

can be said about wings, which symbolically are commonly attributed to the heavenly transcendence of angels or the freedom of flight. But Lucifer also had wings, so did Icarus, and their respective falls from Grace remind us that flight carries with it the potential for a devastating fall. Ever the complete thinker, Mac Miller has shown throughout swimming that he understands this kind of duplicity, and in our episode today, we'll observe how Mack uses both roses and wings to reveal that even the most beautiful things in the world have the potential to hurt us, and what we might do in the face of that reality. From Spotify, I'm Cole Kushna, and this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis,

broken into short digestible episodes. Today we continue our serialized examination of MacMiller Swimming with its sixth track, Wings. MacMillers Wings was produced by Alexander Spitt and revolves around two chords that repeat throughout the entire track. Like every song on Swimming thus far, these chords are affected in such a way that they sound as if they're submerged underwater. Now in our last episode, we detailed how the song Perfecto ended harmonically unresolved, and how the first chord of self-care resolved that tension, harmonically binding the two tracks together, something we saw reflected in the song's themes as well. And if you recall, we also noted last episode how Self-Care's ending

is musically unresolved in a very similar manner as Perfecto's ending. This final chord is a B-diminished chord. This chord is tonally ambiguous and is most commonly used as a transition chord. Inherently, as listeners, we want that chord to move somewhere else to resolve the tension, which is what makes the ending of self-care a cliffhanger of sorts. The thing about diminished chord specifically is that they are somewhat open-ended on where exactly they can resolve. You can probably guess where this is going, but knowing how perfecto and self-care paired together, we ought to look at how the final chord of self-care sounds next to the first

chord of wings. Here they are back-to-back. Sounds pretty smooth, right? We can find more evidence that there is some intention in pairing these songs together when we observe the fact that the end of self-care contains no silence at the end of the track. Typically, when a song ends, there's a second or two of silence added to the end, which provides a breath between successive songs on an album. But self-care doesn't have that, so it butts right up against wings. Yeah. Looking now at perfecto, self-care, and wings, it seems that there is some intention in linking these three successive songs together. Something will keep in mind as we dive into the song's

lyrics. I got a bone to pick like roses, roses. I ain't feeling broken no mom. Bought a fist that gossiping I noticed. Talking shit I wandered through the motives. Wonder who the fuck is supposed to be. I ain't worried now until I leave. I'm just trying to ride and feel the breeze with something bad besides next to me. Mac begins a song rapping, I Got a Bone to Pick Like Roses. The phrase I Got a Bone to Pick is an expression used for voicing a complaint that needs to be addressed. Maximile of Like Roses plays on picking roses or flowers out of the ground.

Usually we give roses as a proclamation of love or a desire for forgiveness. It's an expression of care, to see something beautiful in the earth, think of someone, and offer it to them as a symbol of love. But as we mentioned at the top, a rose stem is also full of thorns. is the bones of the rose will prick or pick those who attempt to hold it. As Matt continues, we get a sense of who he might be addressing. He wraps, I ain't feeling broken no more, balled a fist, they gossiping, I notice, talking shit, I wander through the motives. Mac not feeling broken builds off him having a bone to pick, and we see that he's feeling ready to fight, bawling his fist when he noticed others gossiping about him. In the context of 2018,

Mac might be referring to being in the tabloids due to his car accident or breakup with Ariana Grande. In terms of his entire career, it might refer to negative press or critical reviews. Either way, Mac isn't feeling broken anymore, ready to fight back against the gossip or misconceptions about his welfare. The line, wandering through the motives, captures Mack exploring the reasons why folks might gossip, trying to get at their intent. This leads us into the next line, wonder who the fuck we're supposed to be. I ain't worried now until I leave. This gives us a clue into the sort of gossip he's been hearing, that it's about who Mack is supposed to be,

or who are all supposed to be. It's something that seemed to preoccupy Mack's mind, a line of thinking he addressed with Voltra at the time, saying, quote, A lot of times in my life I put this pressure to hold myself to the standard of being whatever I thought I was supposed to be, or how I was supposed to be perceived. And that creates pressure.

