Super Awesome Mix
"I made you a mix tape" -- some of the best words to hear from someone you care about! Join Matt and Sam on a weekly mix tape adventure: each guest is asked to pick a theme and make a mix tape, which will be unveiled over the course of the episode. You're guaranteed to hear about good music, some new music, and even learn some trivia along the way. Come listen with us, and be sure to grab your copy of the mix made available in the Super Awesome App in each episode's show notes. IG/Threads: @superawesomemix
Super Awesome Mix
Sam's Best of 2025!
Sam's had a big year and now he gives Matt and all the listeners his top 12 songs of 2025!
We open with punchy rock and bass-heavy pop, shift into raw confessionals, and close with orchestral EDM that practically lifts you out of your seat. The throughline is contrast: songs that hype you up, songs that make you think, and songs that do both without breaking a sweat.
We kick off with Wet Leg’s sharp-tongued ode to overcrowded city life and swing into Blackpink’s high-gloss momentum, built for big speakers and bigger moods. From there, NF’s “Fear” brings unfiltered honesty about relapse into anxiety, while King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard bend genres with big band brass and 70s sparkle. Logic’s “Not a Game,” elevated by Lucy Rose’s airy hook, threads grit with grace; AJR’s “The Big Goodbye” hooks you with an auctioneer loop and a look back at what you leave behind when you chase a dream.
The mid-list heat spikes with Lindsay Stirling and Shuba’s “Evil Twin,” a violin-meets-EDM surge that belongs on every pre-run playlist, then deepens with Florence and the Machine’s “Witch Dance,” a visceral reflection on mortality and power. Jenny’s “Like Jenny” delivers chorus-first pop engineered for pure joy, while Maiah Manser’s “With a Smile” introduces siren-core chills over a sleek electronic bed. Lil Wayne’s “Welcome to Tha Carter” blends choir, sample wizardry, and razor wit, asking whether we ever pause to savor heaven after clawing through hell. We close with “Lazarus Rise,” a cinematic ascent from haunted piano to full orchestral thunder—a reminder that genre walls are meant to be climbed.
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https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/sams-best-of-2025/pl.u-dok7jCBkWPg6
- Catch these fists – Wet Leg
- Jump – Blackpink
- Fear – NF
- Phantom Island – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
- Not a Game – Logic featuring Lucy Rose
- The Big Goodbye – AJR
- Evil Twin – Lindsey Stirling featuring Shuba
- Witch Dance – Florence and the Machine
- Like Jennie – Jennie
- With a Smile – Maiah Manser
- Welcome to Tha Carter – Lil Wayne
- Lazarus Rise – Wasiu & Apache
Visit us at https://www.superawesomemix.com to learn more about our app, our merchandise, our cards, and more!
Welcome back to another Super Awesome Mix. My name is Matt Sidhome alongside my co-host and co-founder of Super Awesome Mix, Sam, Abusalbi. Sam, it's our last show of the year. How are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01:Uh pretty good. Pretty good. I I know last time I mentioned that I almost put eggs in the toaster rather than in the pot of boiling water. Last night I went to remove my contact lenses and put on my glasses and instead proceeded to get out two new contact lenses, fully open them and prepared to put them on top of my existing contact lenses. So that's how my year is going.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, what is the how it started, how it's going, right? January 1, you had all these goals in mind. I'm going to do this. Here we go. And now you're doubling up on contacts and you're on the code.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. Exactly. I mean, it just means your your vision gets twice as good, I think, right?
SPEAKER_02:That's twice as no, that's scientifically accurate. That is perfect.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. But you know, it's going real well. Um, this has been an awesome year. Um, obviously, a lot of change, a lot of new things to learn, but um the music has been great. I was really excited to put together this mix, my 12 favorite of the year. Um, similar to Matt's, it's in a countdown style. Uh, and yeah, I mean, just another incredible year of music. There's so much, there's never a shortage of talent in the world. Um, and I'm always amazed at how much I can still love new music. And I'm so grateful for the show to helping me stay on top of new music, because otherwise I would just listen to the same songs from 1999 over and over again.
