In 1998, Paul Durham and his rock band, Black Lab, released their Geffen Records debut Your Body Above Me to critical acclaim. The album yielded the top 10 rock and alternative single "Wash it Away," and the top 40 ac and pop track "Time Ago."
Paul Durham grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho before moving to San Francisco to pursue his passion for musical invention. He recorded and toured with a group of friends under the moniker “Durham,” and made an acoustic-based singer/songwriter record with celebrated jazz producer Lee Townsend. (now available at blacklabworld.com under the title Ten Million Years: songs from the nineteen nineties).
“Durham” split, but a deal with Geffen Records followed, a new band was built, and Black Lab's debut was tagged as "one of this year's breakout records" (Billboard). Hollywood called, and the band contributed songs to the soundtracks for Can't Hardly Wait, Varsity Blues, Permanent Midnight, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After a year of touring, Black Lab was poised to fulfill their destiny as "the American U2" (San Francisco Chronicle) when their record label was quickly shuttered. Over the next two years, Durham left his band, fired his manager and moved to LA. "In the end, all I had were my guitars and the songs I was writing." Durham wanted to control the sound around his voice, so he bought a computer and learned to use it. "I had to get back to how it was in high school -- just me and my four-track."
The resulting demos got Durham a new deal with Epic Records. "The first thing I did was buy a giant ProTools system." The only problem was, he didn't know how to install the software. On advice from a friend, Durham hired Andy Ellis to set up his studio. "So, we're sitting around waiting for the computer to reboot," remembers Durham, "And this guy picks up my guitar, without asking. I was cringing inside, afraid of what he would play. But he was great. I wanted to sing over the top of everything he played. Pretty soon, we were writing together."
At 23, Ellis was already an accomplished guitarist, keyboard player and programmer. He had been working as an assistant to some of the best engineers in the business and knew how to twiddle some serious knobs. Durham had found the missing link between what he heard in his head and what came out of the speakers. "Working with Andy is the first time collaboration has ever been easy," says Durham. "Instead of the whole hell-is-other-people thing, we have a blast just making sounds.
See the Sun has a depth and emotional range that broadens with each listen. Much of the album was mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (Live, Blink 182, Avril Lavigne). What shines brightest is the band's pop sensibility – the liquid swirl of "Remember," the epic sweep of "See the Sun," the raging loss of "Without You," and the open-armed surrender of "Lonely Boy."
“Learn to Crawl” was tapped as the fourth track on the platinum Spider-Man soundtrack. Produced by Durham and veteran mixer/producer Tom Lord-Alge, the song wraps an aggressive guitar riff around what Rolling Stone calls "Black Lab's tightly spun, highly melodic rock."
The title of "Ecstasy," a pulsing shadow that wakes to full rock glory, was inspired by Durham's experience recording: "The freedom to do what I wanted – in the studio across the hall from my bedroom – was amazing. I would get up late, go to the beach, then work until four or five in the morning. I got to record this album the same way I wrote it."
While See the Sun represents a zenith in Black Lab’s songwriting and production, the band continues to push and expand its sound into uncharted territory, contributing a vicious techno track called “This Blood” to the worldwide hit movie Blade : Trinity. Black Lab also continues to produce music for television (MTV’s Real World, “What I Like About You,” “The Days”) as well as the upcoming film Lovewrecked.
The third Black Lab album, entitled "Passion Leaves A Trace" was released on January 16th, 2007. Highlights include the majestic "Mine Again", the jet-black remorse of "This Night" (featured in the trailer for The Shield Season 6, and on the episode "Out of the Chute" of House), the hook-laden driving force that is "The Real You", and the achingly beautiful "Ghost In Your Mind".
All things Black Lab, including streaming and free downloads from the new and past albums, can be found at blacklabworld.com.
