45 years ago today, a certain musical festival began in upstate New York. I remember hearing about it on the radio at my summer job as a school janitor and wishing I were there.

The most famous music to originate at Woodstock was written by someone who wasn’t there. Here’s Joni Mitchell with “Woodstock.” It’s worth listening to with fresh ears.

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.