One of my favorite Rilo Kiley songs is today’s Top 5 dive in. Press play and turn up the volume while you read some of my thoughts on “Better Son/Daughter” by Rilo Kiley.
What is your favorite Rilo Kiley song? Do you have any thoughts and/or specific feelings or memories about “Better Son/Daughter”?
“And sometimes when you’re on,
you’re really fucking on,
and your friends they sing-a-long,
and they love you.
But the lows are so extreme,
that the good seems fucking cheap,
and it teases you for weeks in its absence.”
“A Better Son/Daughter” by Rilo Kiley
from the album, The Execution Of All Things (2002)
My Top 5 – March 11, 2011
1. There is something about this song that always makes me want to sing/scream-a-long, and that almost always makes me cry.
2. The stress I internalize on a daily basis is immeasurable. I’m not even sure that I realize myself how much is in there, how much I take in and stuff down, and how much impacts my perspectives, and reactions. The expectations on me – real, imagined, unwarranted, and self-created – have a weight that takes its toll on me. Somehow, and honestly just like most people I know, I get up every day and keep going, more often than not with hope. A lot of times I have the support of those in my life that I love and trust. They hold my hand and remind me that I’m not alone. Sometimes, though, I feel more alone than I can articulate, and it’s hard to not freeze in time and hide under a blanket (or a fort made of cereal boxes).
3. This song reminds me of those feelings.
4. When I saw Rilo Kiley play a few years back they played “A Better Son/Daughter”, and it was definitely in my top ten emotionally moving live music experiences of my life, so far. It was fucking incredible.
5. There are a few authors and a few musicians/songwriters who see Los Angeles in the same way that I do, and seem to feel it the way I do. Rilo Kiley, and Jenny Lewis in particular, seem to get it in the way I get it. I’m sure other people see the city differently, but their/her songs and the way she sees not just Los Angeles, but life in general, resonate enormously with me.