SPEAKER_02:I agree. There'd be a lot more redundancy without this show. But yeah, I'm also with you, even after I did my top 12 last week, I I remembered a couple other songs from this year, and I was like, oh, should that have been there? Oh god, okay. Well, it's too late to revise it, it's already out there. So um, well, good. Yeah, this is gonna be your top 12. So I will introduce every track and we will count them down from 12 to 1. And let's start off with number 12. Uh, it is Catch These Fifths by Wet Leg.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so um obviously a big fan of Wet Leg. Really excited that their second album, their sophomore album, came out this year. Um, great band, just so excited to keep listening to them. I I hope they continue to make awesome music just like this. Um, again, their lyrics are really fun, you know. Like I they almost remind me of Matt and Kim in a way, of just like the types of things that they sing about um that are just very like normal but in a fun way. So this is like truly the nightmare of like not having any personal space, is what they said, and that you just kind of sometimes want to like punch someone as a result. Um they said it was which is totally true, and and especially living in New York City, you feel that a lot. Um I can say that like my wife and I get so excited during holiday weekends here because the neighborhood empties out because everyone like leaves it, um, which is great because then you're like, oh, you know, like this is wonderful, and then we always have to stop and pause and it's like, right, we live in one of the most populous cities on the planet. Um, and we're like upset when we have no personal space. Like, what what is that about? We can't have it both ways. But anyway, uh this is a great track, and and I I love their lyrics and how much fun they have and everything, and it's just got a great catchy beat. They're so good at all of that.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I I will go days without seeing my neighbors, and I and I still want to punch people, so I don't know what that says about me. Yeah, but um we got a little more space here in Texas. Uh yeah, this is just a great rock song, and uh I love the lyric. I don't want your love, I just want to fight. I I just think it's great that you're right. It's like there's this sort of that they're just on top of each other, and it's just brings out this sort of physical reaction uh from them, and not in a not necessarily in a positive way. Uh, but yeah, this is just a very listenable song, too. If you like rock music, I think you'll get into this, and uh it's it's kind of fun as well. So great pick.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you.
SPEAKER_02:All right, track uh two on the mix, but number 11 on the countdown. This is Jump by Blackpink.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so this is definitely a year where I started to get really into K-pop, apparently, but specifically like this girl group, right? Um, because there's a there's a solo artist that I have later on, but um it went in the opposite direction. So, you know, spoiler alert, Jenny was this was the solo artist that I got first introduced to, thanks to the likes of like TikTok and Instagram, and then I discovered Blackpink. And, you know, just again, like I just I love this type of like heavy bass, great chorus, catchy beat, very replayable. Like you can just loop this song and just keep enjoying it. Um I, you know, also am very much in this in the genre of people that like don't necessarily care about lyrics as long as like the beat sounds good, and this checks that box. Like I don't care what they're thinking about, you know. I don't even like it doesn't matter to me. This is just a song that I want to like hype myself up to and listen to very loudly. Um and it checks both of those boxes, so it's a lot of fun, and Blackpink has a lot of great songs like that. So if that's just kind of the mood you're in of just like blasting music, dancing around, you don't care what they're thinking about, check them out because they're they're really good at that.
SPEAKER_02:I yeah, I completely agree with that that there was nothing in the lyrics here that I would call out. I I did think it was cool that when you get to the chorus, it has sort of a Tejano music flair to it, right? Uh, which is kind of a departure from what you're used to getting with K-pop, right? Like it sounds maybe like a more straight-ahead K-pop song, and then you have this kind of switch in the middle, uh, which I think makes it a little more interesting and pretty cool. But yeah, I I'm with you. Love the energy. This is another one of those. I mean, it's a great uh match with your first track, just because you just start off this mix with just like two really high-energy tracks. So um, yeah, I really enjoyed it. All right, now these next two were probably like my two favorites on the mix, and I don't know if I could decide which one was my favorite, but uh number 10 on your top 12, this is Fear by NF.