How Mac Miller Created a Musical Circle

Credit: Nicolas Völcker, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s been almost 6 years since the music world lost the talented rapper, producer, and songwriter Mac Miller. In January 2020, his family shared an emotional letter with his fans on Instagram, announcing the release of a new album titled Circles.

This posthumous album was meant to complement his previous work, Swimming, creating a conceptual duo intended to be understood together.

Both albums delve deep into Mac’s struggles with mental health and addiction.

Swimming, released in 2018, metaphorically portrays his battle to stay afloat. Circles, completed by producer Jon Brion after Mac’s passing, continues this journey, reflecting on the perpetual cycle of attempting change and finding himself back at the start.

These two works interlink, illustrating the intricate tapestry of his final artistic expressions.

Diving into ‘Swimming’ and ‘Circles’

Mac’s Mental Health and Addiction Battles

Mac Miller’s album Swimming, released in 2018, shows a raw and honest look at his ongoing battle with mental health and addiction.

Throughout his career, Mac struggled immensely with these issues, and Swimming brings this struggle to the forefront with poignant lyrics and intense themes.

Metaphor of Swimming

In the opening track of Swimming, Mac uses the metaphor of swimming to depict the challenge of staying afloat amidst life’s difficulties.

By choosing to swim rather than sink, he suggests a determination to persevere. This metaphor establishes a tentative hopefulness, yet by the album’s end, it becomes clear that this struggle is relentless and circular.

The Cycle of Life and Death

The concept of circles in Swimming deeply intertwines with the cycle of life and death.

Mac’s final lyrics in the album evoke the Biblical concept of returning to dust, hinting at life’s ephemeral nature. The instrumental outro of the last song, meant to symbolize an ascension into heaven, was composed just hours before his untimely death.

This theme continues in Circles, creating a powerful narrative of existential repetition and the relentless pursuit of peace.

Mac Miller’s Impact

Insights into His Final Verse

In January 2020, Mac Miller’s family reached out to his fans with a touching letter on Instagram, revealing the upcoming release of his new album, Circles. This album, recorded during his final days, was intended to be a companion piece to Swimming, his previous work. The concept of “Swimming in Circles” encompasses the thematic and emotional struggles depicted across both albums.

Released in 2018, just a month before his untimely death, Swimming portrays Mac’s personal battles with mental health and addiction using swimming as a metaphor.

The initial track suggests a fight for survival, urging Mac to swim rather than sink. Despite the album’s somewhat hopeful beginning, the final track’s last verse paints a more cyclical and existential picture. The closing line, “My God, it go on and on just like a circle,” reflects a somber acknowledgment of life’s continual and often relentless cycles.

Circles, unveiled after his passing, continues this narrative. Mac elaborates on his inability to change, manifesting the circles’ concept through various metaphors, including the hands of a clock and daily routines. This motif recurs, emphasizing the repetitive nature of life.

The closing moments of Circles leave listeners with an unresolved musical tension, embodied by its final, dissonant chord.

This choice might signify Mac’s unresolved struggles or perhaps a reflection of life itself being incomplete and unpredictable. When the album’s end transitions back to its beginning, the unstable final chord resolves into the stable opening chord, creating an intricate and poignant musical loop.

Analyzing ‘Circles’

Repeated Patterns Theme

Mac Miller continues to reflect on his struggles throughout the Circles album.

By mentioning the act of drawing circles, he emphasizes the repetitive nature of his efforts to change. These patterns symbolize an endless loop, which he can’t seem to break free from.

Concept of Being Stuck in Circles

The idea of circles is central to the album’s exploration of existential themes.

Mac brings forth the imagery of a clock’s rotating hands, representing the unending cycle of each day. This metaphor extends to his deeper contemplation of life, effectively binding the thematic elements of the album.

Time as a Recurring Cycle

Mac uses the final track to exemplify the circular experience of daily life.

The lyrics discuss the repetitive routines of waking up and going to bed, synthesizing these small cycles into the larger loop of human existence. The unresolved final chord of the album mirrors this concept, leaving listeners longing for closure, which is only found if the album is looped back to its start.

The Final Chord Mystery

Musical Tension and Resolution

The final song on Mac Miller’s Circles, “Once a Day,” ends on a surprisingly unstable chord.

The chord creates a sense of musical tension that leaves listeners feeling unresolved. This sensation stems from the chord’s dissonant nature, which differs from the more typical stable chords that songs usually end on.

To understand this better, consider how most songs conclude. A stable chord at the end gives a sense of closure.

When Mac or his producer John Bryan chose to conclude with an unstable chord, it stands out. This was likely an intentional choice to evoke a specific emotional response.

Intentionality of Album Continuity

Mac Miller’s final chord decision might have deeper significance. “Once a Day” ending on an unstable chord aligns with the concept of drawing circles that the album builds upon.

This idea is reinforced when the first chord of the album, “Circles,” is a stable E major, resolving the tension left at the end of “Once a Day.”

This circular musical structure could symbolize the perpetual cycles Mac described in his lyrics. It’s both a musical and thematic representation of his experience of trying to change yet finding himself back where he started.

This clever tying of elements creates a cohesive narrative that mirrors the “swimming in circles” motif.

Whether accidental or intentional, this loop of musical tension and resolution is a potent part of Mac Miller’s legacy.