I won the Jesus and Mary Chain's PSYCHOCANDY unfairly because I knew the college DJ who was raffling it off. Somebody else really won, but I knew they had two copies. So I called in and used my freshman-girl charm and flattery to get the other one. I lived for that album. You know what it was? I grew up fascinated by the idea of harmonizing with household appliances. I would try and get my voice to the exact right pitch as the fan or refrigerator to make my dog perk up his ears and whine. Then I knew I'd really hit it. And that's what they were doing with the guitar sound on Psychocandy, taking a traditional tune and making it marijuana slow. It wasn't super raw, it was beautiful noise pop. It was a big part of my "alternative awakening" -- I was being exposed to social and musical realms that I hadn't even fathomed were out there. It became my alternative armor when I went home that summer. (V.G.)