Mac Miller - Swimming (August 3, 2018) Album • Page 5

honestly liked the raw/leaked version a bit more but I'm glad this gorgeous song got a wide release

 

Wow, the lyrics to this are so fucking powerful given the situation. It almost feels like an intentional farewell song. I'm legit still not over his death, usually when an artist I like passes away that sadness kind of fades into the background eventually but this one still feels like it just happened. I really hope that Circles exists and we get it at some point, I hate the idea that we may never get new Mac music

I'm still strongly considering getting a tat of the diver guy logo that he started using for Swimming

 

Wasn't expecting to wake up to a Mac song on my Spotify new release playlist. Now I'm a wreck. Fuck.

Love the song. Now time to spin Swimming for the 8000th time.

 

first leak from Circles, what would have been the follow-up album to Swimming

 

Literally just finished listening to it myself


It's SO fucking good, the beat is amazing and his voice sounds so good. I don't usually like posthumous albums but I want Circles so badly, I feel like it would bring me some closure

We're coming up on the anniversary of his death now which is going to be really emotional for me.

 

it might be one of his best songs tbh, the guitar loop instrumental combined with those lyrics is a special mix

I just want Circles and I'll never ask for anything again. word seems to be the leakers have more songs from it than just this so who knows

 

If enough songs are done, I assume it’s happening

 

it was 90% complete before Mac died I believe (I think Thundercat said that but I can't find the link anymore)

 

Song is really good, but I want the record to be released on the terms of his family / friends / collaborators. Hope there isn’t another mass leak of stuff.

 

the link doesn't work for me
is this song anywhere else?

 

ugh this album means so much

 

Looks like it was taken down from Soundcloud before I could listen. Does anyone have another link?

 

Sorry to quote this without providing another link but I'm really hoping the fact that it was taken down means it's getting an official release

 

One year. Still doesn’t feel real

 

Listened to this today. As sad as it is listening back, it’s almost a perfect send off.

 

one year jesus. can't even believe it. going through his discog (KIDS onwards) today. obligatory:

 

One of my favorite songs. Still gets me emotional when I listen to his music.

 

Re-posted this on my Insta story today

 

The lyrics on Come Back to Earth are amazing

 

the line about texts hits pretty hard in the context of those court documents that came out recently.

 

wasn't gonna get a whole lot of sleep tonight anyways and I just listened to them all so fuck it. Mac ranked:


Faces - 10/10. one of the great mixtapes, an 85-minute odyssey without a wasted second. absolutely heartbreaking to listen to now yet oddly comforting and funny at times; the real star is the best production and lyrics of his career. the "Polo Jeans" -> "Funeral" run along with "Apparition", "New Faces", "Colors and Shapes"... this tape is unbelievable.

Swimming - 9.5/10. this felt like his best album before he died - it's watertight, the production flows beautifully despite all the cooks in the kitchen (like, "Self Care" into "Wings"? fuck), and where his others tend to wander off, the emotional journey of this album is perfectly rendered and effortless to follow. after his death - well, it's not quite a classic, there's two songs that sit below the rest in quality, but this was just the sound of an artist fully coming into his own.

Watching Movies With the Sound Off - 8/10. such a throwback to that internet-rap, Odd Future-era smorgasbard of artists all breaking out at the same time it's hard not to get caught up in the nostalgia rush. there are legitimate classic songs on here - "Complexes..." is basically a preview of Faces, "Aquarium" and "Youforia" are delicate beauties that hinted he had the versatility to make an album like Swimming, and "Watching Movies"/"S.D.S." are some of his best bangers. unfortunately, he was still shedding the sound of his early stuff, and the misogyny/repetitive flows of that style drag this album down in the weaker tracks and leave it not quite the slam dunk it should be.

Macadelic - 7.5/10. much like Watching Movies this album is caught between two sounds and is slightly overlong, but the best parts of it more than justify sitting through the runtime. "The Question" in particular single-handedly took his career to the next level and showed us just how good he could get - absolutely a top-tier cut to this day.

I Love Life, Thank You - 7.5/10. easily the most underrated project pre-Watching Movies, this is a consistently thrilling and dynamic 13-track hitter that never overstays its welcome. hard not to think this would have been a much better choice for his debut album, but w/e - give "The Scoop on Heaven" or "Love Lost" the time of day, you won't regret it.

GO:OD AM - 7/10. this is a weirdly unfocused album that never quite gels production-wise, or into a coherent theme. however as proof that he could still deliver a tour-de-force sober, as if we needed it, an album with "100 Grandkids", "Perfect Circle / Godspeed" and "Ascension" -> "The Festival" more than suffices.

Delusional Thomas - 6.5/10. idk whether this was worth including, it's a silly throwaway thing clearly born out of some goofing around with Odd Future-era Tyler and Earl. even under half an hour, horrorcore Mac gets kind of mind-numbing, but there's still moments of genius production and rhymes - "Bill" and "Grandpa..." justify its existence.

The Divine Feminine - 5.5/10. I never particularly cared for this, though it's competent in all major respects; the subject matter and appeal are so self-contained, it's just hard to get engaged coming from the outside of the relationship. "Dang!" is terrific though.

Best Day Ever - 5/10. as far as his early mixtapes go it's pretty damn solid. "BDE Bonus" is a great jazzy alternate that was a strong hint where he wanted to explore, and the better other songs are about the best of his frat-rap days.

Blue Slide Park - 4/10. it's basically fine. "Missed Calls" is still a top-tier in-your-feelings tune, and I have a soft spot for "Up All Night" (Mac does pop-punk, how does everyone not love that song?) but the rest is more of the same.

KIDS - 4/10. mad nostalgia and of course it's where the story started, but nothing all that special. apart from the obvious "Nikes On My Feet", I really dig "Face in the Crowd" as a hint of his more introspective lyricism starting to come thru.


not ranked: Live From Space (it fucking rules; just listen to that man spit on "Killin' Time" and "The Question"), Stolen Youth (more of a Vince project, not his best but still extremely solid) and the two Run-On Sentences mixtapes (seriously fantastic study music if you put aside break time to cry when "Smile" comes on). no one's calling it a consistent discography, but listened in chronological order it's one of the most surprising and genuinely rewarding I know.

 

Faces will always be my favorite release from Mac.

 

I think I'd go

Faces>Watching Movies>Swimming>Good AM>Divine Feminine>Macadelic>Delusional Thomas>KIDS>I Love Life>BDE>BSP

 

I think The Divine Feminine is a masterpiece. I don't think the narrow focus holds it back at all. If that were the case then 90% of great R&B albums would be held back. Of course personal opinions are personal opinions, but overall I don't really like that angle of criticism. Anyway, I wrote this about it last year shortly after he died, and I stand by it.