Act I: Jeremy’s Cut, is intended to be listened to in consecutive order. This playlist is Act I in full, and completes the first of three acts. Act II will begin on Monday, December 15th.
Don’t forget to rate each track with a 👍 or 👎, like and share this post, and subscribe to our publication to receive more playlists in the future. Becoming a free subscriber ensures each part of Act II is delivered to your inbox. Becoming a paid subscriber grants you access to Act III, where and I duel each other in a track-for-track showdown. It will also get you a new playlist curated by me every single month.
Continue to the bottom of the article for the YouTube Music version of this playlist.
Tune into a live AMA (Ask Me Anything) here on Substack with Jeremy Mercier on Saturday, December 13th! I will give insights into my song choices, what they meant to me personally, and the story they tell for the year of 2025.
Thanks, as always, for showing up and supporting all the hard work we put into this project.
7. Unhinged — Masego
The choice of the final three tracks of Jeremy’s Cut were intentional. For starters, I needed to bring you back down to earth from your lunar escapade with Jade Cicada. What better way to do so than a callback to Masego, who was featured in Part I of this Act.
“Unhinged” rides a laid-back, almost cruising-tempo beat — dusty drums, warm keys, and a bass-line that feels like it’s grinning the whole time. Vocally, Masego leans into controlled chaos, with lyrics about diving headfirst into something messy and intoxicating, knowing full well it might not be good for you and doing it anyway.
Where “Spin The Block” flirted with nostalgia and hesitation, “Unhinged” sounds like finally giving in to the impulse. As a sequencing move, it’s the re-entry point after the experimental detour of Part 2: the groove snaps back into focus, the world feels more familiar again, and the playlist starts steering toward its emotional peak.
This song resonates with me on a deeply personal, and emotional level. It speaks to an extremely challenging trial I went through this year. If you’d like to hear more about it, you can tune into my live stream on Saturday at 2pm.
8. oh to be loved — JVKE
An artist that I find to be quite intriguing… JVKE. For the longest time, I pronounced his name as (Jay-vee-Kay-EE) rather than “Jake”. I felt pretty dumb after I was informed of this. A noteworthy thing he does — something that isn’t too common — is he releases countless versions of the same song with different features on it. This slightly alters the song in many meaningful ways, giving you a different experience with each rendition.
“oh to be loved” is the act’s big open-hearted moment. JVKE builds the song around simple, cinematic piano and lush, widescreen production — reverb-heavy drums, swelling pads, and a vocal that keeps climbing higher than you initially expect. Lyrically it’s exactly what the title promises: a meditation on what it feels like to be truly seen and cherished, delivered with that earnest, slightly yearning tone that has become JVKE’s signature.
This track pulls the emotional threads together. The tension. The motion. The flirtation, the chaos, all collapsing into a straightforward desire for connection. In the flow of the playlist, “oh to be loved” functions as the emotional apex, the moment where the guard fully drops and the feelings are said plainly instead of hinted at around the edges.
9. Bet You Didn’t Need — Daniel Allan, Arlo & fkblnde
As a recent discovery, “Bet You Didn’t Need” found its home in this playlist the same day “Section” did. I discovered both on the same day. Within 24 hours, I reached out to Devin telling him we should do a 2025 playlist of all our favorite songs from the year. What sparked the idea for me was that I felt “Section” would be an amazing opener for a playlist, and “Bet You Didn’t Need” would be a perfectly paired conclusion. Despite finding them in the third week of November, they secured their spot as two of my top 10 songs of 2025.
“Bet You Didn’t Need” closes Act I on a reflective, late-night note. Daniel Allan’s production leans into melodic, future-facing electronic pop: clean drums, shimmering synths, and a bass that feels both punchy and soft around the edges. Arlo and fkbnd bring a more conversational, vulnerable vocal energy, with lines about being the extra in someone else’s story, and realizing too late that you were giving more than they ever asked for.
It’s not a wallow so much as a clear-eyed post-script. It’s bittersweet, but weirdly freeing. After the high of “oh to be loved,” this track lands the act in a place of quiet honesty, the emotional equivalent of a drive home after everything has happened. As an outro, it doesn’t try to out-dramatic what came before. It just lets the final synths ring out and gives you room to sit with the year.
YouTube Music Version (click the image)
