I used be uncool. A few years ago I had tendencies to wear peach colored track suits with the bedazzled word JUICY sprawled across the ass. I used to dream of being a Lakers cheerleader. I had nights filled with turmoil of who deserved my love more, Justin or JC.

It was during this time I stumbled across Rolling Stone magazine in a doctor‰’s office. I flipped the pages open and there I saw her. Her DIY haircut was the result of a dull pair of scissors. She was adorned with crosses and leather jewelry. She was topless. This was the first pair of breasts I‰’ve ever seen besides my mother‰’s. She simply just stood there unaware that she was exposed and a handsome man happened to be standing next to her. Initially, I thought she was ugly. But in my young age I confused her authenticity with ugliness. She was real. She was rock n‰’roll to me.

From that day on, I have been a devote Patti Smith fan. Since that fateful day at the doctor‰’s, I have shed the track suits (the love for N‰’Sync still remains).

Her first album Horses is a classic and known as one of the greatest albums of all time. While listening to it you feel as though Smith is your much cooler older sister singing in your basement while you have your ear pressed to the door. The decades between when the album was recorded and the present moment are meaningless.. She is experimentally modern and each song varies stylistically. Yet, the common thread throughout each song is her passion. You hear Smith‰’s heavy breathing and slight shakiness in her voice. Her lack of precision is forgiven due to her emphasis on the music as a rejection of the ordinary.

Perhaps the most appropriate song from “Horses‰” for our generation is “Free Money.‰” As a college student afflicted with money concerns, I appreciate this song much more now. Smith sings of how wonderful life would be if she had lots of money. Her desire for money is obvious and hungry. Her voice contains animalistic grunts when she harkens on all the things she could do with more money.

Yet, this song is not an homage to greed, but rather a commentary on poverty. Smith pinpoints the crux of being a working American, “See those dollar bills go swirling ‰round my bed/ I know they‰’re stolen but I don‰’t feel bad.‰” She sings of simply making her loved ones happy therefore she will do anything in order to see this goal achieved. She does not wish to be rich, but rather she wishes to live a comfortable life free of worry. She provides a human and artistic quality to money consumption and a real portrayal of the American dream, which is interesting and unexpected. Smith does not idealize the life of a starving artist, instead she sings for everyone working and how it is a fundamental human desire to be providers.