Mac DeMarco: 2

A guitar part can be “jazzy,” a little busted, and still perfect if it serves the song and that’s the thread we keep pulling while we listen through Mac DeMarco’s 2. We’re Chris and Tim, and we treat this one like a track-by-track album review with three guideposts: guitar playing, storytelling, and songwriting. If you’ve ever tried to explain why lo-fi indie rock feels so personal, this is our attempt to put real words to it.

We start with “Cooking Up Something Good,” geeking out on DIY overdubs, echo, and the way DeMarco stacks simple parts into a signature guitar tone. From there we hit “Dreaming,” talk about lyrics that don’t need a novel to land, and then let “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” kick off a very honest detour about actual neighbors, everyday weirdness, and why humor belongs in songwriting.

Cigarettes and vice songs show up as a surprising storytelling tool, especially once we get to “Ode to Viceroy,” where one track turns into a whole nostalgia trigger. We also spend time on songs that hit emotionally, like “Sherrill,” plus the debate-y moments where we can’t decide if we love a track, hate it, or somehow both. Finally, we rank our top three and make the case for what deserves a repeat listen.

If you enjoy Mac DeMarco, indie music analysis, guitar tone talk, or album breakdown podcasts, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review. What are your top three songs from 2?

Transcript

Welcome And Listening Criteria

SPEAKER_09 0:48

Alright, thank you for listening to the Greatest Nine Hits. I'm Chris, and playing the song Cooking by MacDamarco is my co-host Tim. And the album is Back to Marco's 2. So we're gonna listen for three things here. We're gonna listen for guitar playing. The second thing we're gonna listen to is for storytelling. And the third thing we're gonna listen to is the songwriting. I think these are the three strong suits of Mac Damarico. So uh the first one, the guitar playing. Catch. It's jazzy. It's Jizz Jazzy, according to him.

SPEAKER_05 1:33

Oh wait, just a minute.

SPEAKER_09 1:35

Alright. And then there's also he's not reinventing the wheel. Um the guitar is just uh a means to an end for him. Those are Tim's words, not like. And he's not trying to be a virtuoso. Another one of Tim's uh observations, so second thing is the storytelling. It it feels authentic. His warmth, he's got a lot of humor. There's an uninhibited side to him. And it kind of really comes out a lot in a lot of the songs, so we're gonna hear that. We're gonna hear about his vices. And then there's the storytelling. There's songs are tight. 31 minutes, 11 tracks. You hear yacht rock, and you hear pop rock. And we hear some folk, I don't know. There's jazz, of course. So again, the guitar playing, the jizz jazz, you've got storytelling, we're gonna get into the cigarettes, his vices, his his uninhibited ethos, nature, what have you. And then there's the songwriting. The short, the tight, catchy tunes, yacht rock, I love yacht rock, so I think Team Secret Tim secretly does as well, so but the bottom line is that we're gonna listen to all the songs. We're gonna pay attention, specifically to the guitar, the stories, and the songwriting, and all you have to do is just sit back, relax, and then listen in with us. And rank the top three nine hits with us. So we're we're we're loving it. And I gotta give a shout-out to Tim. Your your playing gets better and better as as time goes by. And I'm proud of it. You're really getting into it. We came a long way from there this weekend episode. And uh I think you should be commended for that. And that was like another one of the intentions that we had when we originally did this, right? Okay.

Cooking Up Something Good Breakdown

SPEAKER_09 5:26

So why don't we dive right in the first song? This is the one that uh template. Here we go.

SPEAKER_07 5:38

We're not certain about anything.

SPEAKER_09 5:41

The only certain thing there is is uncertainty.

SPEAKER_10 5:49

That's good. That's good.

SPEAKER_07 5:52

Alright. Let him cook.

SPEAKER_10 6:03

Freeing.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

With my red.

SPEAKER_11 6:38

Slowly.

SPEAKER_10 6:40

The overlays the overlay dubs defect. It's got an echo here.

SPEAKER_06 6:47

That is kind of cool.

SPEAKER_10 6:57

It's him playing multiple times. Cuts it and what overlays it. Oh, yeah. That's a gift at that. Alright. I think he manually does everything, which is amazing. He records himself and clips himself like we clip our sound clips. Right. Which is so cool.

SPEAKER_07 7:16

Yeah, it's sort of the same thing. Just like Danny. It's organic. Of course.

