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In recent years, rock music may have been buried out of sight. Thankfully, it’s likely to return to the frontline at just about the same time as you perfect your persuasive writing skills!

  • MUSIC FOCUS: Måneskin; Daisy Jones & The Six.
  • ACTIVITY FOCUS: Analyse the article below and/or write your own article.

Here’s Why Måneskin and Daisy Jones & The Six Are The Most Important Bands On The Planet…

The number of bands, in the traditional sense, billed to play at this year’s Reading/Leeds Festival is pretty miniscule. In contrast to the days of yore – when pretty much every act on stage comprised a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer – the performers this year are just as likely to be of a singular nature.

Not that there’s anything wrong with anyone going it alone or, if that approach requires, replacing live instruments with synthetic replicates. The autocracy granted to the common person by the studio-quality tools available to them via their home computer system reflects a very real step forward in terms of artistic freedom. Never before have so many felt so filled with potential. It really is possible to make popular music in your bedroom.

We shouldn’t forget, though, that it’s also still feasible to pack three or four of your friends into that same bedroom! Plus amplifiers and whatever else a band might need! Yes, said bedroom might get hot and sweaty, but that’s the fun of it. When you’re staring into the eyes of your fellow musicians, when your teeth are all rattling because of the same distorted din, when you’re inhaling each other’s breath, that’s when MAGIC happens.

If you’ve been listening to the mesmerising Måneskin or watching the delirious Daisy Jones & The Six, you’ll already know this. In recent years, actual bands may have slipped out of the charts and out of view, but surely we’re now on the verge of a resurgence. Who can see Daisy Jones and not want to do what she does? Is it possible to catch a glimpse of Måneskin without wishing your own life was so colourful?

Thrillingly, the new rock age feels like it’s lurking on the horizon, with the latest generation of musicians getting ready to unleash their own kaleidoscopic palette of oceanic riffs and earth-shattering hooks. Neither Måneskin (as Eurovision winners) or Daisy Jones & The Six (as a fictional creation) feel like typical revolutionaries, but right now those acts are as important as Rage Against The Machine or Led Zeppelin ever were.

Måneskin and Daisy Jones & The Six will absolutely serve as inspiration for a new era of rock ‘n’ roll heroes. And, oh, how we’ll adore these as yet unheard of groups when they arrive. Because there’s just something about bands. The electricity of them! The drama of them! The effect of seeing a gang of individuals morphing into one deeply connected unit is profound. And it’s that sense of communion, of togetherness, of oneness that makes bands so important. Give it a year or two and you’ll find out for yourself.

ACTIVITY 1

How does the writer use language to describe rock music?

Aim to pick out three quotes and analyse them in a way that explains what the writer feels about rock music. Make sure to identify and examine at least one technique within each of your chosen quotes.

ACTIVITY 2

Write your own article about music in 2023. Focus your piece on any aspect of the music scene that you think is interesting or important.

Please do send your own writing in. We want to publish the most exciting writing and offer advice.

In the mood for a class inspired by the bands that performed at Slam Dunk 2023?