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love NF. Um, and I specifically love, you know, it's funny because like um Jump is an example of me not caring about lyrics, whereas NF is an example of me very much caring about lyrics. And I think something that he does so well is he's so raw and honest in all of his songs, and you feel, especially if you've been listening to him throughout all of his different albums, you feel his struggles with his like just mental health issues and and him feeling like, you know, in the last one it was all about hope and how he felt like he finally could shut the door on fear and he wasn't gonna let fear take the wheel anymore. And here's you know, an EP that he releases where he's talking about how he kind of feels like he let it back in, he let it take back over his his life and make some decisions for him and and just having you know having to deal with kind of the repercussions of that. But so I I really appreciate like how honest everything feels with him, um and how open he is to think about this stuff and just kind of him wondering why, you know, like literally asking, like, what what wh why is this happening, you know, like what's going on with all that? So I think he's so talented as a rapper. Um, and and I think a big part of why he's got such a big following is because he's not afraid to just talk about what he's dealing with and his struggles that also all feel very relatable, like how many of us kind of go through those cycles of feeling very hopeful and and energetic and happy and and like we've arrived somewhere, and then all of a sudden feeling like, oh no, I I'm making fear-based decisions because I'm afraid to lose something, or I'm afraid that it can't just keep going so well and and letting the anxiety take the wheel. So I really love this song. And and again, I just think it also sonically sounds really good. Like he delivers this stuff in a very powerful, like catchy way. So love NF as a as an artist.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was so impressed with this one just because he goes from kind of this melodic singing to some of the rapping that you know you're probably more used to with him. But through that all, like you talk about it sonically. Uh you could strip, I mean, I guess the lyrics did factor in or the way his voice sounded, but like you really feel fear, right? Like it does such a good job of invoking the feeling that is right there in the title, uh, which is really cool, and not fear in like a this is from a scary movie sort of way, right? It's more like fear anxiety type thing. Um, which you know makes it maybe less sort of listenable over and over again, just because I don't know how much you want to feel that, but at the same time, it's just really well done. Like, and I think that's really what stood out to me and why I like the song so much is I was just like, God, he's really just that that's that is really good stuff that he could he could pull that off. So just a really cool song, very emotional. Um, but yeah, one of one of my favorites from your pick from your picks as well. All right, number nine on the countdown. This is Phantom Island by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, again, every single time we mention this band, I gotta shout out their band name. Um, talk about like replayability. You could just keep saying that over and over, and you'd never get tired of it. It's a it's a fun set of words that go together. So um I, yeah, you know, we talked about this song earlier this year. This was on one of my new music picks. I still love this opening. It's like some kind of a theme song or that like a jazz band would play, or it almost reminds me of something like they would play in the movie Whiplash, you know, that it just has that kind of big band feel to it. Um, it almost even once you get into them singing has almost like a Beatles sound to it. Um, just like how I don't know, it's like such a fascinating song, and I think it really speaks to this group and their creativity and how they are not afraid, um, speaking of fear, to just try different things and just have fun with their sounds. I've I've heard them do like rap music, I've heard them do like you know, the type of big band, I've heard them do alt rock, like they're like kind of all over the place, right? So it's it's like a lot of fun with them. Um and I just appreciate their creativity and and I'm excited for them to continue to release new albums. They they they seem like they come out with one every 15 minutes, so I'm here for that.
SPEAKER_02:Um, yeah, I mean the mix of kind of genres and instruments in this one is is really cool. I think that's what probably stood out to me. It reminded me, you know, you said the Beatles. I went a little later in time and and picked something from the 70s, almost like ELO. Yes, totally. It like vocally it kind of sounded that way, and just the way they kind of switched up the sound throughout. I just uh I just loved it. And then, you know, one of the lyrics I'll call out, uh, I suppose sanity is easy to lose and hard to find, which uh you're probably experiencing right now with a new child.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely, yeah. I mean, listeners don't know this, but we were actually supposed to record this a day earlier and 10 minutes beforehand, which is basically when I woke up because we had been woken up so much over the night. I slept through my alarm. I was like, oh shoot. Um so sorry, Matt.
