2022 pop music mashups

This year, I’m sticking with the same two mashup makers as last year. Part of that is because it’s such a busy time of year, and this is easier, especially because I don’t have time to search for other mixes. Also, some of the folks I used to share don’t do it any more.

The video up top is DJ Earworm’s 2022 year-end mashup, “United State of Pop 2022 (I Want Music)”, which was released two days ago. As in previous years, he includes a tracklist in the YouTube video description, and that’s very handy: I knew very few of the songs this year.

When the free-to-air pop music video channels were discontinued in March of this year, my regular access to new pop music went with it. That’s because I don’t listen to radio, and the only way to access the former “Edge TV” channel is through the web. That matters because I watch YouTube and other streaming content through my Apple TV (and I’ve also use what I call “the Android box”). There is no App to allow streaming, and Apple TV has browser (there is on on the Android box, but it’s buggy as hell, and the streaming wouldn’t work). The only way I can watch the video channel is sitting at my desk, or by streaming it wirelessly from one of my devices (phone, tablet, or laptop). That’s too much hassle, to be honest.

I could, of course, follow the official NZ pop charts, because they provide links to relevant YouTube videos, but the point of the old TV channels was that all I had to do was put the TV on that channel. Any other option now is involved and includes extra steps. So, I just don’t bother anymore.

I mention all that because I also didn’t know most of the songs in the video below, Adamusic’s “2022 RENAISSANCE | A Year-End Megamix (Mashup)”, which was released a couple weeks ago. He doesn’t provide a tracklist, unfortunately, but the YouTube video description does provide links to streaming service playlists. I don’t necessarily think that one or the other is better—the tracklist is better if I want to know what a song is, a playlist is better if I want to listen to them all. It comes down to what someone finds more useful, I guess.

I don’t know that my relative ignorance about the songs in these mashups really matters that much: These things are an entity all their own. If I was familiar with the songs, I might have an opinion about the songs chosen: Did I think there are omissions? Did I think there was too much/too little of an artist? I can’t answer those questions, really, but I usually focus more on the sound of each mashup, anyway.

I think the sound and structure of both of these mashups are consistent with those of previous years. I also think that Adamusic’s has a somewhat younger vibe than DJ Earworm’s does. But that’s just my impression; others may see—or hear—things differently.

In any case, that’s the annual mashup post done. One more thing I can check off my list in this busy time of year.