SPEAKER_10 7:23

But the notes kind of still updated. That's why he's got the base. Got Nicarette, he's trying to quit.

SPEAKER_07 7:36

This is about quick cigarette sound. I smoke. Congrats.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

I mean that's gonna be right.

SPEAKER_07 7:46

Yeah, 2023.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

I mean you're gonna jump the night for most gentlemen.

SPEAKER_06 8:11

Eyeballs of a crocodile. Testicles of a newt.

SPEAKER_10 8:16

Uh we'll keep going here.

SPEAKER_06 8:18

I guess he's a transsexual now.

unknown 8:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 8:23

Alright, let's get segue into freaking

Dreaming And Morning Songwriting

SPEAKER_09 8:27

at the neighborhood. Oh no, this is dreaming. Okay. Yeah, I'm sorry. Dreaming. Okay.

SPEAKER_11 8:32

Someday I'll find it. And I'm still reminded. The dream, right? She's vested in dreams.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

Should still be back starting.

unknown 8:55

Dream.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

Alright.

unknown 9:01

Dream.

SPEAKER_09 9:10

Pretty straightforward?

SPEAKER_10 9:11

Yeah, it's pretty straightforward, it's pretty much. It's a little ragah.

SPEAKER_07 9:17

Yeah. I have to. Certainly ragah. It's definitely rag off.

SPEAKER_09 9:24

But I I like the fact that you don't have to read a anyway novel to let me stay a lot.

SPEAKER_11 9:31

Out on a window sill. Baby remember. Make the I'm out of luck. Make me it's running still.

SPEAKER_10 10:10

It's good like you just woke up music, maybe. Yeah. Yup. Wake up this one.

SPEAKER_09 10:18

Yes. That'd be the worst. Better than Robin's. She's got this alarm. It's like, eh, eh. She still does that. I think it'd be a great across the bed, yeah. Across the bedroom. Oh yeah, well, I'm sorry, can you get that? Oh my god. It's the worst. I shouldn't call her. Shout out to Robin. Sorry for calling you.

unknown 10:40

It's too awful.

SPEAKER_05 10:44

It's only a dream.

SPEAKER_10 10:46

Alright. Shout out to Kubrick. That's right. For faking the moon landing.

SPEAKER_09 10:51

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Do do do do do.

SPEAKER_09 11:00

Yeah. Oh man.

Freaking Out And Neighbor Stories

SPEAKER_09 11:11

This one just freaking out.

SPEAKER_11 11:14

Sorry.

SPEAKER_13 11:17

Shout out to our neighbors.

SPEAKER_10 11:19

Shout out to the neighbors.

SPEAKER_13 11:24

I didn't care if we would.

SPEAKER_10 11:25

I'm pretty sure I was supposed to watch someone pull and forgotten. Last two days. But uh it hasn't been that windy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 11:40

Heck, if we're not gonna talk shit about any of them, I think this would probably be the time to do it.

SPEAKER_10 11:48

Yeah, it's when you're well, but some of my neighbors. The one guy is always uh just asking for help. God to the guy. Just freaking me out, man. Egg sandwich? You want twenty dollars? You want a new bicycle tire? I don't know. Do you need a gift card to the big vanilla? Do you need maybe an old soccer ball? Don't worry. A Lego let you hold you.

SPEAKER_09 12:42

By the way, I'll watch Daddy. So Land Yo. Sunday watch my dog. Exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 12:50

You're always awesome. Chris watches my dog, by the way. Yeah, she's awesome. And it is freaking out the name. Measurability in life factor. You have a dog babysitter. Wow. Right across the street. And he's so cool. Yeah. And he gives Dottie the best pets. Hey man. Your flattery is what it's worth. Yeah. I pick I picked her up one time and Chris goes, I don't think I even pet her once.

SPEAKER_07 13:33

Hello, neighborino to the north. That was a good sign. I sure like the cut of your gibberish.

SPEAKER_10 13:40

I love that one. I love that. We're rolling right along.

Guitar Twang Loops And Influences

SPEAKER_10 13:46

Let's get out there and start this handy. I like the twang in the guitar. What do you think? Well, of course. Sort of Hawaiian-y, old western, but like Well, that's the up and down of the noise. So we're going to. I can see how this is like stoner, like rock. So adjacent to the jam band scene. Like Keller Williams. This sounds like Lumi Guy.

