The Rolling Stones

On a recent trip to England, I heard a man on the train remark, "People used to listen to the Rolling Stones, but their music hasn't lasted the way the Beatles' has." As a Rolling Stones fan, I felt saddened by this take on the legendary band, but on reflection, I shouldn't have been surprised; the recent Beatles media blitz has promoted the Fab Four as the definitive representatives of '60s rock, promoting them at the expense of their darker contemporaries.

John Lennon may have said that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, but he never sang from the devil's point of view, as Mick Jagger did on "Sympathy for the Devil," a 1968 track that plumbs the depths of evil. In their heyday, the Stones sang songs about serial killers, street protests, drugs, debauchery, and yes, the power of love to transcend it all. Indeed, at the end of one of their most powerful records, "Gimmie Shelter," Mick, after citing a litany of warning signs that point to the apocalypse, sings, "I tell you love, sister/It's just a kiss away."

The Rolling Stones, of course, never had a "Michelle" to convince everyone that they had hearts of gold, but they did write some beautiful love songs, including the bittersweet "Wild Horses." As most music fans know, too, they ultimately slipped into that apolitical, ultra-hedonistic morass that many '60s rockers found themselves in by the late '70s, and though they continued to release enjoyable singles, somehow the old magic had vanished. Still, their best work continues to speak to those who believe you can't appreciate the sunny side of life until you've reveled in the storm.