I just think that now I'm kind of in this place where I have this force field around me of what reality is and what it's not, and that makes it less concerning to me. It's annoying to be out and someone comes up to me and thinks they know me, unquote. During the time of swimming, Mack also seemed to have devised a solution to this struggle over perception. Instead of worrying, as perhaps he had in the past, Mac decided to accept the situation as it was, saying, quote, I could live this squeaky clean life, I could try to control the media, but I've just been finding a freedom and just living and letting people say whatever the fuck they want. Like, do I

really, really care what Hollywood life is saying? If I read a headline and I'm like, wow, that's completely untrue. I'm kind of like, that's as far as it goes. Okay, cool. So a bunch of kids think that now. Fine. As long as I have people that are hearing my music and there's still that relationship, unquote. As Matt gets at here, his plan and emphasis for identity was on the infinite relationships created by artists, art, and audience. Matt created a body of work. There are people that listen to that body of work, and there was a connective relationship between artist and audience created through that process. This connection through art, rather than through the maelstrom of public life,

was the connection Max sought that allowed him to moderate his worry or anxiety. You can't get lost in perception. Like, dude, like, I don't know who people think I am. I was like, you know, I was like a little, like suburban kid for a while, never grew up in the suburbs, that's cool. I was a junkie, like I was this, I was that. Like, I don't know, I'm just right here right now. I have an album that I'm proud of and can't let the...

I get excited. Mirroring this tenuous relationship between perception and presence, Matt continues wings expressing his aspirations, rapping, I'm just trying to ride and feel the breeze, with something bad beside and next to me. Here Matt continues the motifs of cars we've heard throughout the album, which up until now have been used as symbols of living recklessly and indulging in substances.

But this particular line feels different. He expresses a desire to, just peacefully cruise, flowing with the breeze, present in the moment and accepting of the natural flow of his travels. He also expresses a desire for companionship for someone to ride along with him in his travels, which seems to connect to the symbolism of the rose at the start of the verse. Cleverly, this line about cruising and feeling the breeze signals a slight shift in the instrumental, as a snare drum is introduced, propelling the song forward. Next to me, wind in my face, don't stop now when I feel so great.

You can run to slip on the sidewalk and the same bone that you pick on break. That's a motif. That's a motif. Yeah. When it's coming right back, so familiar, never been realer. Never felt so damn good where I'm at. I don't know what it's on. Mac continues the verse rapping,

Wind in my face, don't stop now when it feels so great. Fully in tune and present in his surroundings, Mac expresses a desire to maintain this level of mindfulness. This is similar to inertia. The idea that if an object is in motion and is not influenced by outside forces, it will stay in motion. Now driving, in control of the car, aware of the road and the wind in his face, it's no wonder that Mack wants this sense of calm and control to last forever. While he's enjoying the ride, Mac notes,

you can run until you slip on the sidewalk in the same bone that you pick go and break. That's a motif. It feels like he's speaking from experience, and from Mac's dirty feet on the cover art, we can see that he's run his fair share. Running on the sidewalk appears to be a representation of taking the hard path and trying to stay on the straight and narrow. To take this path is harder on the individual, hence Max saying the bone he's picking will break. That is, on the journey of self-improvement, if he were to put himself under more stress than necessary, he would just end up broken again.

This danger of slipping and falling on the sidewalk continues the album's motific fixation on slipping, tripping and falling as representations of depression and pain. The mention of a sidewalk might also be a reference to the poem where the sidewalk ends by Shell Silverstein, who we know Mack was a big fan of. It's in this poem that the sidewalk is symbolic of a path laid out for us by society, and the end of the sidewalk is a place of imagination and freedom from the rigid structures of our society. While earlier Mack wandered through the motives of gossip and wondered who we were supposed to be, he now notes that if he just runs on these sidewalks, pounding the pavement of the establish normal paths of life, he'll break himself on the inside. This is the central concern of

wings. Can Mack make a normal life for himself? If he keeps picking bones with himself, will he hurt himself? Can he make healthy, positive choices without overdoing it? Self-reflection and change is necessary for growth, but too much might be overkill. So before Mack had a bone to pick and wasn't feeling broken anymore, but now Mac worries that the bone he picks is going to break. He's talking in circles, his concerns coming back over and over again. That's a motif, which Max says directly, twice in a row, almost as it breaking the fourth wall. He then follows saying, yeah, when it's coming right back, so familiar, never been realer, never felt so damn good where I'm at. The repetition of that's a motif parallels the meaning of the phrase, which is a repeated idea or symbol in a piece of

