Refreshing releases, public urination, solid Pop; though no groundbreaking releases characterized October 2015 in the music industry, there were definitely some happenings during the “Halloween Month” that are worth noting. For commercial pop, there were notable releases, like Janet Jackson’s Unbreakable that was well-liked among critics - though the album wasn’t any shift towards an innovative direction for her, it was like eating a really good snack; you enjoy it while you’re eating it, but after you’re ready for something else, for a full meal. That feeling characterizes October 2015 in music as a whole. There were no releases in any genre, for me at least, that you could really get lost in, they were all good snacks that kept me satisfied while I waited for a bigger meal of an album. Back to Pop: other releases including Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, 5 Seconds of Summer, OMI, and Pentatonix. In number of releases, pop definitely dominated the month (as it often does).
Yet, the number of releases in Hip Hop not only fell short, notable releases really limited to The Game’s Documentary 2 and Documentary 2.5, but the debauchery outside of the studio was what was cutting through to the public in this genre. On October 9, Scarface was arrested following the taping of the in Atlanta stemming from a warrant. On October 11, Wiz Khalifa was cited for public urination in his hometown of Pittsburgh. And Flava Flav pleaded guilty to one count of unlicensed aggravated operation of a motor vehicle stemming from a traffic stop violation in January 2014, to name a few. The out-of studio fun is still going on with DJ Khaled, after releasing I Changed a Lot on October 23 and becoming an inspiration to all of us.
For Indie Rock, October 2015 was a refreshing month. Some very notable releases like Deerhunter’s Fading Frontier that was well-recieved and took the band into new sonic territories, or the EL VY’s Return to the Moon which is made up of the National's Matt Berninger and Menomena’s Brent Knopf. Both of these albums are fresh starts - EL VY obviously being a brand new project, and for Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, it’s very much a fresh start after a hard period in his life. Or for a band like Beach House, who released Thank Your Lucky Stars following Depression Cherry, which was released 2 months prior, this unorthodox release schedule marks a new period for them, where they definitely are honing in on their artistry from an editorial standpoint. Other notable releases include Wavves, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero, Johnny Marr, Coheed and Cambria, !!!, Neon Indian, and Fuzz.
Looking back on October 2015, I’m left wanting more. Perhaps this feeling is good - after all the tension and waiting is what makes a good release appreciated - and many of those there were in 2015.