SPEAKER_02:Well, luckily I've had two myself, so I understand how that works. So it was all good. All good. Um, all right, number eight on the countdown here. This is not a game by Logic featuring Lucy Rose.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, Logic is again one of the probably top artists this year for me of just music I've listened to. In fact, on my Apple replay, um, he had like the number one and two tracks for this year for me, uh, from older stuff, but wow, but that's impressive to occupy the top two, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, like it's not just I'm listening to one song over and over.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, it's like I just got kind of obsessed with this whole discography and just kind of dove in and kept a lot of stuff on repeat. Um, so yeah, I'm I'm just like really enjoying his music. I don't know why it just struck a chord for me this year. It's just funny how that happens sometimes, right? Like for whatever reason, you can't always explain it. Like an artist just comes into your life and you're like, this is what I need to listen to right now. And sometimes you come back to it like a couple years later and it just doesn't connect in the same way that it doesn't have that emotional resonance, and you don't know why, but I don't know. It's it's interesting. Just sometimes things just hit. Um, and so logic is like really working for me this year. Um and so, yes, this is a a new track from Logic. Um, and I also think it's really nice having a female voice across from him because she just does an amazing job on this track as well. Um, but I just really enjoy it, and I think his rapping is really good, his lyrics are fun, and again, it's just been like the year of logic for me.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I yeah, I agree. This is such a cool song. I think you know, the inclusion of Lucy Rose is kind of just her voice is so sweet, and it just kind of breaks up his rapping so well. Uh, and it doesn't kind of throw you off. Sometimes I feel like when there are guest voices on a song like this that are somewhat disparate, it it doesn't always work, but I think it works really well here, uh, especially when she's saying like it's time for the game to change. It almost adds a little emphasis to his more emphatic sounding voice, even though hers is significantly less emphatic. Uh so it's really I don't know, just really well done. It just really clicked, I think. So yeah, great pick here. All right, so number seven on the countdown here. This is uh our old friends, AJR. They've got a new song this year, and it is called The Big Goodbye.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the first time I played this, I was instantly hooked because it opens with like a like this loop of an auctioneer um who's just like kind of sing songgy in a way like they they made it really it works really, really well on the track. You'll just have to listen to it, and that's kind of like repeated throughout the um throughout the song. So it just is like super catchy, gets your attention very quickly because it doesn't sound like any other type of song opening you're used to. And yeah, it just kind of is a song about looking back um and thinking about you know this moment of like, oh, like, you know, I I've made it, I'm I'm I'm at the happy ending and wondering if that's like where you're meant to be, or like what was it all about? And you know, he has this line about like leaving a place um to be to go and feel known, but perhaps the place that you left you were already known. And so sometimes maybe the goal that you're chasing is right in front of you, you know, if you just allow yourself to kind of like take a moment and look around, um, which is something I think about often so many, you know, like we're all very goal-oriented, and it is important sometimes to realize how far you've come and that actually you've probably checked off a lot more boxes than you think. Um, if you just allow yourself to kind of take stock in that. So I really like the song. Um, again, I think AJR is another really talented band in that they sing really catchy, sometimes silly things, but they're very real. Um they're deeply reflective, and I think that they're like a highly, like a high EQ band, basically, but they deliver it everything in like a fun, boppy way. So it's easy to kind of dismiss the lyrics, but the lyrics are really fun and important here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think if uh, you know, someday when this is the number one podcast in the world and we're we're bigger celebrities, we could kind of go back and listen to AJR's full catalog, and they can kind of walk us through that evolution of like what that's like. Like I you said it like how self-reflective they are, and I think it's really cool because their whole catalog kind of reflects where they are on this journey. And this is another one of those examples of just look at all these things I've left behind, and that but they know who I really am, not this person who these new people think I am, right? And that's kind of the difference, right? They they they are a very famous band now, and people probably are much nicer to them generally, but you know, there there's this group at home who was nice to them before they were who they are now. So yeah, really, really cool song, really self-respe um introspective. And I think it's uh something something you and I will look back on someday and be like, you know what? I know how they feel.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, from our private island. Um from a private island, yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:That's what that's where the recording studio will be. We'll fly there once a week.
SPEAKER_01:Very eco-friendly recording too. Yeah, that's right.
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SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Uh so this was originally one of my picks on an earlier new music mix, uh, but it is Evil Twin by Lindsay Sterling featuring Shuba.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think this is actually the very first time that's happened. And I I do remember when this recorded, when we recorded the new um mix, I told you this was gonna be on my best of. Um, and here it is. It it made it. It's you're a man of your word. You're a man of your word. If nothing else, that's what I am, yes. Um yeah, no, I just like I was obsessed with it then. I'm still obsessed with it now. I put it on one of my um, I have like a pre-run playlist that I listen to and I update it every year. So I'm on like volume two now of just music I like to listen to right before a run or before a race or like when I'm warming up to just kind of get me into that mindset. And so this is on there, and I just think it's perfect for that. Um again, just really amp up energy, awesome mix of EDM and you know, string instruments, like it's just so cool. So I've really kind of been obsessed with that. If I'm not listening to Logic, I'm listening to music like this, and and you'll hear a little bit more of that as we get closer to my number one pick as well. But um, yeah, really awesome. Well done. Well done picking new music.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yeah, I mean, Lindsay Sterling's a violinist, and uh she kind of mixes classical with hip-hop. You know, she's got a huge following on YouTube with a lot of her tracks, and then she brings in Shuba, who's kind of known for mixing Bollywood with this kind of pop rap sound, and so it's just such a cool mashup um of all these unique sounds and just really well done. So, of course, I mean, you know, I like this song. I mean, I brought it to the new music mix, but um, honored that you would pick it here for your best stuff.
