How Mac Miller Created a Musical Circle

Dissect connects the dots between Mac Miller's companion albums Swimming In Circles, including a hidden musical circle never before revealed.

Dissect is a serialized music analysis podcast that unpacks the music, lyrics, and meaning of one album per season, one song per episode. We have full seasons on Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean,, Childish Gambino, Tyler The Creator, Beyonce, and more.

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This video was written & produced by Cole Cuchna. Animation by Tom Goulet. Original score by Birocratic. Special thanks to Renita Jablonski, Marcus Bagala, Matt Shilts, Andrea B. Scott, Abbie Ruzicka, Dan Behar, Robert Adler, Casey Simonson, and Jake Zeeman.

[cartere]

there was supposed to be a third sequence album that tied the three together that never had the chance to be made it would’ve been called “til infinity” to make all three albums make out “swimming in circles til infinity” which is the reoccurring theme in swimming and circles and would’ve been in the third. mac had a musical genius it’s truly tragic his life was cut so short he had a lot more coming

[liamharkin]

Nobody in my life will ever understand how important Mac’s music is to me. In a way I think that makes it even more personal and special.

[KyleRyanFilm]

"We may never know if this was intentional." Come on bud, we've all watched docs and segments where Mac is endlessly obsessing over keys in a studio, trying to find that perfect touch. This was his posthumous gift to us.

[davidrosas]

The hard part of coming to terms with Macs passing is that he literally left us a masterpiece and it was proof that he was only getting better and was the best he’s ever been musically at the time of his passing. A true legend and his name will live on for generations through his music.

[andrecab]

the way circles ends incompletely on an unstable chord, then intentionally starts again on a stable chord to complete a literal circle is fucking insane. mac and his producer are legit musical masterminds and it's definitely fair to say we'll never get someone like him again.

R.I.P to the goat.

[Soulr]

One of the most beautiful videos I’ve ever seen 😭

[gnejuszpompejusz]

It's almost like he's giving us a wink saying - don't forget me, keep playing, keep swimming

[CudZon]

I listened to Circles while trippin on acid, I didn't realized the album was playing on repeat and didn't even realized it until about 2.5 hours have passed. I remember laughing because I was so gone that I didn't realized I've been listening to the same album for the past 2.5 hours. I remember being in a rollercoaster of emotions through out the whole album. Thank you Mac for taking me thru that journey. RIP gone too soon

[Synebon]

This 7 minute video felt like 1 minute...need a whole dissect season on swimming and circles...

[richardlosonczi]

The quality of this video is unreal. So fucking well done.

its the way “once a day” can also be resolved into “come back to earth” so when theyre looped together its literally like youre “swimming in circles”

[jgreasy]

i was waiting for the twist to be that the final chord led into Swimming tastefully, but i'll take looping back to the beginning of Circles. That's fun enough :)

[carlottawilhelm]

the reason i love his music so much is because it feels like every time you listen to one of his songs, you find a detail or a certain line that you didn’t really hear/never paid attention to before, and it’s always something you need to hear in order to feel understood or just have him put what you’re feeling into words. I miss him so much.

[DanielTGaming]

I love how the video itself also loops in a similar fashion to the album. A great detail for a video of a great album. Mac will be missed.

[njhank]

I didn’t know it was possible to have chills for a straight 7 mins and 44 seconds

[DUknown]

When i listen to mac miller or watch interviews or breakdowns like this i wish i realized him before. His story is so beautiful and sad at the same time but he became one of my favorite rappers sadly only after he passed away. He had so much talent was so versatile and putted his heart and soul in his music and albums. There aren’t many artists who can do that these days. He is forever integrated in my playlists 🤟🏼 R.I.P

[pattycheeze]

I had a good friend named Jeremy. We used to call him Big Jerm before we even knew Mac Millers producer at Rostrum was Big Jerm. Jeremy was 7 years older than I, and couldn't get into newer music(This was around 2012). I showed him Mac. He loved it. We used to sing Senior Skip Day and Knock Knock at work acapella. I felt honored that he included Mac in his personal music repertoire. Jeremy unexpectedly passed away on January 19th 2019(Mac's birthday) four months after Mac passed. Jeremy was an avid poker player throughout his life. At his ceremony his brother handed out poker cards to everyone out of a brand new deck and see what you draw and keep it. I got 3 and 7. August 3rd Swimming release date. Sept. 7th- Death. The two are forever intertwined/synonymous in my mind. The nostalgia I get from listening to Mac reminds me of both of them and it's an over whelming feeling of emotions to be honest. Life is crazy. Keep your head up everyone. We've only just begun.

edit: Another song Jeremy loved that we used to sing acapella at work was Circles by Soul Coughing(Check it out!). Then Mac's last album is called Circles. Life is still crazy.

[jhupp]

There’s no doubt in my mind this 100% intentional by Mac. He was a genius for real.

[PillagingGinger]

Malcolm was so self aware. His music was beautiful and I miss him every day. Thanks for taking a deeper dive and making this incredible video. Rest easy, Mac.

[Vexx]

This is amazing! I miss him so much :(