One of many stickers commemorating Mac Miller."This concert's about love, right?" she asked the crowd, before Mac walked on to the stage to screams from the crowd of 50,000 fans. Mac Miller’s affinity with this small park finally made sense to me. The steep drop blew my hair everywhere, but simultaneously brought together everything I had been doubting. Following the neighborhood kids’ advice, I grabbed a rectangle of corrugated cardboard and slid down the freshly-painted blue slide. Stickers quoting lyrics, graffiti and roses all kept the memory of Mac Miller alive. Remnants of last month’s vigil marked a more somber mood. My final stop was to visit the aforementioned iconic Blue Slide Park. The 7 year-old prop sandwich from the Frick Park Market video. Miller’s lyrics took on new meaning when visiting their source, exactly like seeing an artist’s inspiration behind their work of art. The farthest someone had come to visit the market was from Australia.
The owner even had an autographed sandwich, which appeared in the Frick Park Market video 7 years ago. He truly loved his home and wanted the best for it. People spoke about him with such high regards and such love. When I visited, the owners were quick to identify me as a fan and shared stories and even pictures of experiences with Mac. Blue Slide Park’s lead single, Frick Park Market, chronicles its namesake deli in Mac’s original neighborhood. Recently, I was able to visit a few of these notorious Pittsburgh locations popularized by Mac Miller. “Blue Slide Park” works as an authentic depiction of being a teenager, more specifically a Pennsylvanian teenager, and the continued pursuit of finding something to do. On “Loitering”, the kind of teenage boredom and search for something to do in the suburbs, made famous in Dazed and Confused, is perfectly illustrated. On “PA Nights,” Mac is able to capture the boredom and wanderlust often associated with home and the ironic yearning that comes when you are finally separated from it. As a Pennsylvania native myself, these songs have taken on an anthem form. “Blue Slide Park” includes some prolific references to Pennsylvania. Recently, a petition was made at his vigil to rename Blue Slide Park into Mac Miller Blue Slide Park has achieved over a thousand supporters and counting.
Miller’s 2011 album, “Blue Slide Park,” is named after Frick Park, a 644-acre Pittsburgh park. A recurring theme is Miller’s music is his hometown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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