Whether the Beach Boys were singing about showing off their cars, surfing, falling in love or eating hamburgers, they made it sound like the most wonderful thing, like you wanted to be doing that right now. Kids in Omaha might not be able to relate to songs about surfing, but anybody could get what songs like “I Get Around” and “Fun Fun Fun” were about. Much like Eddie Cochran’s “Somethin’ Else”, they were about nothing less than the American dream: idealism, pursuit of happiness, pride of ownership and the kind of freedom you can only get from your own set of wheels. Having Brian Wilson play at the Petersen Automotive Museum’s annual fundraising gala was a kind of idealism realized, a harmonious pairing in more ways than one. more ›