The Rolling Stones in the summer of 1965
Fifty summers ago, you couldn't turn on a pop radio station without hearing Mick Jagger complain about the "useless information" of commercials that badgered him about "how white my shirts can be." His sardonic lyrics were part of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, a chart-topping smash in North America from the day the Rolling Stones released it in June.
Today Satisfaction is deservedly considered one of the greatest rock songs. Its driving, fuzzified electric guitar line and sarcastic social critique were shocking in 1965. Five decades later, the question it poses – how do you find fulfilment in a consumer society? – is more valid than ever.
Mr. Jagger himself tried to figure it out. Some years after the song's release, a journalist asked him if he was "more satisfied now?" He thought about it and then said, "Financially dissatisfied, sexually satisfied, philosophically trying."
That's a good answer. The journey to fulfilment begins when you establish your frame of reference. You can't always get what you want, but…