Each month, tons of new music from many taste-spanning genres is released into a fast-consuming, unforgiving market; it can be tough to get a handle on what’s new before it’s on to the next. In an attempt to highlight the standout releases, at the end of each month, AUX staff re-cap the month in Punk, Metal, Indie/Pop/Rock, Hip Hop, and Pop with the top five releases in each. Consider it your cheat sheet for year-end lists.

Top 5 Pop Tracks:
October

Lupe Fiasco – “Lightwork” feat. Ellie Goulding

Lupe Fiasco tore it up in March with Lasers, which landed him a hat-trick of top spots on the Billboard Charts: #1 on the Billboard Hot 200, #1 on R&B/Hip Hop Albums, and #1 on Rap Albums. Four singles later, and Lupe is already releasing music from his follow-up, a forthcoming mixtape called Friend of the People. On Lasers, Lupe found success through a recognizable sample, borrowing the guitar lines and chorus melody from “Float On” by Modest Mouse. “Lightwork” is our first taste from FOTP, and Lupe bookends this song with another sample. Taking from Bassnectar’s remix of Ellie Goulding’s anthemic indie-dance hit “Lights,” Lupe has crafted an electro-hop monster on which he can effectively flex his swag muscles. Lupe steps away from the more personal content present on Lasers, and focusses more on the tough and clever punchline posturing that dominates radio hip-hop today. Lupe has always been known for eloquent lyrics, and “Lightwork” allows him to spit for 3 solid minutes, tossing out reference-laden couplets like “Why he so rebellious? Up-front with his realness? / They wanna be fiascoes, reproduce his failures / Emperor is his alias, but not Marcus Aurelius / This is more like Sparta: kick you down a well, kid.” Lupe Fiasco is a poetic, prolific powerhouse. Yeah, it’s so good that it makes me want to drop some alliteration. Here’s hoping for more of the same on Friend of the People, which has a US Thanksgiving-ish release date.

Beyonce – “Countdown”

“Countdown” seems to be caught up in choreography controversy, thanks to the video directed by Adria Petty, which contains dance moves that bear resemblence to the work of Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. I’m not sure why Beyoncé’s dancing continues to be perpetually suspicious in origin, but it’s unfortunate, because it’s overshadowing the musical brilliance of “Countdown.” The framework for the song originated when producer Cainon Lamb started working with a sample from “Uhh Ahh” by Boyz II Men. Lamb sped up the countdown, added some snare taps, and built a beat around the sample. When she first heard it, Beyoncé loved the demo, and had Terius Nash (a.k.a. The-Dream) write verses for it. Bey recorded the final version of it just days later, and the end result is a genre-defying anthem about fidelity, and self-worth. It’s rather fitting that the sample is Boyz II Men, since they took Destiny’s Child on their first tour as their opening act. Beyoncé clearly has no qualms with crediting artists she samples in her music, so why can’t she do the same with her choreography?

Kelly Clarkson – “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”

For whatever reason, Clarkson’s 2004 hit “Since U Been Gone” resonates across all generations, and virtually all musical tastes. That might be dripping in hyperbole, but I really feel like everyone knows that song, and everyone has this weird guilty-pleasure soft-spot for it. In subsequent years, Kelly Clarkson has been our go-to girl for a quick fix of that quirky breakup-pop. It’s been two and a half years since Kelly Clarkson released All I Ever Wanted, the album responsible for similar hits like “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up.” Sure, that was enough to tide us over for a year or two. But now, more apparent than ever, there’s a Clarkson-shaped hole on pop-radio. We’re facing a severe defecit of her up-tempo crossover pop songs. Her new album Stronger came out last week, and we can all breathe easy knowing that the pop charts will soon overflow with the likable girl-power anthems and the somewhat less-likable girl-power ballads. The first single from her new record (“Mr. Know-It-All”) left much to be desired, but “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” feels a bit more familiar, and has easily filled the growing void that I thought might consume me. Kelly sends a message to her ex overtop a four-on-the-floor beat and a catchy chord progression via a pulsating synth pad: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger / Stand a little taller / Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone.” The track was produced by Greg Kurstin, who by all accounts is an expert in churning out pop hits. From his early origins as a producer for Dweezil Zappa, he’s worked with a diverse range of artists — anything from Ke$ha to Beck, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don’t think the song will make be a cross-generational genre-bending hit, but for those of us who still have a soft spot for Kelly, it’s honestly satisfying.

Big Sean – “Dance (A$$) (Remix)” feat. Nicki Minaj

In an interview on Baltimore radio station 92Q, Big Sean said that when he was thinking about rappers to feature on the official remix for Dance (A$$), Nicki Minaj was his first choice. His management (G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye West’s label and management company) said Nicki Minaj would charge too much. Big Sean texted her and asked if she was into it, and she did it for free. Having famous friends hasn’t hurt Big Sean’s quest for stardom, and as his album title would suggest (Finally Famous, 2011), he’s finally on top. Reviews have been mixed on this track, but bass-heavy production by newcomer production duo Da Internz, a feature from Hip-Hop’s fantastic ass ambassador Nicki Minaj, and a well-placed MC Hammer sample are enough for me to deem this track legit. It has the lyrical depth of a wading pool, but Big Sean maintains a sense of humour throughout, and in interviews he has insisted that it’s “NOT a stripper’s anthem, it’s a song for any girl to dance to.” In that sense, Dance (A$$) is a bassy, booty-bounceable sexed-up success.

Drake – “Make Me Proud” feat. Nicki MInaj

It seems like every month I’ve been tossing a new Drake track in my Top 5 roundup, and October can be no different. The OVO Posterboy’s new single is a collaborative lovey-dovey half-banger/half-ballad between Drake and his Young Money Cash Money sweetheart Nicki Minaj. Producer T-Minus is no stranger to this duo; he also produced the Pink Friday smasher “Moment 4 Life.” Toronto based Tyler “T-Minus” Williams’ is only 23, but his swelling synths and chopped up vocal edits put him in a league with other current top hip-hop producers like Lex Luger and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. Leage (a badass aside: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. Leage stands for “Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever”). In his first verse, Drake affects an indistinct almost Jamaican sounding accent, spouting “That’s why you wanna have no sex / Why you wanna protest / why you wanna fight for your right” and, authentic or not, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t work for me. Drake once said he would marry Nicki Minaj if he got the chance, and this affection really comes through on “Make Me Proud.” Nicki’s feature is the best she’s done lately, with some decent wordplay (“He asked my sign, I said a Sagg’/ I’m a star, Sheriff badge”) and a competent singing section. The OVO crew is going hard for Toronto in October, and songs like these that Drake can stake his reputation on.

Surprises, disappointments and tracks/albums to watch for next month

Surprise of the month: HOLY SHIT Y’ALL, NICKELBACK IS BACK.

Disappointments: SEE ABOVE. 

Out in November: Take Care is out November 15th. Mac Miller’s debut record Blue Side Park is out November 8th.