Lola Kirke Was Raised By Wolves (Part One, Chapter One)
Or was it just a rumour?
You might think I'm getting tired of pretending to be in love with these singers. And we are talking about singy Lola here, to be sure, not the incredible actor from Sinners. I'm not getting tired pretending. Every infatuation is genuine while it lasts. Which normally is until the end of the article but in Lola's case it goes deep and wide. Someone once said she had "inhuman" amounts of talent. It was me. Lola needs a whole series so I will review her book later.
The humour is always there as it is in All My Exes Live in LA. She flings off that pink cowboy hat in time with the lyric and I'm thinking how clever that is, nice little trick. Oh she looks sad or angry or both. I feel sorry for her. Yes she is angry and frustrated and disappointed. Now she's unzipping her jacket. Fair enough. Looks like a warm day on the edge of LA. It's not a jacket it's an all-in-one catsuit type... oh it's come right off. Oh no. She's laughing now. Arms high above. This isn't what I expected whatsoever. Look away. Focus on the boots. Gosh this is unexpected. She's actually triumphant. This is a funny enjoyable song! It's a female emancipation class and I simply love it. And she is never naked. See those green boots? Yes she sleeps in those.
You might have preferred the full frontal photo from the All My Exes video and while I understand, I think it inappropriate. I cannot take responsibility for damaging any screens with or without the somewhat humorous pixelation. And is there a moment where it deliberately slips? Only kidding. Don't check. Or do.
NSFW 1980s pixelation algorithm
Anyway jokes aside the song is brilliant and the video, somewhat on the budget side by the look of things, is one of the most memorable music videos of all time. (Did I mention that the backing band is First Aid Kit?) It also won Lola an audition for Sinners, or quite possibly the whole part. They wanted a singing actress with balls and Kirke was happy to provide a pair of those. I fear they originally belonged to her father.
I admit that when I saw the new album cover, before connecting the dots, I wasn't sure what to expect. This is really strong music. It's warm and luscious and funny and sharp. It has nothing in common with the circus. There's something of the clown about that photo which I don't fully understand. She is certainly fun. On the right day. Thinking of Hungover Thinkin' there which due to a little mental trouble of my own applies to me in the office and even without any drink of any kind other than chamomile tea and a vitamin fizzy tablet. Different cups. I once re-created the video for All My Exes sans pixelation at our annual company kick-off event... no, I won't even joke about that. It's too painful to recall.
We need to address the wolves. These were the incredible wolves otherwise considered her biological parents. Among the most creative and fabulous people in NYC unless you happened to be one of their children. This family possesses so much talent it hurts my head to even call it to mind. It's an effort to focus only on Lola and only on this one album. Okay All My Exes is not on this album but it could have been and anyway Gary Hector sent it to me and challenged me to loathe the song. That is a man who knows his mind and some of mine too.
I now understand, finally, exactly what I love about Lola Kirke. It's her rather shabby worn-out Budweiser bottle costume. It's no joke, just listen. Listen. She's English really and can take the piss out of herself. There. I go further. She seems to revel and seek opportunities to set herself up as the butt. Not that sort of butt.
I know what you're thinking. I don't but I know what I am thinking. What I don't want you to think. Lola Kirke is no joke at all in any way whatsoever. She just has the English way about her. She's serious as a heart attack (copyright Graham Nash) about her music and her acting. She's had an amazing life and is only a shade over thirty. [Nice touch that! Ed.]
The whole Trailblazer album is insanely good. The two tracks I have on heavy rotation are Raised by Wolves and Marlboro Lights & Madonna. I wanted wolves to have some hints of Warren Zevon. It has but not obvious ones. It has a grungy 1970s vibe. A lot of Trailblazer has a muffled analogue feel, in a good way. It has moon references. And she's looking for me to be a wolf child too, she does not want to be alone in the forest.
I don't know what it is about me, baby
I'm always standin' like a fool in the rain
I know that it's the definition of crazy
To keep on doin' the same thing
Thinkin' I'm gonna change
The way Lola says fool is something special. These are simple lyrics but when you put them to music you get the catchiest little number since the dress she wore in All My Exes. [This is senseless nonsense. Ed.] It doesn't reach too far. It knows where it needs to go and stays in its lane. It's brilliant.
Marlboro Lights & Madonna. They were the cigarette of choice for my ex-girlfriend, now wife of a million eons. Nothing says 1990s cigs more. I once walked around a small French town in 1993 looking for the things. I don't know why they were so hard to find. We were either underage or close. For reasons unknown she wouldn't dirty herself with the purchase so I went in. No cigs ever tasted that good, I understand. I never touched those fucking awful twigs. But in the mouth of the mother of Lola Kirke they come alive. And the gold Mercedes needs to be specified. What model? Everyone loved Madonna back then in a world with very few international female solo artists. It was a different world but it feels so familiar. Anyway the woman you end up loving after this chaotic experience is Lorraine Kirke.
No I haven't seen Sinners. I would have said it's not my thing. But it is now. I want everything she's produced and more than once, but there aren't enough hours in the day. If she produces offspring the whole world will need to step back at the same time. I shiver to think what her child could achieve.