art. In music specifically, it's a recurring musical fragment, a small idea that's repeated and developed in different ways throughout a piece. We've heard a number of motifs thus far on swimming, the most prominent being the recurring water-inspired sounds that form the basis of every track. Producer John Bryan said that Mack would consistently ask him for water sounds, explaining, quote, he had this whole aquatic theme that came out of something we talked about while he was working on swimming. I noticed he mentioned water a few times in the lyrics, and then that grew into all these discussions about water and what it sounds like. That became a kind of running joke, unquote. Textually, we've heard Matt constantly developing motifs centered around movement,

be it swimming, flying, walking, running, climbing, driving, riding, or gliding, all metaphors for the way we move through and experience life. In particular, flying through the air or swimming and water are developed as two sides of the same coin, both being experiences of floating, one high, one low. We've also seen his different vehicles used motivocally, as well as the weather being a representation of his mood, and the difference between being indoors and outdoors as Mack being stuck in his head or living out in the world. Even altitude becomes a motif, as Mac oscillates between underwater, the surface, and the sky. In wings, Mack uses the bone to pick as the motif that illuminates his own heavy use of motifs, that is, his fight with himself,

which repeats over and over again. Motifs derive their meaning from repetition to the point of familiarity, to the point of a relationship developing. Hence when MacRaps, so familiar, never been realer, never felt so damn good where I'm at, we see that growing relationship and familiarity as building blocks of reality, presence, and contentment. The recurring element of motifs even reflects the concept of swimming in circles. The idea that our experiences, efforts, and emotions are cyclical, but with each repetition, we accumulate more and more experience and wisdom, and therefore better equipped to recognize the patterns and relationships, which hopefully translates to navigating our journey with more and more efficiency, acceptance, and peace. Mac described how the motifs and swimming

were a direct result of being true to himself. When asked what the theme of the album was, Mac said, quote, I didn't think of what the topical theme was going to be. I thought of the sonic theme, and then I just tried to write shit that was as real to me as possible. And I think in that, a theme creates itself. The goal is trying to be the most myself, get better and try to make this a reflection of who I am. The one thing I know for sure that I can do that no one else can do is whatever this is, whoever I am. It's just trying to get there as much as possible.

My goal is trying to find some type of comfort. I think the last wish I made was for peace of mind probably, unquote. When it's coming right back, so familiar, never been realer, never felt so damn good where I'm at. I don't know what it's all about. Running through the many thoughts to count. That's way better. Still ain't adding up.

I'll let you know when I had enough. Matt continues his verse, I don't know what it's all about. On its own, this is a powerful bit of truth. We have to come to peace with this great existential unknowing. As we've been experiencing throughout swimming, it's not an album that pretends to have some final answer. Rather, it's an album that illuminates the predicament of the human experience, reveals the patterns and habits we fall into

so that we can try to handle it better and allow ourselves to be more empathetic toward the struggles of each individual we encounter. Matt continues saying that he's running through, through too many thoughts to count, still ain't adding up. I'll let you know when I've had enough. Mack here illustrates that he doesn't know what it's all about, that he can't keep up with or make sense of the many motives and motifs that run through his head. Cleverly, the line, I'll let you know when I've had enough signals an abrupt end to

Mack's verse, leaving the next two measures void of vocals. It seems that Mack has had enough and puts an end to the thoughts running through his head, allowing him to appreciate the beauty of the present moment he's in, which we witness along with him in the pre-chorus. I let you know when I had enough Yeah I put some money on forever But I Don't like to gamble on the weather

So I just watch Well The sun is shining I can look at the horizon The walls keep getting wider I just hope I never find them I know Mac switches from rap to singing for the pre-chorus.

He says, I put some money on forever, but I don't like to gamble on the weather. The notion of putting money on forever would be a bet that his wonderful feeling will last forever. It'd be a bet on stability, but if there's anything we know, Mac knows, is that feelings don't last forever,

that they are forever shifting, changing, and recurring. This leads to Max saying he doesn't like to gamble on the weather. As we've noted, weather throughout the album has been used as a symbol for emotion, and their shifting often unpredictable quality. Mack's experience provides him to wisdom to not naively expect his good feeling to last forever, allowing him to more fully appreciate and be present with the feeling when it comes. This leads to the next line, so I just watch while the sun is shining, I can look at the horizon.

