10 Best Rock Anthems
9. Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
When the 60's were dawning, rock was still on the verge of being a passing fad, with many bands mining a rudimentary style based on blues. Suddenly, the all-American genre of rock got a huge boost from overseas as British acts came forth brandishing fantastic rock songs that could eclipse the old guard.
Many people see the turning point as when the Beatles arrived, but the true rock and roll attitude came when the Rolling Stones released their hit "Satisfaction." From the start, this song set the standard for everything that was expected in a rock song, with a guitar part run through a primitive fuzz pedal. The lines played by Keith Richards completely defined what we now see as the modern guitar riff.
While the instrumentation lays down a solid foundation, the lyrics from Mick Jagger contain the core theme of rock's ethos: teen angst. The song details a man going through the artificiality of life and complaining about how nothing seems authentic around him.
That's really all there is to the song, but is anyone really asking for more? In just a few minutes, the Rolling Stones combined danger and adolescence that laid the foundation for modern rock.