The quality of art can be measured by its ability to be appreciated by multiple audiences.

“My Back Pages” is the embodiment of a song taking on new meaning for a changing audience.

Bob Dylan originally scored the song and introduced it as a folk track. The Byrds took the same route, and “Pages” seemed to remain a standard ballad of grass-roots counterculture. That changed when the song was taken up by The Ramones.

Their rendition gave new voice to all people who “were so much older then” but “are younger than that now.”

It seems counterculture with a purpose has faded into the past, but I still hope people are “fearing [they’ll] become [their] enemies in the answers that they preach.”

Every college student should listen to this song and question why they’re educating themselves. The back pages of every book reveal all source information. Check your glossaries.

If you’re not certain about the influences you carry around everyday, if you think people simply go through the motions, listen to Joey Ramone belt out this ballad to a never-ending lost generation.

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