The Rolling Stones in a row during the "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" era

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The Rolling Stones’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ Inspired 1 of the Worst Covers Ever

The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" inspired a cover that sounds evil. It's probably supposed to be darkly humorous but it falls flat on its face.

by Matthew Trzcinski

Published on May 21, 2023

2 min read

The Rolling Stones’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ inspired a surreal cover

The Rolling Stones released a lot of hit songs, but “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is their only real standard. And the track has proved pretty malleable. For example, Devo released a fun, goofy new wave cover of the song. Britney Spears did a version that sounds like the original crossed with “Oops!… I Did It Again.” In addition, Otis Redding put together a rendition with an incredible horn section.

The Residents are an avant-garde band known for putting surreal twists on famous songs. Their version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” sounds like it’s coming from the deepest pit of hell. The Residents removed all the energy from the track, and Keith Richards’ famous riff lurches along with no purpose. The vocals sound downright evil.

Why The Residents might have covered The Rolling Stones in such a bizarre way

The only way The Residents’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” makes any sense is if you look at as a slice of dark humor, which The Residents made their trademark. However, The Residents’ dark humor often fell flat on its face For example, the album that the cover comes from has a title that I will not repeat here, as well as some disturbing cover art. Similarly, The Residents’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” isn’t funny, it’s just creepy and wrong.

The Residents attempted something similar with their mashup “Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life.” That song takes bits and pieces of Beatles tracks and edits them together into an abrasive audio collage similar to The Beatles’ “Revolution 9.” The Residents made some innocent Fab Four songs sound eerie. Needless to say, The Residents didn’t seem to have much respect for the classic rock canon.

‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ became a huge hit on the pop charts

While The Residents’ spin on “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is memorable for all the wrong reasons, The Rolling Stones’ recording of the song is still the most famous one. That track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, remaining on the chart for 14 weeks in total. It was the band’s first No. 1 single in the U.S.

According to The Official Charts Company, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was No. 1 in the United Kingdom for two weeks. It lasted on the chart for 12 weeks in total.

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is a great song and it managed to survive some terrible covers unscathed.