John Mayer hosts a weekly talk show-style program titled Current Mood on his Instagram now, and this week’s guest was Thundercat. The pair discussed social media, video games, and eventually got around to playing for their live viewers, performing a rendition of Thundercat’s song “Them Changes,” which originally appeared on his 2015 EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam and re-appeared on his 2017 album Drunk. The track is as close as the Los Angeles bassist gets to pop structure, but with Mayer on guitar, he flips the central riff into an extended six-minute jam.
Mayer and Thundercat also briefly paid tribute to Mac Miller, whose tribute concert on Wednesday in Los Angeles features both artists on a stacked lineup that also includes SZA, Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak, and many other collaborators of the late Pittsburgh rapper. (Mayer contributed to Miller’s Swimming track “Small Worlds.”) Proceeds from the show will go to the Mac Miller Circles Fund, a nonprofit launched by Mac’s family that will provide arts education and resources to underserved children in Pittsburgh.
Watch a video of Thundercat and Mayer’s live-streamed jam session below.