SPEAKER_09 14:32

He's the looping guy. We did him a while back. That was a season. That's a good one though. This is a good episode. Check it out. You know what I'm lonely.

SPEAKER_10 14:44

Tim A. Ampala talks about lonely lonely as a lonerism. A lot of similarities.

SPEAKER_07 14:53

Some of the words are. We have the more of this dead, but the more I'm taking the shot. It's hard to define. It really is.

SPEAKER_06 15:24

Downers. One way.

unknown 15:27

One by the river. Let me.

SPEAKER_04 15:31

Yeah, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 15:34

2010 turned out to be a better year for music than uh worry. So low.

SPEAKER_13 15:42

Down by the river!

SPEAKER_07 15:44

So any. So sick. I'm thinking I'm not really afraid of it anymore.

SPEAKER_13 15:52

I'm not afraid anymore.

SPEAKER_10 15:54

I don't I've sometimes wet the bed of this on this song, but you know.

SPEAKER_12 15:58

You know when I'm Toon Tune.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

You know when I'm lonely. Honey, I'm lonely.

unknown 16:14

I'm going down. Unit the river. Way down. Way down.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Downers. Some good shit, huh?

SPEAKER_09 16:44

Cigarette. Nice.

SPEAKER_12 16:49

Some good shit, huh?

SPEAKER_09 16:50

Yeah, I like the animal. Cigarette. Shout out to Danny Tarka.

SPEAKER_10 16:57

That's good shit. Cigarette. Just like that movie, we still don't know what to make of this album. Nobody knows what it's about. Ice Roy. It definitely does take you back, though. Something for Star Wars or something.

Ode To Viceroy And Cigarette Lore

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 18:19

Any place. How do you get a mess of the place? We need a substitute something. Let's slip that. Your brain is always starving for dope.

SPEAKER_07 18:57

Shell up to the runner. Yeah. Shell up to the runner. Tibetan cigarette.

SPEAKER_10 19:14

Tibacco used to be no tobacco used to be the shaman's shamans sort of come down from the state now. The uh spear. It's Mac and Mark, and I was smoking a cigarette out of his puck tooth. I like smoking these. Oh.

SPEAKER_09 20:08

Really easy. Is he like tuning his guitar differently or something? He uses some capos. Oh, okay. This is all digital manipulation.

SPEAKER_10 20:17

I think he's got some effects and uh capo. He he will put the whole fret on, you know, maybe even the eighth fret. Okay. For uh cooking up something good, it was on the third fret. I gotcha. Oh, yeah.

unknown 20:30

Oh.

SPEAKER_09 20:31

Oh, that's why you have it sitting right on the desk. Okay, yeah. I didn't see that. So late to the party.

SPEAKER_10 20:36

Well it's a good way to add an openness to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Tastes like cigarettes.

SPEAKER_10 20:52

That was good.

SPEAKER_09 20:53

That was on it we

Robson Girl And Mixed Feelings

SPEAKER_09 20:57

got. Okay, Robson. Robson Girl.

SPEAKER_13 21:09

Maybe when we're all dead. We can try this over. Love and on the sideline. Another one kind.

SPEAKER_11 21:34

Rob Snooker. Sit down by your daddy.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

Dad, I have to go.

SPEAKER_11 21:42

Bye down.

SPEAKER_12 21:43

Dad, I Rob Snooker. Sit down by your daddy.

SPEAKER_10 21:51

Not too close now.

SPEAKER_13 21:55

No one else's shoulder. I thought it we go to the number two.

SPEAKER_07 22:48

It's freaking me out here. You're freaking me out.

SPEAKER_10 22:56

This is a good one too. This now I'm really liking that. When I can mark it up and fuck it all up.

SPEAKER_13 23:06

That's great. Dumb dead. Alright.

SPEAKER_10 23:16

Robson good. Where is the Robson girl from? Don't buy you dead. Come on, don't know. We're in and out with this album. Guess what? Sit down by you dead. We can hate it and love it at the same time.

SPEAKER_07 23:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 23:40

That's a rap.

SPEAKER_05 23:41

Alright.

Stars Calling And Imperfect Solos

SPEAKER_05 23:42

But don't step at number two.

SPEAKER_09 23:44

I like that little bit.

SPEAKER_11 23:47

Stars keep on calling my name.

SPEAKER_09 23:50

Yeah, stars keep calling my name. Don't worry.

unknown 23:54

I told you again again. When I'm down.

