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2025 Mix 48: Absolutely stacked year-end ketchup
Happy New Year! Of course there has not been enough time to collect music from 2026 yet. I would guess that only something like 10,000 songs have even been released in the seven hours of the year so far.
As is my yearly tradition, I offer a catch-up (ketchup) mix of songs I’ve discovered through year-end perusal. A lot of them come from the People’s Pop Poll nominations. A few are my own discoveries, and others are from various year-end lists and challenges.
Minimal commentary on the songs this week—I wanted to use this installment mostly to highlight 2025 music writing. I don’t keep up with enough music writing to do much more than shout out the folks I follow regularly anyway (and have usually followed for many years), but it’s still nice to have an opportunity to spotlight things you might have missed.
Frank Kogan has a corkscrewing stemwinding rabbit hole of a post on the social spread of various incarnations of the syllables “ah-pu-tah” across countries and cultures. Like its subject, the essay keeps expanding.
George Henderson has written a lot of great stuff this year. If you have to start somewhere, I recommend his essay on fairy trap.
Al Valera has a fantastic post about “worst” lists that also functions well as a worst list.
Holly Boson wrote a “Which Eminem Album Are You” quiz that is stealthily some of the best criticism about Eminem you’ll find. Collect ‘em all. Two of my favorite music pieces of hers this year, though, are these posts:
Chuck Eddy has migrated over to Substack (subscribe!) and has been re-publishing a lot of pieces from his site plus many thousands of new words about music and mushrooms.
Katherine St. Asaph’s Stereogum column is always a must-read. Really liked her 40 Singles of the Year post.
Alphonse Pierre has been doing incredible work at Pitchfork this year. My favorite pieces of his are this one about his grandmother falling in love with “Lean Back” by Fat Joe and his profile of Monaleo.
Don’t Rock the Inbox is always great—go subscribe to it.
Joe Muggs has been making the case for our current age of musical abundance.
Joshua Minsoo Kim’s interview with Billy Woods is a life-affirming hoot.
BDM’s recent essay on Swift, Plath, and Nelson was really good.
Shout out to the extended Xgauverse bloc including but not limited to (apologies to anyone I missed): Steve Erickson’s radio show Radio Not Radio, Christian Iszchak’s Xgauvian blurbs, Brad Luen’s thoughts on poptimistic popularism, Joey Daniewicz’s ranking of every Allo Darlin’ song, Ryan Maffei’s series of Taylor Swift revisits, and Dan Weiss’s singles of the year, which I pilfered as much as I could from before running out of space for uncanny valley Sublime and a lost lo-fi teenpop masterpiece from Numero Group that I can’t believe I did not unearth myself.
Mark Sinker at London Review of Books on A.I. and the grotesque.
Lucy Sante is basically writing a book-length writer’s guide. Read all of it if you can.
If you need more recommendations, Grant Sharples started a thread where music writers shared their own favorite work.
That is all the room I have for this particular newsletter’s intro, but I will try to circle back for folks I missed in the new year.
1. Say She She: Cut & Rewind
US
I have enough links up top to threaten the email cutoff almost immediately so minimum commentary and maximum tunes this week. Say She She is one that I wanted to like as an album more than I did, but their Le Tigresque “my uncle’s got an indie disco” electro bop opener “Cut & Rewind” is a huge highlight.
2. Halsey: Safeword
US
One from Dan Weiss’s list. Cannot believe I missed this: justice for Halsey, including from the injustice of my burnt-out attention span.
3. Cerrone, Rahim Redcar: Catching Feelings
France
A discovery in the Singles Jukebox’s amnesty week, where I did not successfully Marina Satti-pill the masses but did hear the only Rahim Redcar (fka(?) Christine and the Queens) project that has stuck with me to date, in no small thanks to Cerrone transcending self-pastiche.