SPEAKER_01:You're welcome.
SPEAKER_02:Um all right, we're in the top five here. Number five, and uh no surprise that this was going to be somewhere on the best of this is Witch Dance by Florence and the Machine.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so her uh Halloween album came out, and of course, you know, I remember when Jen took over uh for my recordings. I was like, if nothing else, you've got to pick a Florence song for me at some point, uh, which is no problem for Jen, because she's a huge fan.
SPEAKER_02:I think she did it twice. I think she did it two months in a row.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I trusted that that wasn't gonna be an issue, but um, you know, I talk about again realness of lyrics, and and Florence is someone who does that so well. So this is actually like a very deeply personal song and a very scary experience for her. She sings actually about um how she had an ectopic pregnancy and she is reflecting on like how close she came to death. In the act of producing life. And I think that even that sentence and that sentiment is like such a powerful thing to reflect on. Because unfortunately, pregnancy still remains like a very dangerous thing for a lot of women. And so that's something that is very real. And of course, like, you know, my wife gave birth this year, and it was something that was on our minds all this year of just like making sure she's safe and making sure that the baby's safe and like how you know balancing all of that. Um, you definitely have a lot of a lot of like anxiety about, you know, how it's gonna go and how birthing's gonna go. So um yeah, I think you know, Florence is just so so good at singing emotional songs. Um, this is one of them. And I just think it's such a powerful, it's it's such an interesting sounding song. You know, it's called Witch Dance, it almost feels tribal in a way. Like I just think it's really incredible. And and she does, and her voice is just spectacular. I mean, she I she's just one of the most talented artists, in my opinion, um, in our time right now, and and I hope people really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you know, and Jen, we we joked earlier, Jen brought a couple different tracks in this album. I mean, this album, I think what was so unique about it was it was a Halloween album, and you know, it had real themes behind it. It wasn't like she, you know, wrote a horror movie or something and put, you know, it wasn't some sort of musical. I thought what was neat is that oftentimes she referred to herself as kind of the the most powerful being and the monster. And so it wasn't like generally we and we did a Halloween mix before, but a lot of times it's about being afraid and running from the monster and this, that, and the other. And so I thought what was really cool is so many of these songs were kind of written from this other perspective of like, you know, uh I'm the one you should be afraid of, right? Like it's it's not it's not these other things that are out there, it's it's me, it's the person singing to you, uh, which is such a cool perspective. And and you're right, you use the word powerful, but that's exactly what you get, not just from this track, but I think a lot of the tracks on this on this new album. So yeah, it's really well done. And also takes advantage of her just being such a powerful vocalist. Yes, she can convey that with her voice. So yeah, I I thought it was excellent, and I thought that new album's just awesome. So yeah, great. I'm glad that you guys brought like you know, three different tracks from this other, maybe four different tracks from this album throughout the year. Yeah, so well done. Well done. Um, all right. You referenced this earlier when we were talking about Blackpink. So number four on the countdown, this is Like Jenny by Jenny.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, talk about like a 180 from powerful lyrics and um you know, really emotional.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, these next, these next few are just a lot, a lot more fun, I feel like.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I'm a man of contrast. Um, you know, it's like I have like Fear by NF and Witch Dance by Florence. And then I've got a song called Like Jenny, which I mean is truly it's like engineered for our time, you know, like it's it's so perfect for the TikTok dance routine for it to become a viral meme of people trying to do the dance, of you know, the the chorus that she literally sings, like don't bore us, take us to the chorus, right? Like um, of just like people people want the repeatable, you know, the the repeatable part of a song and they want to get into it. So I think this is like pop at at its peak, basically. Um, and and that is a skill, absolutely. I know some uh we've talked a lot about how people can hate on pop, but it's it's not easy. It's not easy to generate a pop song that becomes a massive global hit.