Understanding that Mack being outside has been a motivic symbol for him not being stuck in his own head or hiding from the world inside, both of which have led to Mac indulging. This moment stands as a bright, wondrous moment of serenity, and mindfulness. Just as recently as the end of self-care, Mack had been scared, stuck inside his house because there's a war outside. But now that he's in the fight, he realizes that it's not only okay, but offers moments of unmatched beauty, ones he can't get inside. Mac then sings, the walls keep getting wider, I just hope I never find them, I know. The walls here are tied to the idea of being inside. There are the limitations of the experience of a life live purely in

one's own head or isolated indoors. Now outside, out of his head, feeling the breeze and watching the sunset, Mac is freed from their confinement, and he wishes that they never return, becoming as distant as the expansive horizon currently in front of him. The beauty of this moment extends into the song's chorus, which will experience right after the break. Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we heard Mac experience the beauty of being outside, free from constricting walls fully present in the moment. As the song continues into the chorus, Mack attaches this feeling to the idea of having wings. Mack recites the beautiful chorus singing, These Are My Wings Three Times,

his airy vocals stretched out and gliding. Wings are a potent and bountiful symbol, and Mack's use of these is open-ended, meaning that all that makes up the song are his wings, the music, the lyrics, his focus on trying to be present. These are the things keeping him afloat. If we listen closely to Mack's vocals during this part, we can find a pretty clever use of panning to create word painting, which is what is called when

the music reflects the lyrics being sung. But to understand the moment fully, we have to back up a second to the song's pre-chorus. It's there that we hear a number of vocal tracks. There's a main vocal, which is in the center of the mix, meaning you'll hear it equally on both the left and right speakers. Then there are more airy backing vocal tracks hard-paned left and hard-panned right. This will only really work if you're listening on headphones, but see if you can pick it out, Mack's main vocal in the center and backing vocals hard pan to the left and hard pan to the right. This technique gives the part a three-dimensional sound, something we know Mack was extremely focused on with the production of swimming, trying to create a world you can live inside. Now when we get to the chorus and Mack sings, These Are My Wings, notice how the main center vocal actually drops out, leaving only the airy backing,

vocals hard-pan left and right, you know, like wings. Historically, wings have always captured humankind's imagination, as they are a natural mechanism for freedom that we do not have. They're an aspirational liberty, something above our earthly woes, enabling you to move amongst the ephemeral sky. It's easy to recognize their appeal as an alleviation from the weight mac has been shouldering on swimming. In terms of flight, we see wings on planes, on angels, and on demons. Wings wings can glide, catching the wind and flying without effort, or we can flap our wings, exerting ourselves to navigate the space.

If we think about them in relation to Mack's water motif, we might think of water wings, there to help novice swimmers keep afloat, or realize that a fish's fins might as well be wings as they soar through the ocean. Of course, the heights offered by wings in flight are also potentially representative of getting high, of abusing substances to rise above the struggle of our earthly plane. However, on this track, Mac shows a desire to transcend the human condition of suffering by being present, by experiencing life, rather than by using drugs. There's an experience he talked about in relation to a sobriety, and while it can come off

as corny to say that someone should get high on life, there's a real energy to emotions and moments experienced in their raw form. All of a sudden, just being completely clear-headed was like, uh, that was the new high. You know what I mean? Because it's like, oh, wow. I'm feeling things. And I was kind of scared that I wouldn't be able to create. But I was like, wow, I'm a superhero.

You know what I mean? Because I can feel like, you know what I mean? This is actual real happiness. This is real sadness. This isn't like, you know, me putting some, going to the pharmacy, trying to pick a motion and put it together. You know, this is like a real. This is, this is the world that I've been hiding from.

This is me like channeling that energy. and letting it kind of go through me and putting it out creatively. As Mac describes here, he found an ability to go on when he realized he could feel emotions naturally and that he could channel them into his creations, into his music. This is the artistic pursuit of receiving, channeling, and transmitting the human experience. It's this immortalizing act of creation,

one that defies the destruction of death that serves as Mac's wings. Yeah, moving so fast, the clock looks slow. Slough. Water mine seeds to the fly, just grow. Yeah, love so much to my heart get broke. I don't really know how the normal shit go. So. Mac begins the second verse rapping, moving so fast, the clock looks slow. This either purposefully or coincidentally refers to Einstein's theory of relativity as it pertains to time and time dilation. That is, time is a subjective quantity, not a universal measurement. And time can accelerate or decelerate depending on how fast we move relative to something else.

