On the chorus of Charli XCX’s ‘Rock Music’, the first single since her momentous, season-defining album Brat, the British singer-songwriter proclaims: “I think the dance floor is dead; So now we’re making rock music.” On one hand, it sounds like something Charli XCX would say; but on the other hand… What the hell is happening?
When ‘Rock Music’ hit the airwaves last week, it was divisive. Or, at least, ‘divisive’ as Charli XCX’s discography goes. The artist is known for her unapologetically bold creative vision, largely incapable of writing songs that aren’t bangers. The spanner in the works, if it exists, is not in her talent generally, but in the song—its subject matter and her approach—specifically.
The single is quite strange, to say the least. It clocks in at a surprisingly short one minute and 55 seconds, home to two truncated verses and a pair of two-line choruses. The top comment on the biggest post discussing the song on the r/popheads subreddit even remarked: “1:55, are we serious? Lol.”
The lyrics are relatively sparse, even when compared to Charli XCX’s modus operandi. Sure, most listeners who have spent a few minutes delving into the artist’s discography would attest to her incisive wit. But she isn’t a poet in the traditional sense, typically relying on dry language to convey earnest themes. If we’re being honest, there’s only so much to be gleaned from the statement: “Yeah, we’re so inspired; Basically all the time.”
The production is questionable at best. Of course, Charli XCX has always been a pop artist who lives on the knife edge of convention, playing with style and sound with a master’s touch. After all, her long-time producer, A.G. Cook has made hyper-pop his playground for most of his career. But as well-known music critic and ‘the internet’s busiest music nerd’ Anthony Fantano observes: “It’s not a great rock song. I think it could have been better with a stronger bass line and some actual drums kind of filling in the backbone.”
So the question remains: why ‘Rock Music’? Why the half-measure guitar distortion, why the painfully on-the-nose lyrics, why the blunt trauma finish that leaves you wondering if the song ever started to begin with?
Is Charli XCX about to become a rock girlie? It’s not like no pop musician has ever done it before. Olivia Rodrigo toyed with the sound in hit single ‘bad idea right?’ and Willow Smith embraced early-2000s pop-punk with her album Lately I Feel Everything. Even modern hip-hop legends like Vince Staples and Denzel Curry have been dipping their toes in the rock pool lately. The former’s recent single ‘Blackberry Marmalade’ channels punky grit remarkably well, and fans of the latter have long been clamouring for Curry to release a heavy metal record, especially on the heels of his thrilling feature with acclaimed hardcore band Knocked Loose.
Perhaps, there’s a more likely scenario playing out here. Truth is simpler than fiction. Maybe Charli XCX’s new single—ostensibly about the death of pop and the blasé embrace of rock with all its headbanging guts and glory (Read: “Yeah, maybe jump off the stage; I hope they catch you today; But if they don’t, it’s okay”)—is a dig in itself. Maybe she’s poking fun at the trappings of fame many classic rock bands have historically enjoyed. Perhaps she’s making a statement about how genres don’t matter—they’re invisible lines that exist for musicians to bend and break in their pursuit of true artistry.
She proudly professes that she and her friends “are so inspired” to a very nearly petulant extent: “I’m really banging my head; I’m really hurting my neck; The nerve damage is real.” As if the sentiment wasn’t clear enough, the song ends with the statement “I’m really banging my head” repeated three times, the whole affair coming to an all-too-abrupt end with an almost pained cry: “We’re making roooooo-”.
If you have doubts, just watch the music video, which has every old-school rock trope on display. Charli XCX chain smokes cigarettes throughout its entirety; she walks around piles of cigarettes, lying on the floor surrounded by a sea of said vice and even goes on to light up a bunch. No grungy music video comes without its fair share of crowdsurfing, an overabundance of leather apparel and random messing about in a trashy, nondescript apartment living room either.
So don’t think too hard about it, because there’s a good chance Charli XCX isn’t. If she’s really turning towards rock in earnest, good for her. I have no doubt her next album will at least be a catchy one. And if she’s just making fun of genre conventions, it’s a win for us. We’ll enjoy the single for what it is, wonder at what’s to come and simply be happy we’re along for the ride—rock music be damned.
