It’s 2015, which for many college students, means another year in which events that seemed to have happened yesterday are now celebrating their fifth and tenth anniversaries. It may blow your mind how much these songs, albums and events have aged, so if you’re in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, I’d recommend you stop reading here.
5 years ago:
– Ke$ha releases Animal (January 1). The hard-partying pop star released her debut album on the first day of the 2010s, becoming the perfect icon for the glam-damaged electropop that defined the turn of the decade.
– Lil Wayne goes rock, then to prison (March 2). After releasing the bizarre nu-metal experiment Rebirth, Lil Wayne spent most of the year behind bars for weapons charges.
–Ronnie James Dio dies (May 16). The legendary Black Sabbath/Dio/Rainbow singer’s death in 2010 came as a shock to rock fans everywhere.
– Lady Gaga debuts her meat dress (September 12). Though it’s now a sheet of jerky preserved in the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Lady Gaga’s raw-beef dress remains fresh in many of our minds.
– Skrillex blows our heads with dubstep (October 22). Dubstep’s been around since the ’90s, but it only truly blew up–along with the entire EDM movement–when Skrillex dropped Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites in 2010.
10 years ago:
– Bright Eyes drops a two-fer (January 25). While Digital Ash In A Digital Urn is largely forgotten, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (released the same day) spawned the sensitive-guitar standard “First Day Of My Life.”
– Alice In Chains reunites (February 2). Naysayers who doubted the band could spring back without the late Layne Staley were silenced by the undeniable vocal power of new singer William DuVall.
– Daft Punk releases Human After All (March 14). The house duo’s third album disappointed critics upon release, though its reputation has improved somewhat in the last decade.
– Fall Out Boy drops “Sugar, We’re Going Down” (April 12). Emo peaked right around George Bush’s second inauguration, and Fall Out Boy’s infectious single was a major reason why.
– Gorillaz drops Demon Days (May 11). Blur singer Damon Albarn’s virtual band proved itself more than a silly side project with the acclaimed Demon Days and its juggernaut single “Feel Good Inc.”
– Rihanna debuts (May 24). The Barbadian singer’s debut single “Pon De Replay” may not have been enough to make her a megastar just yet, but it was only a matter of time.
– Michael Jackson found not guilty of child molestation (June 13). In 2015, it just seems amazing there was a time when Michael Jackson was a punchline.
– Pink Floyd reunites with Roger Waters (July 2). Sadly, a full reunion with Waters will likely never happen, and the history of Pink Floyd from here on out seems doomed to consist of posthumous albums.
– Kanye has strong words for Bush (September 2). The rapper/producer’s impromptu rant against the then-President on a live Hurricane Katrina benefit established him as pop music’s most controversial and outspoken superstar.
– Lil Wayne begins his classic era (December 6, 2005). Between Tha Carter II and Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne was one of the hardest-working MCs in hip-hop–and one of the best. (If you don’t believe me, cue up “Get High Rule The World.”)
This music timeline will make you feel old in 2015
Daniel Bromfield
January 21, 2015
0
More to Discover