We've seen Mac move fast before, whether taking the wheel at dangerous speeds or in reference to living life in the fast lane of celebrity. Here it seems Mac is expressing how this pace has warped his entire perception to the point that a normal pace or life feels too slow. This notion of overdoing things continues with the next string of lines. Water my seeds to the flower just grow. Love so much that my heart get broke. I don't know how that normal shit go.

Collectively, these lines express how Mack tends to take things to their extremes. be it moving too fast, over-watering his garden, or loving too intensely that he ends up getting heartbroken. But here, in the midst of the song's slow, methodical tempo, Mac is taking the time to reflect on that tendency, falling in line with the song's overall theme of taking the time to appreciate the moment and move at a more sustainable pace. Interestingly, these three excessive ideas all play into the song's opening lines, contributing to the development of different motifs. Moving too fast recalls his warning of falling on the sidewalk and breaking a bone, but now he's moving too fast and breaking his heart. Watering his seeds too much prevents them from blossoming

into a rose, which also plays into the motif of love. As he recognizes his patterns, Mac admits, I don't really know how that normal shit go. Understanding that he isn't operating at sustainable or regular altitude, it seems Mac is going to try and rain it in. If life is lived soaring high, perhaps what's below can look slow or uninteresting. But to continue the song's central motif, if we're flying, the dangers are both in going too high or too low. Too high and we run the risk of falling prey to the same fate of Icarus from Greek mythology, whose wings melted when he flew too close to the sun, sending him plummeting to his doom, too low and were in danger of crashing into the ground. Safety and sustainability reside at cruising altitude, which feels motivocally

tied to the previous idea of inertia. We have to try and feel satisfied here, in the middle, finding fulfillment and beauty not only in the highs of big moments, but in everyday things, like the sunrise or quiet drive Mac mentioned previously. I don't really know how the normal shit go. So I guess I just play up by ear. Silence is all that I hear. Listening in close as I can. Growing up, one, two, three.

Jump. Nobody holding my hand on. Trust is a problem. Never knew how. Yeah. That's why I just keep to myself. Get what I need. Please tell me out.

Mac embarks on his attempt to live normally, I guess I just play it by ear, silence is all that I hear, listening close as I can. The phrase play it by ear means to react to a situation and respond spontaneously in the moment, but is also used in music to play an instrument or song by using your ear instead of using sheet music. Max's listening as close as he can, implying that he's trying his best, and what he hears is silence, which might mean he doesn't feel any guiding sense of direction, or it might be a nod to the silence often associated with calm or tranquility. When collaborating with producer Rick Rubin, Mac said Rubin taught him transcendental meditation

and the importance of calmness, quote, Just being still and how important it is to be able to quiet your mind and be honest with yourself. There's a great deal of bullshit that people think about when they make music, things that don't matter. Transcendental meditation kind of wipes that away, and you focus on the real job at hand, as opposed to thinking about what management wants or what the record company saying or what somebody at a radio station might think, unquote. tapping into this pure consciousness, Mac wraps, growing up, one, two, three, jump. There seems to be a few things going on here. First, the line seems like a callback to watering his seeds,

or before he was over-watering, now and being patient, he grows. Also, if we do as Mac says, if we listen as close as we can, we notice that as Mac counts, the instrumental behind him drops out, silence, just like Mac mentioned he heard just a few lines back. All we hear is the one, two, three, which cleverly nods to his current vocal cadence as he's just started rapping in a triplet flow, which is defined by a one, two, three count. But it also more obviously refers to what children say before they take a big leap off of something. This seems to be another reason why Mack says, growing up, and then jump after the count. It feels like a leap of faith into adulthood, as Mac uses the image to pivot to adult issues. He wraps, nobody holding my hand,

no, trust is a problem, never knew how, yeah, that's why I just keep to myself. Mack's been looking for companionship on wings ever since he wanted something bad beside him on his drive in the first verse. Now we get insight into why the seat next to him is empty. His trust problem is both a fear of falling as well as an issue of acceptance. While he's trying to be in the present moment and accept imperfection, it seems as a recognized struggle to accept the imperfections of others, to trust them, which in light of the start of the first verse and Mack having to contend with people always gossiping about him, it's not hard to understand why he might feel this way.

