Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones

The opening is some of the best rock music ever recorded. It's iconic, relaxing and simply sublime. The whole song just has this pulse of anxiety which runs throughout it, the pounding guitar, the bluesy piano, the way the percussion becomes noticeable at certain moments, making it sound as natural as a heartbeat. The instruments gel more perfectly than in any other song I can think of. I love how the dynamics of all the instruments change, but it's barely noticeable. The key tension of the song is the relationship between war and love, drawing upon the anxiety of the era and Jagger's personal concerns regarding drugs. It's this combination of deeply personal addiction, and the inevitably of war which makes it so profoundly moving and engaging... It makes a great companion piece to Let England Shake. The use of the female vocalist is inspired, as is the way she builds up the power of the song so that her voice cracks, almost as if the nation and Jagger himself are cracking with her.

Of course, such a famous song like this carries powerful connotations, and for me, the primary connotation would be the films of Martin Scorsese, as he often includes it on the soundtrack to his gangster films. It is similar to his films in that it's uniquely likeable, stylish but capable of never losing its power or poetry.