Saturday, February 6, 2010

"Hard livin' is forgiven in the end"

So, if you follow my tweets, or know me in real life, you'd know that I am unabashedly in love with the band Rilo Kiley. If I won/was bequeathed a substantial amount of money, I'd consider throwing a party to celebrate and I would pay Rilo Kiley WHATEVER THEY WANTED to play at the party (and would give them ALMOST total creative control, provided they played my fav's...which is like all songs of almost ever album.

I would hold the party at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, or the State Theatre in Detroit (f-u Live Nation...I'll never call it Fillmore). Although I adore Schuba's with every bone in my body, I don't think Jenny, Blake, Pierre, and Jason would have enough room on that stage to really give it their all. Actually, the stage at Lincoln Hall might even be a little too small for the awesomeness that is Rilo Kiley live. Perhaps my pal JT could make the tenth wonder of the world, the Auditorium Theatre, available for the bash. She might consider it, being a pretty decent RK fan herself.

I always think it's interesting to hear how people decide on their "favorites". Truth be told, I don't deal well in absolutes and generally have a difficult time selecting favorites. For instance, if someone asks me "what's your favorite color?", my answer is usually "For what?" I mean, if we're talking clothes, I gravitate toward blue (to bring out my eyes), green (to set off my Irish-ness), or red (to bring out my...nose?) but I often am drawn to pink for many other things. If you ask me "What's your favorite food?" that's like asking the octo-mom to pick her favorite kid. I mean, how does one pick a favorite FOOD? I can only pick a favorite candy when I'm making people play the "if you were stranded on a deserted island, what candy would you bring?" game. For the record, I pick M&M's in theory, but get really flustered when people ask me "Peanut or plain?", as if those are the only options. What about peanut butter or almond or dark chocolate or omg my head just exploded from all the CHOICES.

A couple years ago, after seeing Rilo Kiley live for the second time (first time was when I saw them open for Coldplay at DTE Energy Music Theatre. I actually bought the ticket when I found out RK was opening, as I'm a "meh" Coldplay fan), which was the first time I saw them as headliners, I turned to a friend who was at the concert with me and said "This is like a...a...RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE." They've never disappointed since.

The band is amazing not only due to the brilliance and depth of their lyrics, their aptitude for writing great hooks, and their dexterity with their instruments, but also because I WANT TO BE JENNY LEWIS. That girl oozes sexuality out of every pore in a way that makes me go "That is exactly who I want to be when I grow up" (nevermind that Jenny Lewis is about six months older than me). JL not only fronts Rilo Kiley but also tours in support of her two solo albums, Rabbit Fur Coat (watch one of my fav songs here) and Acid Tongue (one of my fav songs here).

I can't even begin to make a list of favorite Rilo Kiley songs, because each of their songs serves a different purpose for me. If I'm feeling down on life, there's no better remedy than "a better son/daughter" ("but the lows are so extreme that the good seems fucking cheap, and it teases you for weeks in it's absence...but you'll fight and you'll make it through, you'll fake it if you have to..." "you'll be positive though it hurts!"). If I want to pretend like I'm a man-eater (and oh, how I wish I was a man-eater), "Portions for Foxes" is a perfect fit ("I keep on talking trash but I never say anything", "baby I'm baddd newwss!"). If I want to get all liberal and shit on yo' asses, I might hum you a bar or two from "Execution of all things".

In short, if you've never listened to this band, please enrich your life and do so. I love them so much that every time I talk about them, I have to immediately listen to them. I've had my car for about six years, and I don't think there's ever been a time when Rilo Kiley CDs haven't occupied at least 50% of the slots in my six-disk changer (this is possible because I have bootleg CDs of their not-released-on-disk songs, like the brilliance of "The Frug".) I think I would recommended their albums to beginners in the following order: Execution of All Things, More Adventurous, Under The Blacklight, Take offs and Landings, but really - just listen!

I promise I won't think less of you if you don't love them, but I will likely think less of you if you say Dave Matthews Band is your all time favorite.

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