Sympathy for the Devil

In one of my classes, Classic and Modern Epics, we just finished reading Milton's Paradise Lost. During a discussion of the masterpiece, my professor--a rather intelligent man in his 60s or 70s but has a shabby appearance with disheveled hair and loose fitting polo shirts--began talking about how intriguing Satan is in the poem. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Satan is downright likable--at least more so than God. In an attempt to make the character seem more contemporary, he alluded to Satan being like "that rock star." Without a moment's hesitation, nearly everyone in the classroom thought to themselves to the same rock 'n' roller: Mick Jagger. This was, of course, who the professor was referring: the cockney stride, the attitude, the sexual lyrics and social life make up everything that we love about Mick and everything that he was thinking of. True, he could have also been referring to Elvis, but I guess Jagger is "cooler."

Five Best...Satan Appearances in Pop Culture

#5. Every Tenacious D song

#4. Beelzebub singing "Up There" during South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

#3. Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Brian Setzer and Lenny Kravitz driving around in a giant car shaped like Satan's head on The Simpsons (By proxy, this one includes "Sympathy for the Devil")

#2. Pixies' lyric "If man is 5 and the Devil is 6 then God is 7" in "Monkey Gone to Heaven"

#1. The Robot Devil from Futurama