Stevie Nicks version of "For What It's Worth" isn't the protest song that's needed in 2022

There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

It was 1966. A time of Vietnam, Civil Rights, J. Edgar Hoover, LBJ, no one to be trusted over the age of thirty and us versus them.

Stephen Stills, then of the band Buffalo Springfield, wrote the song “For What It’s Worth.” Yeah, it wasn’t written because of any of the above issues, but it worked for those and many more of the problems of the 1960s. For many years to follow, Stills played the song in concert; whether it was a solo show or a Crosby, Stills & Nash gig. The tune always got the audience up on their feet.

“For What It’s Worth became a protest song for the ages.

Welcome to 2022. It’s a year that has been marked by new Trump crime revelations on an almost daily basis, the taking away of individual rights, refugees being transported to northern states by governors of southern states, and Russia invading Ukraine. If you’re on the other side of this, I’m sure you can find more than your share of complaints about Biden, Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats.

If a year ever needed a protest song, 2022 is it!

Today, legendary Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks dropped her version of “For What It’s Worth.” It was a good idea that didn’t quite work.

The song needs an edge and her vocals are much too gentle. C’mon Stevie, show a little angst. The one saving grace is Waddy Wachtel’s guitar work. His soaring solos are almost enough to save the song….almost, but not quite.

There are still three months left in 2022. There’s still time for a song that describes what a shitshow this year has been. Hey Neil Young, you got anything? Maybe you have a new version of your former bandmate’s tune. Now that would be a version of “For What It’s Worth” that would get me out marching in protest.

You better stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look, what's going down?