SPEAKER_02:Um but no, I mean, yeah, it happens two, three times a year, but if it was easy, I think it would happen a lot more often than that. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so this is just one of those that I had on repeat all year long, so it had to go in top five because I would just like again, I sometimes just want that really kind of like light, easy song to listen to on replay and not like dive deep into any kind of emotions uh because I have plenty of those to dive into on my own time. So music acts like an escape in that regard.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think we've talked about that on the show too before. It's just how much, you know, it it's a mood changer for you, right? So if you are feeling down or you're feeling, you know, a little blah or not a lot of energy, a song like this pick you right back up. I mean, it's a such a fun song, it's great energy. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what more you want out of a song, you know, when you're listening to it. And this is kind of a fun one you can listen to with the kids or whatever as well, and they're gonna get into it and and maybe think you're cool for a second. You're not there yet when you're a kid, Sam, but someday. Yeah, someday they'll think you're not cool, and you have to do things like this to get them on your side.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Today he thinks I'm super cool. I can like move something. Yeah, right now it's amazing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:All right, top three. Here we go. This is another fun one. Uh, this is With a Smile by Maya Manser.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Um, this is again a song I was introduced to from Instagram, um, watching her sing it live in a concert, and I was blown away by her voice and how effortlessly she carries this note. Um, you know, I mentioned this on the new music mix earlier this year, but I was introduced to the concept of siren core, which is a great um name for this type of singing because it just sounds like a siren song. It draws you in. Um, it just still gives me chills to blast this song. Like I never get tired of her hitting that note. I just find it kind of haunting. Um, and then I you know it's delivered on top of like an electronic song. Um, and I I love whenever like electronic music is kind of the foundation for then something really cool on top of it, um, rather than, you know, like I I have a harder time, let's say, with just like pure trance, you know, where it's only an electronic beat the entire way through. But I think that it can offer like a really strong, cool foundation to put an, you know, a a concert on top of, or a musician or sorry, a singer on top of. So um, this is one of those songs where I just think like the mix of the two work really, really well together.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think that's something you did a lot of, I think, with your best of mix, is just sort of a mix of genres, right? And just sort of how how people can make it work because you're right. I think nowadays with music, and especially that's something that I feel like AI will have a difficult time reproducing, like when people have fears of that, is having enough knowledge and and thought to kind of mix the two together uh really well. Um, but you're right, this is awesome. Her voice just is great, uh, good lyrics here, and then yeah, just the the sort of energy that you get from that electronic track really just kind of brings it all together. So, yeah, really cool song. So, so great pick here for your top three. All right, here we go. Top two songs of the year for you. Okay, number two, it is Welcome to The Carter by Little Wayne.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, Little Wayne um also had a moment for me this year. I just became like reintroduced to him and obsessed with a lot of his music. Uh, really talented rapper, great, great songs. Um, and so obviously, you know, his uh his new album that dropped kind of randomly, if I remember correctly, um this year was like a surprise and it was really good to listen to. You know, you just mentioned AI, and I think I well, as I was researching this song, there's some controversy because it's unclear if they used AI to do that to alter the sample that he uses here. Um that's that's uh kind of you know old-timey like Motown sound to it.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um, just because it it kind of mentions him by name, and there's no way that that exists as a pure sample. Um just alpha. Oh, right. That's a good point. That's a good point. So it's interesting. Um, so there's some controversy there, but I I don't know. I don't I didn't really particularly care about that part. I just really like the song. And I think it the album's really good. Um, and I love, you know, like his lyrics and the way he delivers them are so great. Like he sings this line here, like, and I'll clean it up, but um, the house is so effing massive. I just added concierge, you know, just like your house, your house is so big, you need a concierge in the front of it, which I think is great. It's a great image.
