I had an interesting conversation with my son-in-law the other night.

That isn't surprising in itself; Ryan is a bright young man who has a lot of knowledge in fields that interest me, so even though he's half my age, he's pretty sharp.

We were talking about concerts, and the fact the Nicole and I had seen the Beach Boys at the L.A. County Fair in late September. I mentioned that Mike Love, who leads this incarnation of the group, is 68 years old and it was sort of weird to see him jumping around on the stage after all these years.

Ryan said he didn't think a lot of people understood that rock 'n' roll music has always been about being young and rebelling.

"Don't these people get it?" he asked me.

I told him he was missing the point. Love was born in 1941, so he isn't a baby boomer, but the Beach Boys were one of the three or four quintessential boomer groups, and the boomers have basically declared that no one in our generation is ever going to get old.

We may <em>die</em>, but we'll never get old.

Today I had to drive to Beverly Hills to pick up some skin-care products for my wife. How did I dress? Sneakers with no socks, faded 501 jeans and a Nike muscle shirt, with an unbuttoned short-sleeve shirt over it. I can say without fear of error that my father or my grandfather never dressed this way when they were my age.

The whole age thing is weird anyway. When I mentioned to two old friends that I would be celebrating my 60th birthday next month, I got similar reactions from the two of them. One male, one female, and they both said something like, "How can we be 60 when we're still 24 in our hearts?"

It beats the heck out of me. I'm a grandfather and happy to be one, but there are about as many days I don't feel like an adult as days when I feel the other way.

[caption id="attachment_108" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The kid clears the horse"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-108" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Horse-300x290.jpg" alt="The kid clears the horse" width="300" height="290" />[/caption]

Was it really 43 years ago when I cleared that pommel horse with my mouth wide open, and dear Lord, was I ever really that skinny?

The answers are yes and yes. That picture was taken in 1966, when I still felt like there was a chance I could someday do just about whatever I wanted.

Heck, I was part of the biggest generation in American history. We were the ones who were going to change the culture and stay forever young.

Of course, "Forever Young" is just the title of another Bob Dylan song, and an awful lot of us are starting to look at retirement as something wonderful out there on the horizon.

Yeah, we're not what we used to be. I think the saying that comes to mind is that it takes me all night long to do what I used to do all night long.

When I can stay awake.

So yes, Ryan, rock 'n' roll is for the young and rebellious, and I can't really name a band or an artist that I like who came along much after the 1980s, except for some country artists. I do like the Dixie Chicks.

But sometimes I think the music isn't what it once was either. It's more corporate, more angry, less exuberant. It's a lot easier to sing the happy, passionate songs of your youth when you're 65 than it is to stay mad forever. I think that's one reason there aren't a whole lot of Sex Pistols tribute bands.

But rock 'n' roll -- good old '50s and '60s rock 'n' roll -- will never die.

At least until all the boomers are gone.

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