SPEAKER_13 24:01

You're always the first one we know. Skip the town. I'll take you wherever I go. Choose the tape side. And I just wanna go.

SPEAKER_10 24:17

Go downtown with this one.

SPEAKER_11 24:22

I just wanna go. It's down to take it to all.

SPEAKER_10 24:44

Well down, down, down. Maybe he wrote it like that. Maybe it was. In that vein.

SPEAKER_11 24:54

Get out.

SPEAKER_13 25:01

I just wanna go.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Tyste like cigarettes.

SPEAKER_13 25:08

I just wanna go. Do I just wanna go? Do I just wanna go? Am I crying? No, not crying. I'm not a crier. I don't cry. I would have worked out like hobbies.

SPEAKER_10 25:36

Oh yeah. This is his second guitar solo.

SPEAKER_07 25:47

It's not bad. Yeah, not trying to be a virtue also.

SPEAKER_10 25:51

Oh, see he like kind of even misses a note and he just doesn't even care. He's like, well, that's the best one. Yeah, it gets away with it.

SPEAKER_09 25:59

It does. The song is good.

SPEAKER_10 26:03

That's right, that's right, baby. Alright.

My Kind Of Woman And Inner Life

SPEAKER_06 26:08

Uh this is my high.

SPEAKER_13 26:18

Oh man.

SPEAKER_11 26:23

You making me crazy.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

You really drive me mad. Let's try it, let's try it, baby. That's all right with me. It's really no fuss. As long as you're next to me. Just be true for this.

SPEAKER_10 27:24

What's your kind of woman?

SPEAKER_04 27:26

I'm gonna see the pride sexual leg.

SPEAKER_07 27:45

I feel like cut of your gibberish.

SPEAKER_13 27:47

Sweet hard. I'm seeing and so tight.

SPEAKER_04 27:57

Really falling up. And it just don't make sense to me. I really don't know.

SPEAKER_10 28:10

Let's try to be a therapist now, baby. Why you stick right next to me? Oh. It's complaining.

SPEAKER_07 28:29

This is my god.

unknown 28:56

I'm down on my hands.

SPEAKER_10 29:06

He seems like almost a person that seems happy in social situations a lot, but he might be like secretly depressed. Like you know, like and also, you know, not committing to women that break up with them because he's not committing. So he's just always like. I'm just making this music man, you know, like sort of a little bit relationship-wise self-defeatist. Only because he's just committed to his craft and uh disappointed, but I don't know it. So it comes off as the lyrics and just seeing a couple of his videos.

SPEAKER_09 30:00

Well, I'm sure there's a bunch of women out there. They're like I dig it. I am deranged.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

For two years I thought it was normal for a 10-year-old to win the bed.

SPEAKER_10 30:33

Yeah, maybe my contemptation is heavy.

SPEAKER_09 30:42

Yeah, this is close uh Yeah, to be honest with you. This is it. That's pose, uh, that's a nice little vignette.

SPEAKER_10 31:01

Oh, and he's just a free spirit there at the end.

SPEAKER_09 31:03

That's right.

Sherrill And The Power Of Keys

SPEAKER_09 31:06

Alright, this is Cheryl.

SPEAKER_10 31:19

Love the effects. This is I guess the piano, the keys. Really cool.

SPEAKER_13 31:32

Getting hard to remember. Getting hard to recall.

SPEAKER_09 31:43

Double on time, drip.

SPEAKER_13 31:44

Get laid off and pushed out and it ain't my baby's fault. Yeah, babe so if we go Actually that was very squad. I'll be right there at your side, shit. So life life time for bed And there's no use giving work for it.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

Two years I thought it was normal for a teen year old to went to bed.

SPEAKER_13 32:38

I remember all you said don't cry I'll be right there So at your side Cheryl Say chill.

SPEAKER_06 33:09

Smokey classic tracks like still tea.

SPEAKER_09 33:14

Shell for the Reddit.

SPEAKER_10 33:28

That was That was really good. That was really good. That hit hit right right in there.

SPEAKER_09 33:35

Yeah sounds like you thank you. Downers' choice knowing between bros.

SPEAKER_12 33:54

Never been to Alberta. In time she'll see that her and me. It's like a bam. We're meant to be. Here it's very together. Scenic trees. And time will pass. It may go fast, but we'll still be trees together. It's like a whole province, it's like a yellow stone. And where I go, she's at my side. Half of my life together.

