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Rock music has always been a medium for people to express their strongest feelings, thoughts, and desires, artists and listeners alike. It’s something that has stayed consistent about the genre.

The group member of the band Amunda, Paul Ah Chee, says the lyrics of their songs are a mere reflection of what we see and what affects us. They address many aspects of life and of the world, delivering it in hard-hitting and thought-provoking lyrics. Does it stand true for modern music today?

Modern-day rock music

Modern rock music includes some bands making music with a commercial purpose in mind. But most artists still consider rock a means to address social issues and concerns. Warped in the lyrics, you’ll find lines about lives being lost to alcohol and drugs, unrequited love and toxic lovers, public voices being shunned and oppressive power getting stronger. 

Rock groups believe in the rhythm of the music to amplify the points they wish to address and take the listener into a zone where they meet face to face with the issue itself. If we go back to Hotel California, we can recollect the strong narrative about an alcoholic who, when once deep into the habit, struggles to come out as the person they were before. 

A band named the North Tanami Band has a song whose lines go like this - “Now sitting without thinking - older brother drinking wine - younger brother sniffing petrol.” It’s so representative of youngster groups today that try to distract themselves from their struggles by indulging in drugs and alcohol in an ever-extending sprint to reach a point of numbness. 

Finding the right sources to learn from

Rock is a unique aesthetic, something that demands one to dive deep to understand it. It can be a really interesting topic to study and something you can certainly read up on. One of the ways to find good resources would be to read social issues essay examples written by professionals that clearly cover different aspects of rock music. Find your social issues essay example on Samplius, a popular resource among school and college students. 

The reason essays are so reliable is because they are most often written and published by people who are experts in their respective fields, thereby giving more reliability to the content. Reading these essays will help you learn lots of new things about social issues that you might not even be aware of. 

A medium of catharsis

As people all over the world struggled with social issues ranging from discrimination based on gender or color to substance abuse and alcoholism, from feeling lonely to being unable to express themselves to others, rock music can allow listeners to release the ever-building tension inside. 

With the strong percussion tones combined with the buzzing metallic strings and the voice of the lead singer, rock music can be cathartic. People can resonate with the lyrics, to the tones of music, and find an outlet for whatever they may have stuck inside their minds. Be it frustration from long hours at work to sorrow about fragmented relationships, rock music compels the audience to challenge the issues head-on without worrying about tomorrow.

Rock music can even be music for student learning, as studies show that people can be more energized to study after listening to rock music. You could even try using it while studying by keeping the music at a volume that doesn’t get distracting. 

Addressing changing times

Modern rock also highlights the ways the world has changed over the years. It retraces back to the times when rock came to the forefront and what it tried to say about the world. It further goes to then discuss how cities have changed, the people have changed and how communities have changed. 

Scrap metal, a popular band, has a song called “Old Broome Town” that narrates the story of boys that grew in the town of Broome and what growing up meant to them. “But the freedom of our younger days have all gone now - and things are not the same anymore” is one line from the song that can represent what the song tries to express as a while. 

Conclusion

Of course, bands would want to be recognized. But most artists keep faith in their music and the message they wish to send out. They believe that there will always be people that listen to rock music, even during an age of a saturated category of genres. Through the messages and the artistic deliverance of those messages, rock music continues to address all that needs to be addressed about society and the ideas that disrupt the peace of our minds. 

Author’s Bio: 

Jeremy Raynolds is a psychologist and career counselor specializing in handling students’ mental health issues and helping them progress in their academic careers. He also freelances in writing academic essays, term papers, and dissertations for psychology and other related subjects. When he’s at home, he likes to play PC games, read novels and to meditate.