Music Babble

Part of why "Satisfaction" is considered a classic is surely the lyrics - even though I don't think they're particularly meaningful, "I can't get no satisfaction" is a great rallying cry for disaffected youths (all the more with its bad grammar) which is I'm sure part of why it took off and retained its popularity over subsequent generations.

I don't especially love "Satisfaction" - your criticisms of it are valid - but I do think the interesting structure (I'm not really clear on whether the high shouted "I can't get no" is the chorus, or whether it's the lower, slower "I can't get no... satisfaction...") makes it more enjoyable. The riff, uninteresting as it is, at least drives the song forward in its circularity.

"The Last Time" is probably better. My favorite part of that one is on the second line of the third voice, where the melody switches up on "someone'll have to pay the price", which suddenly makes the song sound much more menacing.