SPEAKER_02:That is great. I love that. Um, yeah, the line I called out is you've been to hell and back, but have you been to heaven before? Which I thought was cool because a lot of times people just talk about the struggles they've been to, and it's it's kind of neat to be like, Yeah, but have you stopped to kind of enjoy what you have, or or have you gotten to your goal at all? Right? Or you just keep talking about the struggle, and that's kind of where you live. Um, but you're right. I mean, it's it's a really cool song. I mean, that they got a choir in there as well, there's some cool samples. Um yeah, I mean, he's got obviously the new album. I think there's a big tour going on right now, or about to start. So, so yeah, great, great pick here. All right, let's bring it home. This is your number one song of 2025. And I even looked up how to pronounce these guys' names, so hopefully I don't screw it up. But here we go. It is Lazarus Rise by Washiu and Apache.
SPEAKER_01:Nice, yeah. So I have become obsessed uh with these guys. Actually, um, aposh or apashi, I don't know how to maybe you have the pronunciation correct, and I've been getting it right.
SPEAKER_02:I dug into it and I saw more people say aposh than apashi. Apashi, yeah. So I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Well, hopefully we can just have him respond to us and let us know. Yeah, he can just come on the show at Subrosi Mix.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, have your people call our people.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. Um, Belgian DJ, I have talked about him before uh many times, obsessed with his music. I recently realized that he does like these live concerts um where obviously he's DJing, but he's got a full orchestra behind him and on stage. There's one that he did in Montreal at the Jazz Fest. I've been watching on YouTube, it's an hour and a half long, and it is unbelievable to watch because like he's obviously like doing his DJ thing. He's got the you know the little DJ table that he's at, but watching the orchestra play his music alongside what he's done, because again, like that's his whole thing is like mixing classical with EDM elements. Like gives me chills, even just talking about it now because it's so cool to watch how talented um these musicians are in in the orchestra, you know, to keep up with this type of music is is awesome. And to do it for an hour and a half is even like without a break is incredible. Um, but yeah, I just think like music like this, you know, this is one of the new tracks that came out this year, is um perfect for like pre-gym amp up or working out at the gym or going on a run and you just like want to get into a flow state, you can listen to music like this, like and it'll keep you going, like you just feel it amping you up. So absolutely my number one like vibe for the year, um, and one that I'm sure gonna keep going with as I get into 2026 and and line up all the goals I have for that year.
SPEAKER_02:Um, totally agree with all that. I I said if we did another mix, you know, we did that strut mix. I I feel like this could be a great strut song, right? That you're walking along to. Uh it starts with the piano, it's a little creepy and it just kind of builds up. Of course, you know, the story of Lazarus from the Bible, he's brought back from the dead. And I think this one, the way it just builds up, I mean, that's what you're feeling, right? Like you could be just dead asleep in your bed, and like this is gonna get you out of bed and and and make you rise up. So awesome pump-up song. Um, you brought a lot of energy to this best of mix, which I which I just loved. I mean, we talk all the time how I'm probably almost amped up anyway. So uh just loved how this song just got me to another level. So it's great.
SPEAKER_01:It's true. Actually, I I speaking of reflecting, um, it'd be interesting for me to look at my previous best of mixes because I feel like my pattern used to be that I would always end on a low note and it would get more and more morose.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I didn't want to say anything. We got a lot of letters, we got a lot of handwritten letters from fans.
SPEAKER_00:I'm okay. I'm okay, everybody. It's uh it's all good.
SPEAKER_02:All right. Well, there you have it. Another super awesome mix for your collection. This time it's Sam's Best of 2025. Um, you can follow us on social media, Instagram and threads at Super Awesome Mix, and of course YouTube at Super AwesomeMix as well. Ladies and gentlemen, season five of Super Awesome Mix is in the books. We will be back in January with the start of season six with Sam. Can you believe we've put five seasons of this podcast together?
SPEAKER_01:No, I I I really can't for so many reasons. It's amazing. It's the most important we're still talking to each other.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00:Just it's incredible. It really is.
SPEAKER_02:Well, thank you, and thank Jen Tully for all her help with this podcast and then with her own show and and the other shows on the super awesome Mix Podcast Network. Uh, we thank you, the fans, for listening. And uh trust us, folks, the best is yet to come. So stick with us, share with a friend, leave us a five-star review. We would love that as a Christmas slash Hanukkah slash Kwanzaa gift, Boxing Day, whatever you celebrate, make that your gift to us. A five-star review, it helps other people find the show. So thank you. And so for Sam, this is Matt, and we'll see you in 2026.