4. Cain Culto, Xiuhtezcatl: ¡BASTA YA!
US
5. @onefive: Kibidango
Japan
6. Silvy Kumalasari: Culik Aku Dong / APT THAI
Indonesia
7. Falle Nioke: Falle Le Le Le
Guinea
Four songs that feature in the upcoming People’s Pop 2025 poll: From Holly B, two artist/activists of Colombian/Nicaraguan and Nahua heritage make resistance (sans ™) sound like a blast. J-pop from Jel Bugle, the Indonesian pop at the center of Frank Kogan’s syllabic odyssey linked above, and a sort of minimal electro highlife from Guinean polyglot Falle Nioke, recommended by PPP regular Neil, with whom I seem to have some sorta taste mind meld happening—he nominated my main pick for the tournament (“I Remember I Forget” by Yasmine Hamdan) literally seconds before I did.
8. Salima Chica: Songi Songi
DRC/Angola
Circling back around, as promised in a previous mix, to the actual 2025 smash from Salima Chica after sharing a minor feature from her.
9. BabyDaiz, Rebo, Kvng Vinci: Allez Tobina
DRC/South Africa/Nigeria
10. shego: Curso Avanzado de Perra
Spain
11. Kocee: PDG
Cameroon
Two African pop bangers from LokpoLokpo with a Dan Bright Amaya Spanish rec in the middle. I will even tempt the email cutoff by linking to both of their Bluesky accounts — go follow them!
12. Titica: Só de Trás
Angola
Can’t believe I did not hear Titica’s album in time for year-ends, might be her best to date.
13. DJ Japa NK, MC Meno K, Mc Ryan SP, Mc Jacaré: Posso Até Não Te Dar Flores
Brazil
Had this funk song in my Brazilian holdover list for a while, but it wasn’t until it got recommended to me that I listened more intently and realized I missed an interpolation that made me gasp.
14. Charly Gynn, Tzunami: Lo Rocé
Mexico
Annoying chirpy reggaeton that soothes my addled brain. No idea where I found this one (have featured Charly Gynn before).
15. Young Eman, Eline De Sainté Vherodia: Popstar in Da Bits
UK
Uh oh, the UK is outdoing us even in blown-out mildew rap, this is a national crisis.
16. Jhondiez, Dj Rocka, Santiago Berrio: Katty Perry
Chile
Annoying non-chirpy (but yes blurpy) reggaeton that soothes my addled brain. No idea where I found this one, either.
17. Shallipopi f. Wizkid: Like That (Bomboclatt)
Nigeria
Shallipopi’s strong year culminated in a December album that I did not rate in time for year-ends. This one borrows much more than just the log drums from amapiano and feels fresher than most Amabeats.
18. La Nonna Go, Mc Topre, Mc Lukinhas 011: Bota Elas Na Garupa
Brazil
19. Mc Laranjinha, Wesley Gonzaga, Dj Gvzinho Tralha: Próxima Parada
Brazil
Two Brazilian funk representatives in the People’s Pop poll, including what I believe is the mellowest production Wesley Gonzaga has done to date.
20. CUZZOS: Moesha
US
Another Dan Weiss rec, charming five-member rap crew who don’t want no scrubs.
21. Rema: Kelebu
Nigeria
22. Blaq Major, B Yember f. Mzamo Ngcobo, Sphiwe: Faki Beer
South Africa
Yeah yeah, more People’s Pop. Rema goes in hard while Blaq Major et al relax with a cold beer.
23. Khtek: Frizzbee
Morocco
24. Amaia: Aralar
Spain
Not sure who I got either of these from, and I am far past my word count. If you shared one of these, please take credit, they are both great! Who can keep up with everything??
25. BOSA: شط جديد (a new shore)
Egypt
26. Thakzin: Release & Sustain
South Africa
Let’s end with two slow burns from…let’s see…ah, People’s Pop. Mic Waters’s nom, Egyptian dream-pop by BOSA, and Lokpo’s reminder to keep Thakzin in your thoughts and in your year-end social media music challenge nomination slate.
That’s it! Until next time, don’t put so many links in your newsletter.
—Dave Moore (the other one)
Title from Halsey: Safeword
Also happy new year, and here's my own early bird contribution (with Chris Heazlewood on guitar) to the songs of 2026 debate
https://open.spotify.com/track/7uHTDnGhyhXaKkO25ZS8zs?si=-1nqoQ4iSrC1RIAcS3c9Ew
Thanks for the shout out, and links to those notes for a chapter in the book I want to write about that movement and its legacy