�Nevermind�: I've always been out of the loop when it comes to music. I didn't discover Bob Dylan until 1999 when a friend told me that �Blood on the Tracks� is a great cd to heal to. I don't remember exactly when I discovered Nirvana. I vaguely remember my younger cousin asking me in disbelief at one point, "You've never heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'?" I thought that was the stupidest song title I'd ever heard. Then I guess I heard �Nevermind� at a college party because I remember asking for the cassette for Christmas. On the ride home to Kerrville from Bridgeport, Texas with my mom and younger siblings I made them listen to the entire tape with me. I could tell they were uncomfortable but I was enthralled. My mind was blown. I have had more sex to �Nevermind� than any other record.

�Blood on the Tracks�: When my friend told me about �Blood on the Tracks� in 1999 I drove thirty miles to the nearest chain record store and bought the cd. I only knew one of the songs � �Shelter From The Storm,� which I'd heard at the end of �Jerry Maguire.� I don't remember which songs jumped out at me when I listened to �Blood on the Tracks� for the first time in my crappy one bedroom apartment. I'd just been dumped by a guy I was crazy in love with so they probably all hit pretty close to home. Ever since then, �Blood on the Tracks� has been my break-up cd. I listened to it over and over again when I left my first husband and while I was separated from my boyfriend, who later became my second husband. I remember riding beside my boyfriend in his car after our first night together. We were sharing a cigarette and had the windows rolled down. It was a gorgeous early spring day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. �Tangled Up In Blue� was on the radio. We sang along with Bob Dylan and smiled at each other. That became our song. I love all the songs on the album but the one that hits me the hardest is �You're A Big Girl Now.�

�The Magical Mystery Tour�: The first album I ever owned was the Beatles' �Magical Mystery Tour.� My Uncle Greg gave me his album when I was five. He read the story to me and I looked at the photographs in awe. I was fascinated by the people on the bus and the idea of everyone crowding into a small ordinary tent which magically became an enormous dance club. I remember staring at the Beatles in costume on the cover of the album and trying to figure it out. What the hell were they trying to prove? What in the fuck of all fuck was an egg man? I was mystified. �I Am The Walrus� scared the piss out of me.

© 2007 Laura Hird All rights reserved.