San Trinh

Intro to College Writting

Mac Miller’s “Good News”

Mac Miller's final album Circles features the amazing track "Good News," offering

intimate insight into his inner suffering from depression and substance abuse. Through raw,

minimalist lyrics delivered in Miller's signature and unique vocal style, he let us have a glimpse

into his mind, his struggling and mental health issues leading up to his accidental overdose death

in 2018.

Anyone can easily recognize a feeling of entrapment through out the whole song, as each

verse begins and ends with the refrain "Good News.”. He even started out the song with the

heart-beat like type of kick drums and a repetitive guitar loops. The first sentence of the song is “

I spend all day in my head” immediately showed us that entrapment feeling too. And though out

the song we can feel that he is barely getting it together with all that self-questioning thought

because of all the mental issues that is surrounding him. These elements mirror how Miller found

himself stuck in negative thought patterns he was unable to break free from. How it was locked

him away from being the true and free artist as he always wanted.
 Miller's vulnerable vocal performance powerfully draws listeners into his headspace. His

tired tone when asking existential questions like "Why does everybody need me to stay?" Or

“Can I get a break?” reveals profound emptiness and isolation. You can see it and understand

with the lyrics but his voice alone can show us how struggle he was. Such lyrics demonstrate

Miller's willingness to be transparent about his pain, seem like he is still struggle to find balances

despair with some self-awareness, as he acknowledges needing to "find a way out of my head."

Miller uses his raw, conversational singing to pull us into his internal emotional experience.

When he asks in an exhausted voice "Why does everybody need me to stay?", it's easy to hear

how empty, worthless, and a burden he felt, to the point where he didn't believe people would

care if he was gone. Simple lines like "Self-medicate to make the pain go away" demonstrate his

continual drug use to deal with his chronic mental anguish, even though his pained singing

shows getting high only briefly numbed the pain.

By being so blunt about his struggles, Miller shows even famous rappers deal with

depression and addiction, no matter how glamorous their outward lives appear. When he calls out

those who "sell me drugs", he points out how his inner circle enabled his dangerous habits rather

than helped him get sober. Overall, “Good News” presents a genuine glimpse of Miller's pain

and lets listeners intimately connect with him as a fellow human emotionally suffering.

While only subtly textured, the hazy, lo-fi production provides the perfect sonic backdrop

for Miller's introspective lyrical themes. The minimalist instrumentation allows Miller's lyrics

reflecting on isolation, numbness, and anguish to remain at the forefront. The muted esthetic
creates an intimate, deeply personal atmosphere fitting for Miller's confessional storytelling.

Although the production side is a little bit simple but it served the purpose of the song perfectly,

just being a subtle wave as a backbone in the back to let the lyrics and his thought shine through.

The mixing of the songs is also did the same job, make sure that his voice is always centered and

the beat was well mixed so won’t get in his way. Like always, he have an unique way of

producing his music and alway have his signature sound in it no matter what’s he doing. After

all, Mac Miller is truly a master of his crafts.

Ultimately, "Good News" offers an unfiltered glimpse into the suffering Miller grappled

with internally as an artist, despite external success. His willingness to really share his mental

health and addiction struggles helps us understand more about the illusions of fame and how it’s

effected artist, specially with their personal life. Because sometimes from the outside we can

only see famous people’s ‘blings’ without really see what they are going though. I absolutely

thing this song had helped a lot of people with mental health issues to speak up their mind more

and maybe will find a better help or find a faster way to get better.