Now that I’m writing a book about my life, I feel like I should take a moment and thank a few people from the “early days” for their support in making me who I am.

Morrissey. Dude. Prince of bleakness. Just thinking about “I Know It’s Over” makes me want to weep like one of those old, sad clowns. The Queen is Dead will always be one of my favorite albums. I don’t care what anyone says—The Smiths fucking ruled. “Reel Around the Fountain.” “Half a Person.” “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” If you didn’t love The Smiths in the 80’s, well, you didn’t do it right.

Robert Smith. Sometimes I wonder what a guy like that must be like in real life. I bet he’s hysterically funny. In a smart way. And in a dirty way, like most English people. I read he owes his “smeared lippy” look to MAC’s Ruby Woo, a fetching blood red lipstick. Oh, and he hated Morrissey. All I can say is if it weren’t for “The Head on the Door,” I don’t know if I ever would have known what I knew about myself. It showed me who I was.

Depeche Mode. I stood at Dodger Stadium, in the rain, in like the 16th row and saw you do “Somebody” when I was 23. Best touchy-feely ballad ever, from one of the best albums ever, “Catching Up With Depeche Mode.” I still listen to it, all the way through, all the time, because it’s still freakishly amazing. The trailer for my yoga video has “The Things You Said.” It’s just so perfectly haunting.

If any of you guys are reading this, you made me. It’s kind of all your fault. And now I get to write about it ♥