The End. David Bowie's Scary Monsters and Super Creeps helped inspire the direction Mallman took with each of the album's twelve tracks. The theme of life after death and constant rebirth on earth is affirmed throughout the entirety of the album. Mallman created the album after his mother died and he was dealing with depression and anxiety attacks. He says it's "a deliberate meditation on overcoming the roots of despair." The Happiness Playlist In the wake of his mother's death and a breakup with a longtime girlfriend, Mallman found himself struggling to listen to music that might trigger or amplify his despair, including previous favorites such as Joy Division. In late 2014, in hopes of changing his mood, he compiled a playlist of 50 feel-good songs and decided to listen to nothing but the playlist for the entire winter. He also began journaling, the results of which eventually morphed into a memoir, The Happiness Playlist: The True Story of Healing My Heart With Feel-Good Music. The book was published in March 2019 by Think Piece Publishing, which promotes mental health advocacy through the arts. It features a foreword by essayist Chuck Klosterman. More memoir than self-help, the book follows Mallman through his day-to-day life in Minneapolis as he recovers from grief with the help of his new soundtrack. Mallman has stressed that the playlist was just one tool — he also sought out therapy, antidepressants, meditation, and ceased consuming alcohol. "Music is not going to cure you but it is gonna make things better," he said. The Happiness Playlist was well received with an average 4.38 rating on Goodreads. IndieReader called it "an uplifting memoir that earns its wings honestly, with humor and perception." Forward Reviews said Mallman's "prose is fueled by short, declarative sentences and a narrative willingness to be emotionally vulnerable." Jim Walsh, author of The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting, called it "wise, funny, and heartfelt." Marathon song cycles In 1999 Mallman performed a 26-hour long song titled "Marathon 1". Later, in 2004, Mallman's "Marathon Two" session took place back at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota. Seventy-five musicians took turns backing Mallman as he performed one song for over two consecutive days, only breaking to go to the bathroom. On October 10, 2010, he completed "Marathon 3", a 78-hour long song complete with 576 pages of lyrics. During the performance, he injured his left