There's a very silly joke that stands out from 1982's Airplane II: The Sequel, when the flight is in trouble and the air traffic controller asks for an update on everything that's happened so far. The response he receives: "Well, let's see. First the earth cooled, and then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil."
Big Thief's radiant "I Was Made for Loving You" (which comes packaged as a single with "Vampire Empire") essentially uses the same joke, tracing romance back to the very beginning: "After the first stars formed, after the dinos fell," begins Adrianne Lenker, the band in cheery folk rock mode as they patter breezily along with her. She traces her entire life within a verse, from being born "tangled in blood and vine" to an early childhood "waddling around looking at birds."
The saucy second verse details the romance itself, "from the first kiss to the first fuck," but it's really that first verse that stands out, highlighting the inherent unlikeliness of any love story: two people are born, fumble their through the first few decades of life, and then one day bump into each other and fall in love. What are the chances?
I don't believe in fate, but "I Was Made for Loving You" reminds me why people do, as Lenker basks in gratitude that her life's path just happened to intersect with the person who makes the whole thing feel worthwhile.
(4AD)Big Thief's radiant "I Was Made for Loving You" (which comes packaged as a single with "Vampire Empire") essentially uses the same joke, tracing romance back to the very beginning: "After the first stars formed, after the dinos fell," begins Adrianne Lenker, the band in cheery folk rock mode as they patter breezily along with her. She traces her entire life within a verse, from being born "tangled in blood and vine" to an early childhood "waddling around looking at birds."
The saucy second verse details the romance itself, "from the first kiss to the first fuck," but it's really that first verse that stands out, highlighting the inherent unlikeliness of any love story: two people are born, fumble their through the first few decades of life, and then one day bump into each other and fall in love. What are the chances?
I don't believe in fate, but "I Was Made for Loving You" reminds me why people do, as Lenker basks in gratitude that her life's path just happened to intersect with the person who makes the whole thing feel worthwhile.
