Not sure, it is an interesting article though. Gave it a full scan. Some of the studies they talked about would like to see what songs they used. I can think of a lot of rock songs that are just...well noise. Can also think of a lot that aren’t and to me do seem musical, enjoyable, bring happiness, etc etc.
Maybe it’s that I don’t understand music enough (haven’t really studied it, just listen to it) to understand what rock music really is. As mentioned in the article maybe some of the songs I understand to be rock music, aren’t really “rock” music by the definition presented.
The back beat emphasis seems to be key in article.