Rock is one of the most outstanding movements in the music industry, which began to develop actively in the 1960s and is still present in music today. Historically, this genre has evolved from jazz with elements of blues and other genres (Kot, 2020). Combined with widespread social and political themes at the time, such as the Vietnam War, this music is imbued with the spirit of rebellion. The best example of the band representing it is the Rolling Stones which has earned a spot on the international charts for its rebellious nature. One of the most popular songs and perfect examples of this is “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (Jacob & Martin, 2019). The Rolling Stones established the pattern for rock with their song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
The main characteristics of rock are the intense energy that comes from the band, and the Rolling Stones have it, as most of their songs are imbued with the spirit of rebelliousness and insolence. The second characteristic is the presence of various electric instruments that became widespread after the invention of the electric guitar in 1931 (Jacobs & Martin, 2019). It was also an inevitable part of every melody the band has ever produced, forming its most famous guitar riffs. The third characteristic is the lyrical content since the words in the songs started to state things that singers were afraid to sing about before. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is not an exception: for example, in addition to being unhappy with news on the radio, the Rolling Stones refer to the ubiquitous Marlboro cowboy ad (The Rolling Stones, 2019). Therefore, they are raising the issue of racism along with other social problems.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” became one of the most successful and recognizable hits. The authors’ words confirm this since Mick Jagger himself said that it had all the ingredients to do so (Dick & Reisch, 2011). The key to the popularity of the Rolling Stones was the fact that people could relate to their songs. According to critics, this song was the quintessence of the entire rock movement, which ensured such popularity for the track itself and the band as a whole (Kot, 2015). They did not sing about something unknown or hard to understand and become one of the world’s most popular groups.
References
Dick, L., & Reisch, G. A. (Eds.). (2011). The Rolling Stones and philosophy: It’s just a thought away. Open Court Publishing Company.
Jacobs, L. A., & Martin, F. D. (2019). The humanities through the art (10th ed.). Mc-Graw-Hill Education.
Kot, G. (2015). (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction defined an era and has since been covered by everyone from Devo to Britney. But why does it endure? Greg Kot looks back. BBC Culture. Web.
Kot, G. (2020). Rock and roll. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web.
The Rolling Stones. (2019). [I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction [Video]. Web.