[racehorse]

few years back, in gatwick airport awaiting flight to germany for school trip.
i had a bunch of euros as emercency money for the trip, but i was (am) an irresponsible fucking kid so i thought i'd blow it in the HMV. i was browsing, looking for sonic youth because i'd seen their name on a guy's t shirt once before. this guy played in a band and knew all the cool bands and was much, much cooler than i could ever have hoped to achieve. we're talking different levels here. (or so it seemed to me)
in my hand, walking down the aisles i already had found The Fall live at witch trials and a record by The Cocteau Twins. my eye caught hold of Dirty, it was the cheapest one there, so i thought, fuck it, why not, this might be cool.
i was not expecting the sonic heaven that emerged from my headphones into my virginal earlobes at that moment when i slammed the disk into my walkman. wandering around gatwick airport departure lounge, feeling a new sort of crazy punk rock rebellion inside myself, evoked by this music. fuck! if this band could make an album w/ screeching feedback (i know now that this was their cleanest release to date) then man, i didn't need to go back to my school party! fuck em!!!
eventually the album shrieked it's last dying squeals as the teachers were whipped up into a frenzy searching for me. i wondered up, picked up my bags and got on the plane. never been the same since!!
life was changed!
phew!