But in any interpersonal relationship, if you're too concerned with what could happen, you miss what is happening. And is this over-interiority that's going to deteriorate Max's ideas as the verse continues, reflecting that although he's evoked bliss, mindfulness, and the divine, the other more negative emotions are bound to return, like a circle. That's why I just keep to myself, get what I need, tell me out. Who can surf the universe with me, lose the first humans, so are we, all I ever want is what I need, and that don't include you. time and company. Follow me, we're on up and up. Remember when I owe to 100 bucks. Now I look around

like what the fuck. If you don't fuck with me, you fucking up. Matt continues the verse wrapping, get what I need, then I'll be out. It's a transactional look at the relationships he seems to be missing. However, this approach rarely works out with dealing with human beings. To need anything is to desire, the root of suffering. If we could truly accept each moment of our life, we would not need anything but what is there. While it's possible that standing on its own, Mack is saying that he'll get what he needs by being alive until he's out or has passed away, he's about to list a few desires, solidifying the second half of this verse as a fall from the appreciative flight Mack has been on. Reeling in his loneliness, Mac asks, Who Can Surf the Universe with Me?

Playing off the swimming motif, connecting the imagery of surfing to traversing the universe, continues the fusion of water and space heard throughout the album, highlighting the parallels of our highs and lows. And while Mac is seeking this eternal connection with someone that can stand the tides, he notes an underlying condition in himself and each of us that make this difficult, rapping, Lucifer is human, so are we. The story of Lucifer is the story of Satan or the devil in Christianity. Once an angel, Lucifer defied God and fell from heaven. While the Bible doesn't necessarily state that Lucifer reigns over hell, in Dante's divine comedy, the most widely known Italian literature of the 14th century. Lucifer is a devil with wings who inflicts suffering upon

the Denzians of hell. This biblical illusion is particularly potent in a song titled Wings. Just as Lucifer lost his place as an angel, we're reminded that we could all lose our wings. In the case of Lucifer, it was the sin of pride that led to his downfall, hence the proverbial, pride comes before the fall. Mack notes that Lucifer is human and that he committed sin and reminds us that this is our condition, or imperfect with a capacity for great evil. This idea of inherent dangerous qualities is reminiscent of the thorns on a rose that began this song, which we realize now was foreshadowing the song's thematic dual structure.

Mack then wraps, All I ever want is what I need, and that don't include your time and company. Here he's full of bravado. Turning on his earlier intent to only get what he needs and leave, Mack expands his needs to include his wants, those superfluous desires inessential to our survival. It's a demonic turn, evidence of Max shunning others, even though we know he's expressed a desire for companionship.

These lines are also evocative of addiction. If we need something that isn't absolutely crucial to our living, to the point we can hurt ourselves or others, we are addicted. In the throes of social anxiety and depression, we can feel empty. Perhaps we try to fill those holes with consumption, or perhaps we try to seclude ourselves, burrowing away out of shame or fear. We are naturally incomplete. We will always have holes. and we need to accept these. But here, Mack becomes a fiend for sin and desire. He then continues rapping, Follow me, we yon the up and up. Remember when I owed a hundred bucks. If we view this

line with an optimistic lens, Mac is seeming to invite those he previously tossed aside to come with him on a path of ascension. In this light, the memory of owing a hundred bucks, a symbol of low status and being beholden to someone else, is a motivating reminder to keep going. But the irony of Mack ascending while referencing the fallen Lucifer, belies the way. ways our society often rewards sin. Mack's journey upwards here is being measured by money, a fickle value, reflected of the sin he's confessing. It's a far cry from him peacefully appreciating the sunset on the horizon in the pre-chorus. This memory is also possibly a reference to Mack's teenage years. In 2013, he told Complex that as a teen, he and his friends would steal from people

at parties to pay for studio time, and he had a brief stint as an unsuccessful drug dealer, sometimes having to ask his parents to pay off debts or for studio time. Quote, There were times when I was down really bad. I was like, Mom, could I have 50 bucks? I need to pay for the studio. But I didn't want to do that. I wanted to do it myself.

Same reason I'm not on a major. This is something I always wanted to build on my own and didn't feel right to have that privilege of being the kid in there because his mom and dad paid for it, unquote. Now from an elevated status, Matt continues rapping. Now I look around like, what the fuck, If you don't fuck with me, you fucking up. He's turning on others, admonishing them if they don't want to be like him.

