this is not pitchfork

Egged on by Addicted to Vinyl and MsHiss on twitter, it’s time for another one of those “I can’t believe I own this” albums.

There are some older artists people listen to with a twinge of irony; Rick Astley, thanks to his internet popularity surge, or Journey, in a “I heard this song on Family Guy last night” way. But my love of Air Supply contains no irony. I love them for who they are. Granted, I’d never take this album out and play it just to listen to it, but it’s there in my collection, the vinyl collecting dust in my mother’s attic. I’d never get rid of it. There’s something so earnest and charming about this duo, something so endearing that you want to hug them and tell them everything will be ok, that we’ve all made love out of nothing at all at some point in our lives.

You can go ahead and make fun of those of us who hold Air Supply close to our hearts, but I’ve bet you’ve never been driving aimlessly around town contemplating your current relationship, trying to find something on the radio and one station is playing Making Love Out of Nothing At All so you find yourself singing out loud, really heartfelt like, tears streaming down your face, some hot guy next to you at the stoplight asking if you’re ok. And you say “I’m doing fine, man. I’m doing fine.”

If some guy wearing an argyle sweater and a painful look on his face sang these lyrics while playing an acoustic guitar:

I want you to come back and carry me home
Away from this long lonely nights
I’m reaching for you, are you feeling it too
Does the feeling seem oh so right
And what would you say if I called on you now
And said that I can’t hold on
There’s no easy way, it gets harder each day
Please love me or I’ll be gone, I’ll be gone

he would sell a million records and have young girls throwing panties at him. And if it was three guys in hipster clothing singing that, they’d be called the Jonas Brothers. See, Air Supply was just way ahead of their time.

I was at the right age/situation to be suckered in by emotional lyrics and pained vocalizations when these songs were popular. I may have had this hardcore/metal image but deep inside, we’re all suckers for love and loss and pretty melodies when our hearts are breaking. In retrospect, I should have told that hot guy at the stoplight that I wasn’t ok, that I needed the comfort and decadence of a one night stand and hey, there’s a motel right down the block. But girls who listen to Air Supply don’t do that and, at that very moment at least, I was a girl who was making love out of nothing at all.