Still Together Wedding Song Debate

SPEAKER_12 34:28

Yeah, this is Kira. It's easy love. It's like a glove from up above. Together.

SPEAKER_13 34:41

They still together or okay, you're still together, okay.

SPEAKER_08 34:51

Oh yeah, yeah. Tung 2012.

SPEAKER_12 35:03

I've had my share, it's just not fair that we should be together. But if it's fine that I've done my time, let's walk the line together. Still together now. When she's low, I'll always know.

SPEAKER_10 35:33

Together. I take back everything that I said. What a roller coaster.

SPEAKER_12 35:42

From up above.

SPEAKER_09 35:44

Gotta not my lump. Talk about talk amongst yourselves. Tung wedding song or something. Yeah. You're really in a wedding, you're kinda getting together too first time. It's not like a still, it's like, why are you wearing a white dress?

SPEAKER_10 36:12

Just they're together. It's clearly a couple song, at least, and they're together. Yeah. And um Yeah, this guy's saying it, so you wedding.

SPEAKER_09 36:34

Yeah. Alright. So uh that's it. It's short and sweet.

SPEAKER_10 36:38

I heard on the wedding night he he wet the bed. That's that's all that's what I heard.

SPEAKER_09 36:42

That has happened, I'm sure, hundreds and thousands of times in drunk rooms out there. More than people more than the uh the brides would admit. I wonder what the uh percentages of divorce for that versus non-bed wedding drunken husbands who wed on their wedding.

SPEAKER_10 37:10

What are the divorce rates for that?

SPEAKER_09 37:14

Can we get a graph? Mr. January. Alright, that's for that's for another We gotta get to the uh three.

SPEAKER_10 37:30

We are crying from laughter now. Well, we're gonna bring it out here. What do we got?

SPEAKER_09 37:36

Yeah, what do we got?

Picking The Top Three Tracks

SPEAKER_09 37:46

Hold on, folks. We're gonna get around. Okay, here we go. Here's the list. What do you think of three? There's a lot of O device Roy. I'm going Robson.

SPEAKER_10 38:05

Over number three? I don't know. Actually, I really like a lot of these things. Dreaming could be out there.

SPEAKER_09 39:01

My number three is freaking out. That's my number three.

SPEAKER_10 39:31

I do, but I think there's another there's someone else. I think we're gonna be something good the way he simply made a little the discordance, the sort of like evil notes, if you will. Sort of like and the way I could find a jam for that, and the way that it was so catchy, you could loop it back in and and get the major chord after that. Yes. Something about that with me in the jam band world really struck hard for hooking up something good.

SPEAKER_09 40:07

Alright. I liked how you supported that. Uh my number two is Cheryl. It was just such a beautiful song. And uh the guitar playing was tight as the song. It was it was very I I felt his passion for Cheryl. It was it was because of the authenticity of it.

SPEAKER_10 40:48

I mean, especially the keys and that we I don't know how we got that effect on Gerald.

SPEAKER_09 41:00

Yeah, I mean cooking up something good was like a a great song that that should be.

SPEAKER_10 41:06

It was a good opener, you know.

SPEAKER_09 41:08

I I'm just gonna leave it out though because it that's the thing. It was a it was an opener, it was almost too on point, I think, for his style. He was on point for his style. Right. But um I'm gonna go with Ode the Viceroy because it was a it was a great song. Nice. But more importantly, it just kind of brought me back to like the viceroy, like your the band teacher would have like in his pocket, like a thing of viceroys, you know, you know, that and I just remember that. And I remember one guy, it was a guy who shout out to I can't I can't remember your name. I'm sorry, but you used to sit on at the end of the bar at the Embers, you know, the the the bar that we used to own. And uh he was the only one that ever smoked viceroys. He was like, Yeah, we call them Vickeries. You know, I was like, okay, yeah, that's cool. So just like that mod of that victory. That's the reason why it's my number one. I just thought that that was funny. So but uh alright, so that's great. Yeah, that was all Tim. This this whole album, the the uh the guitar playing is all great. So uh good catching up with you,

Closing Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_09 42:15

but yeah. Yeah, thanks for listening. Good hanging. All right, we'll leave it at that. Cheers.

SPEAKER_10 42:19

Cheers, rocking on.