10. Bob DylanDesire

When I was 23, I played a college town. I couldn’t deal with college people ‘cus I don’t understand… I just don’t understand. Everyone’s polite, has manners, they know everything. I just felt like an idiot around them.

I got into my rental car when I was done playing, and a song came on the college radio. I already knew who Bob Dylan was – Another Side Of Bob Dylan, heard that when I was a kid, The Greatest Hits Of Bob Dylan, I grew up with that. Loved Bob. Loved him. ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ was fucking watershed for me. Hero. Fuck! Incredible, God Dylan, love him. But I’d never heard this song before – it was ‘Sara’ – and I started bawling. I knew his wife’s name was Sara.

I went to a record store, and found the record. Desire is incredible. The history lessons in that record are just… incredible. He’s an informant; he has this ingredient, this lecturing tone, when he’s translating the stories, which are informing you of like, what’s up, man. You know what I mean? He’s telling you like it is, like a teacher would. Maybe I chose him as a teacher though – maybe he doesn’t do that for other people.