Charli XCX’s “Rock Music” is sparking a surprising debate

by

Look, I just play the games, I don’t make them! But it’s weird, every couple of decades music just…shifts. And it always seems to be signaled by one huge song. Like, back in the mid-60s, everyone lost it when Dylan started playing electric guitar.

Back in the mid-1980s, Rick Rubin talked Run-DMC into recording a cover of an Aerosmith song. Then, in 2003, Andre Young – known as Dr. Dre – blended pop, soul, and R&B to create what many consider a groundbreaking and incredibly popular song.

I mean, do you really need a Polaroid picture?

Charli XCX’s new song feels significant – like things are coming back around full circle. Or, knowing her, it could all be a playful joke. She is a British millennial, after all, and known for being unpredictable.

Charli XCX rocks out on her new single

“I think the dance floor is dead
So now we’re making rock music.”

If the artist behind Brat is serious about this, it could be a huge moment in music, comparable to iconic songs like “Like a Rolling Stone” or the “Walk This Way” cover. Just two years ago, Charli set the standard for hyperpop dance albums, and Brat was truly exceptional. However, it didn’t completely break new ground.

She’s hinted at a shift in her musical approach. Last month, in an interview with British Vogue, she revealed she enjoys challenging expectations and expressed disappointment at the idea of simply recreating the sound of her 2024 album, Brat.

The new single, “Rock Music,” was released on Friday. It’s expected to be on the next album after Brat, and early reports suggest a sound with more guitar and less auto-tune. We’ll get a better idea of the overall direction when the full album comes out.

Right now, we can describe the song as really cool, driven by distorted guitars that sound both sharp and surprisingly textured. As for the lyrics, beyond the line mentioned earlier, she shares…

“I’m really banging my head
I’m really hurting my neck
The nerve damage is real”

I wish I’d been more aware of what was happening when I last saw Slayer. Speaking of which, their groundbreaking album Reign in Blood was released the same year as the Run-DMC and Aerosmith collaboration – and it’s interesting to note that producer Rick Rubin was only 23 years old at the time.

Back to Charli… the question is this. Is “Rock Music” a serious departure or a satirical lark.

I’m clearly out of touch with what young people find funny, so I turned to Business Insider for help – who else can you really trust these days? According to writer Charissa Cheong, the humor favored by Gen Z is built on irony, silliness, and a strong sense of nostalgia.

Cheong seemed to be adopting the style of humor that younger people often find embarrassing, but I won’t say whether that’s good or bad.

I’m not sure if Cheong is interested in becoming a music critic, but her reaction to Charli’s new song felt spot-on. It’s a surprisingly insightful take that also seems like a fond nod to the music she grew up with. I definitely hear echoes of Elastica in the song, though that might just be my interpretation – I’m a big fan of Elastica and hear their influence often.

I really enjoy the band Elastica, which should tell you that I’m a fan of rock music in general – I find it a lot of fun! The song itself is quite brief, lasting less than two minutes. Around the 90-second mark, right after the last chorus and before the song ends, Charli could have added a guitar solo. Something short and edgy, balancing melody and noise, would have been a perfect fit.

I have a feeling the concept was never really considered.

Okay, let’s be real – “Rock Music” isn’t really a rock song, is it? It hints at it, but I have a feeling it’s going to be everywhere in clubs this summer, probably some long remix that still skips the guitar solo. It’ll get people moving like “Von Dutch” and “360” did a while back. It definitely has more energy than those tracks, but it’s not exactly the same vibe as a band like The Bobby Lees, you know?

The Rolling Stones, arguably one of the best rock bands of all time, also released a new single this Friday. They don’t need to explicitly label a song as “Rock Music” – they’ve been defining the genre for decades. I enjoy their new song, “In the Stars,” though it doesn’t quite reach the level of “Rough and Twisted,” another single from their upcoming album, Foreign Tongues. I particularly like “Rough and Twisted” – it has a great bluesy feel.

For me, rock music falls somewhere between those types of songs, but it’s completely different. It’s not a groundbreaking observation, of course – Charli XCX and Mick Jagger aren’t exactly alike!

“Rock Music” is an enjoyable song, truly a lot of fun. However, it’s unlikely to inspire any major change in the world.

Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow

Read More

2026-05-08 17:00