In a passage highlighting our worst qualities, Mack here at the end of the verse reveals the inevitable conclusion of this kind of attitude, loneliness, aggression, and heartlessness. He's run until he slipped on the sidewalk, falling up and breaking himself. If you don't fuck with me, you're fucking up. I know I need to wash my temper, so I don't never gamble on the weather. I just watch while the sun is shining, I can't ever get the weather,

I just hope I never find them, no, no. Calling himself out for the attitude he just displayed, Mack changes the pre-chorus slightly, singing, I know I need to watch my temper, so I don't ever gamble on the weather. But I just watch while the sun is shining, I can look at the horizon, the walls keep getting wider, I just hope I never find them. Mac watching his temper is indication that he's aware of his emotions, especially in light of that second verse. The pre-chorus then offers a mantra, a chance for Mack to re-center himself and move forward once more with the present moment,

observing the sunshine and looking out at the Grand Horizon, the open future. He began the song ready to fight and has pumped himself up throughout the track, but here he keeps a mindful eye on himself more aware of how he's acting. This illustrates why Mack knows not to gamble on the weather, as we just saw his mood shift drastically within a single song. Thus, Mack choosing temper is the perfect word choice. As a noun, temper refers to a person's state of mind. It is most often used in reference to flashes of anger. However, as a verb, to temper means to act as a neutralizing, balancing force, which Mack does hear by reminding himself to stay

present. And we hear this occurring in real time in the song's final chorus and extended musical outro. Recalling the Rick Rubin quote about music being a way to stay present, we hear Mac once again repeat, These Are My Wings, Pan, left and right, gliding on into the music's expansive horizon, soaring on the winds of his instruments, feeling the breeze beneath his wings. Conclusions. As swimming has progressed, it's become increasingly clear that one of MacMillers' greatest talents is his unique ability to capture the simultaneity of emotion.

The last four tracks have been connected not only by the sequence of harmonic resolutions of the track's endings and beginnings, but also their respective titles and main symbols. What's the use both asked the existential question while simultaneously dismissing it? Perfecto worked to accept imperfections as perfect. Self-care was an anthem of self-improvement, while acknowledging that the ways we choose to care for ourselves can sometimes be the very things that destroy us. And now, on the current track,

Mack captures the duality of the wing symbolism. While wings are most commonly attributed to angels, Mac reminds us that even the devil has wings. The song is likewise filled with moments of transcendent beauty and prideful egotism and anger. This is where our wings can carry us. we can soar or come crashing down. The same dualism exists in the song's secondary symbol,

the thorned rose, a reminder that even the most beautiful of the Earth's creations have the capacity to hurt us. This kind of persistent expression of the simultaneity of experience isn't a common attribute of typical narrative structure. In a traditional story, the protagonist begins in an ordinary, neutral state and is then challenged by some obstacle that reveals their shortcomings.

Through a series of trials and experiences, the protagonist typically overcomes the obstacle, gaining some valuable knowledge in the process, thus transforming them into a more complete improved version of themselves. And while this timeless story arc makes for a great symbolic journey, it's not completely accurate to our day-to-day experiences and emotions, which are far more complex and frankly messy. We can feel great one moment and like shit the next. A bad day can be made good by the smallest of kind gestures. A trivial problem can seem enormous in the moment, while the larger overarching struggles we face can often feel too massive to comprehend with

any clarity. And that's the kind of realism the music of Mac Miller captures so elegantly, as a song like Wings finds Mack expressing both the beauty and the thorn stem of the proverbial rose, learning to temper himself from soaring too high or too low and maintaining a sustainable cruising altitude. Indeed, as author of the book of Mac, Donna Claire Chesman wrote for DJ Booth, quote, Wings teaches us a worthy lesson, so long as we can find one beautiful thing a day, you can survive. Those small things, the importance of minutia, and how it spirals into a whole life, those are our wings. We realize that the whole of the song, the whole of the music, are Max wings. It is everything beautiful in this life. Our wings are personalized. There are no rules.

Anything can be made to have value and can thus be crafted by us into wings. If swimming is an album about saving yourself, then wings is a song about turning the motions of ordinary life into our life raps. This episode of Dysect was written by Camden Ostrander and me. If you enjoyed today's episode, please tell a friend about the show or share on social media and tag at Dysect podcast. It really helps. Theme music by Bureaucratic. Song Recreations by Andrew Ratwood. Audio editing by Eric Bass and me. If you haven't already, check out my other show on Spotify called Keynotes, where each episode I analyze songs of all genres tied together by a musical theme. That's Keynotes only on Spotify. Thanks everyone. Talk to you next week.

Thank you.