Why Charli xcx’s “Rock Music” Actually…Rocks?

As a long time rock and roll and metal music listener, I’ve grown a little tired of some of the aspects of the genre. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good head bang moment, a good guitar solo, a good mosh pit, but when has rock music been truly challenging the genre as we know it to create something new and different just for the sake of it?

This doesn’t go to show that there are some GREAT newer rock musicians out there (Yungblud, The Last Dinner Party, sir echo, PISS, Castle Rat, Imminence… just to name a FEW) who are doing amazing things for the scene. Read pretty much any article I’ve written. But call me a little jaded or not, without their exceptions, rock music has done a lot of the same things for decades.

Charli xcx has been stirring up a lot of conversations in the music scene lately. Like it or not, her influence speaks volumes in the music and pop cultural space as a whole. Her singles “Rock Music” and “SS26” are no exception to this. The biggest thing I’ve noticed, though, since she’s dropped the first of possibly many rock and rock-tinged hits: she is re-creating a conversation around rock music as a genre that hasn’t been happening all that much until recently. Not to mention, this new sound direction also invites new people in or people who maybe haven’t listened to rock music in awhile.

Listen to “Rock Music” here:

Rock and roll isn’t a dead scene, but I won’t deny that it still lacks the cultural influence that it used to. And I also find it very important to note when artists see this and decide to take a stab at it in making something new and welcoming people in again; especially in a scene that’s known to gate keep.

I mean, look at the comments in one of Charli’s latest TikTok videos promoting “SS26”:

What’s the kind of music that will bring new people to rock and roll again, especially to those who’ve turned their backs to it? Is it Charli? Who’s to say, I’d hope so! All I know is that the rock music scene is generally too gate-keepy, and Charli is turning that around, using it to her advantage, and welcoming everyone in with open arms with a fun little bop about headbanging and rocking out. Then she follows up with a shoegazey guitar and rolling beat for “SS26” and I can’t help but think: she might be onto something here.

Recently, she announced her upcoming album, Music, Fashion, Film. I’ll admit I’m curious to see her take on “reinventing” the genre, or at the very least, bringing more people into the conversation of what makes rock music and what doesn’t. I’m mainly eager to see what new life the genre continues to be shaped into and what new music can showcase in an artist’s creativity as a whole.

So yeah, here’s to more conversations and more ways we can bring rock music to the forefront of the conversation in pop culture again. If you’d like to read more of my thoughts on the matter, I’d love to hear feedback!