I know he's not "cool,"

but I have to say, one of my most enjoyable concert-going experiences was the Neil Diamond gig I went to in college.

Toward the end of the concert, right after a string of megahits, including “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “I’m a Believer,” which he wrote for the Monkees, Mr. Diamond told the crowd he had no plans for retirement.

“This is my job,” he said. “Someone much greater than me gave me that job. He said, ‘You, you with that stupid look on your face — go out and sing until I tell you to stop.’ I haven’t heard the word yet so I’m just going to keep doing it.”