Mac Miller’s Swimming marked a pivotal point in the late artist’s career. His devotion to constant sonic exploration and artistic reinvention had already been well-documented prior to the album’s release — the quantum leap from his Billboard chart-topping debut Blue Slide Park to his sophomore album Watching Movies with the Sound Off, his tour de force as a producer on his 2014 mixtape Faces and ability to direct a full band on 2016’s The Divine Feminine were evidence of his steadfast commitment to growth in his craft. Yet upon its release, Swimming was immediately understood by both his fans and critics alike as the high water mark of his career: an album that perfectly showcased the musical chops he had developed vocally and instrumentally over the course of a decade. This understanding was reinforced when, just 3 days after the album’s release, NPR Music published a Tiny Desk Concert where Miller and band performed album cuts “Small Worlds,” “What’s The Use?” featuring regular collaborator Thundercat and “2009” with a full band. The now-iconic performance remains one of the highest streamed performances in the history of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and is now available on vinyl for the first time.
NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert vinyl, featuring the live recording of the 2018 performance from NPR Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
SIDE A
A1. SMALL WORLDS
A2. WHAT’S THE USE? -feat. THUNDERCAT
A3. 2009
