I've got a pair of boys at that precise stage of development where music, one way or the other, replaces everything else in their worlds as their chosen means of expression. I remember when I hit this point, and also how my father reacted.
He hated my music.
True to his generation, he loved the crooners -- Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, etc., whereas equally true to mine, I was attracted to the rebels -- Elvis, Bill Haley and Chuck Berry -- who replaced his idols in ways he found offensive and frankly, incomprehensible.
These days, it's the Killers, MGMT, Weezer, Kings of Leon, Paramore, The Offspring -- yep, I know them all -- that my boys are listening to.
As a former Rolling Stone reporter, you better believe I keep a close watch on my kids' playlists, always have, always will.
But as the alt.rock scene continues to develop, generation after generation, it is gratifying to witness those rare moments when the latest round of 14-year-olds discover our greatest song-writing poets.
Such has been my pleasure these past two weeks after my young boys watched the movie "Watchmen," which is a cinematic cover based on the graphic comic of the same novel from over 20 years ago.
This film reaches its peak during the opening credits, when the soundtrack takes off, featuring songs like Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'", Jimi Hendrix's brilliant cover of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower;" not to mention Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence".
Yes, my boys have finally discovered some of the greatest poets of my generation. So, as we traverse San Francisco in my Saturn, they and I can finally agree on a common playlist, which includes some of the old guys with some of the new.
What's not to love about that?
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