John Lennon’s counterculture, anti-consumerist anthem, Imagine, has already had its message bastardized by any number of commercial enterprises, and now, a new sneaker sporting lines from the song is selling for $60 a pair. But maybe the problem isn’t the money-grubbing marketers, but the song itself, which has always been more commercial pablum than true protest: “it rewards its listeners for piously imagining a better world rather than doing anything concrete to improve it. A form of emotional vanity, Imagine allows us to congratulate ourselves for simply having a conscience. No wonder it’s become pop’s favourite comfort blanket, invariably reached for in troubled times.”