When I was in the 11th grade, I was introduced to the love of my life. I didn't know it at the time, but nothing would ever be the same again. A lot of my friends were really into this band called Rilo Kiley, whom I had only vaguely heard of. Some of them were planning to go see them in concert, and one way or another I got invited to come. So a girl named Kristie burned me a mix of some of their songs and let me borrow a couple of their cds so I could hear what they were all about. I listened to one of the albums and skipped over half the songs, thinking a lot of it sounded kind of weird, but for some reason I kept listening to it. I quit skipping the songs I had been skipping over. Before I knew it, I was listening to the stuff every day. We ended up missing the concert, but I moved on and kept listening to this band. When I finally got my hands on the album they were touring to promote, I fell in love with this voice. Her name was Jenny, and she was flaming red-haired goddess.
Amongst my friends, it is no secret that I have an enormous crush on Ms. Jenny Lewis. In fact, some consider it one of my more endearing qualities. I am a heavily tattooed, bearded, grown ass man, but when I hear Rilo Kiley playing, I turn into a 14 year old girl. I giggle profusely and scream along to the lyrics as the song blasts through the speakers of the car with the windows down and the stereo turned up uncomfortably high. Let me tell you, I have gotten quite a lot of interesting looks for this. But something about it makes me simply lot care. I feel like with a favorite band, it has to be that way, and I'm truly sorry that not everyone has a band that they feel so strongly about. With Rilo Kiley, it wasn't an instant connection. It was not love at first listen. But I love them unashamedly and whole heartedly. I listen to this band when I'm happy, when I'm down, or when I'm driving. Nine times out of ten, this is what I'm singing in the shower. I've learned to play the bulk of their catalog on guitar and bass. I can recite every lyric from every song. So here it is, my gift to you, from my itunes library to your internets, my favorite Rilo Kiley bootleg. Please enjoy.
Rilo Kiley - Live on Austin City Limits 5/5/05
1. Intro
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