on the ball –
The discernible difference is the drumbeat and rhythm focus (think mantras [again idol-worship connotations] think rap),rather than a focus on melody and harmony.
Funny, all the ????? ??????? going on in Tanach make me think that there were times when they weren’t particularly interested in melody and harmony then either.
I don’t believe any genre of music is inherently good or bad. If “rock music just makes you want to throw away your spiritually inspired inhibitions” as you say, it’s because of the lyrical content, not the music. V’ha raya contemporary Christian music uses rock music (among every other popular genre) to promote many universally meaningful ideas. If you know enough music you realize that this idea of music being good or bad is all hype. Not just if you know enough about music, but if you know enough music.