Things Change: Cat Power and "Satisfaction"
The opening riff to the Rolling Stones 1965 classic "Satisfaction" sounds like guitarist Keith Richards is trying to ignite the world in flames. After Richards lit that match, the band followed in, as Mick Jagger drones on about traveling, lack of relationships, and the fallacy of advertising. The song carries with it a certain swagger despite Mick admitting he's "on a losing streak" towards the end of the song, although admittedly that sounds more like a pickup than anything else. "Satisfaction" is certainly an energizing tune that serves as kind of prelude to the next two decades of British rock. However, it's not this song that interests me as much as it's cover version, because 35 years later a Georgia singer-songwriter took "Satisfaction" and turned it on it's head. Impressively, the song was emptied of it's contents and laid emotionally bare without changing one line. Cat Power (Chan Marshall) has one of the most...