Rilo Kiley - A Better Son/Daughter

"Sometimes when you're on, you're really fucking on, and your friends they sing a long and they love you."

Album: The Execution of All Things [2nd album]
Recorded: Lincoln, Nebraska
Album Release: October 1st 2002
Length: 4.39
Producer: Mike Mogis
Vocalist: Jenny Lewis [age 26]
Label: Saddle Creek

Official Audio


Live in 2002

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify: 13,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 3,000,000 +

Credits

Bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards,

Details

• The song details singer Jenny Lewis' struggles with bipolar disorder "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." 
• Lewis' mother was a heroin addict and the song touches on their troubled relationship, "and your mother's still calling you insane and high" likely refers to Lewis' mothers reaction to a manic episode. The title of the song 'A Better Son/Daughter' refers to Lewis' desire to be a better daughter but also, by including the word son, she depersonalises the song, almost in acknowledgment that other people also have their struggles and that she is, by far, not the only one who has a difficult relationship with a parent.
• The song's rhythm is like that of a marching band which gives it an anthemic quality.
  
• The bands name, Rilo Kiley, comes from a dream guitarist Blake Sennett (above, second from the left) had.
• Blake Sennett's high school band kicked him out. Not only that they stole his drum kit. The bassist of said high school band, Pierre De Reeder, would go on to join Sennett in Rilo Kiley, so we know Blake's not one for holding grudges. As a child actor in Hollywood, Blake was all too familiar with trifling arguments, spats and personal animosities. Over time, cooler heads prevailed and bygones were bygones. Then Blake met Jenny Lewis, they fell in love and it all started happening again.
  
  There is a strange friction in Rilo Kiley that comes from a power struggle and deep love between Blake and Jenny. Both had started their careers as child actors and we know what that can do to a persons ego. Both of them wanted the spotlight. For years they were an item and then they weren't, though they were still bandmates. That's when tensions really started simmering.
  
  When the slightly older Sennett asked Lewis to join the band it was as a backing singer. Lewis agreed but only if she could sing lead vocals. 1-0 to Jenny Lewis. Lewis wanted the name of the band to be Love's Way. Sennett disagreed and wanted Rilo Kiley, a name that had come to him in a dream. Rilo Kiley it was. Scores even at 1-1. On the groups earlier albums Sennett and Lewis would effectively share the role of lead singer, alternating back and forth. This does show a healthy ability to compromise but it also shows two strong minded people who aren't afraid to get what they want.
  
  The couples romantic relationship ended in 2002. By 2004 Sennett had released an album with a different band. One can only speculate if Blake felt as he did in high school. That it was happening again! One thing's for certain, he started a different band, The Elected, and that band had him firmly in the spotlight, where he perceived himself to be, as the one and only lead singer. Sennett didn't leave Rilo but his vocals were almost entirely cut from their next release, which would be the groups first on a major label and their most successful to date. With Sennett dividing his time between Rilo and The Elected it was left to Jenny Lewis to front the band. They released a fourth and final album in 2007.

Lyrics