Perfect Girl
Black Lab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What it's like to fall in love
Tired of searching, she wants to be perfect
Nothings ever good enough
And I watch, I wait
Catch her eye and look away
Nobody ever, ever could tell her
But I tried
Now she keeps me hanging on the line
Praying at the sky
Every single night's the same
She's a perfect girl
Hanging by phone
Praying all alone
Everybody knows her name
She's a perfect girl
And she wanted to want me
Wanted to need me
Wanted all those distant stars
Wanted a surgeon, a full operation
But she couldn't bear the scars
And she cut me well
But she wouldn't be cut herself
And nobody told me I could be lonely
When I fell
I'm not perfect, what's a girl to do
In a perfect world I'd be perfect too
But the longer that she makes me wait
The more my heart begins to break
But it's worth it when she comes
In the morning she'll be gone
And I'll be
left with just the memory
Of the perfect girl that I thought I'd see
Black Lab's Perfect Girl is a poignant depiction of a woman with high expectations and standards for herself and her relationships. The song tells a story of a woman who is frustrated with the superficiality of love and the lack of authenticity in relationships. She wants to be perfect and to find someone who sees her as perfect, but nobody can live up to her standards. The lyrics suggest that the woman has been hurt before and is afraid of getting hurt again, but at the same time, she wants to find love.
The singer of the song is portrayed as a person who is searching for something that is impossible to find. She cuts people off before they can hurt her, but ends up hurting them in the process. The singer's search for perfection is a futile one, as it almost seems that she is afraid of being happy. The chorus of the song captures her struggle perfectly: "She's a perfect girl, hanging by phone, praying all alone, everybody knows her name."
The singer's obsession with perfection inevitably leads to disappointment and loneliness. The song's lyrics use metaphors like "distant stars" and "surgeon, a full operation" to imply that the singer has unrealistic expectations of herself and others. The song ends on a bittersweet note, with the singer leaving the singer with just "the memory of the perfect girl that I thought I'd see."
Line by Line Meaning
Nobody ever, ever could tell her
She feels like no one understands her
What it's like to fall in love
No one has been able to describe how it feels to be in love to her
Tired of searching, she wants to be perfect
She is exhausted from trying to find the perfect version of herself
Nothings ever good enough
She is constantly striving for perfection but feels like she can never achieve it
And I watch, I wait
The artist is patiently observing her
Catch her eye and look away
The singer is too intimidated to make eye contact with her
But I tried
The singer attempted to let her know that he understands her struggle
Now she keeps me hanging on the line
She leaves the artist unsure of their relationship
Praying at the sky
She is hoping for something to change
Every single night's the same
Her routine of hoping for change is never-ending
She's a perfect girl
She presents herself as flawless
Hanging by phone
She waits for others to call or text her
Praying all alone
She's hoping for connection with others, but it's not working
Everybody knows her name
She is popular and well-known
And she wanted to want me
She thought she should be interested in the singer but wasn't
Wanted to need me
She felt like she should require the artist in her life, but doesn't
Wanted all those distant stars
She longs for a perfect, unattainable life
Wanted a surgeon, a full operation
She desired major changes in her life
But she couldn't bear the scars
She didn't want to experience the pain that would accompany those changes
And she cut me well
She ended the relationship in a way that caused the artist pain
But she wouldn't be cut herself
She is afraid of getting hurt and won't take risks
And nobody told me I could be lonely
The artist didn't know how much he would miss her
When I fell
The singer fell in love with her
I'm not perfect, what's a girl to do
The artist is acknowledging that he's not perfect either, and wonders what she should do
In a perfect world I'd be perfect too
The singer believes that he could be perfect in a perfect world
But the longer that she makes me wait
The singer is growing impatient waiting for her to reciprocate his feelings
The more my heart begins to break
The singer is getting more and more hurt as time goes on
But it's worth it when she comes
The artist still wants to be with her, despite the pain she causes
In the morning she'll be gone
Their relationship is unstable and she usually leaves
And I'll be left with nothing but this song
The singer will use music to cope with his heartbreak
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL DURHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Blue
God, they are so good. I discovered them yesterday and every song I've heard so far is flawless.. I can't believe they aren't better know.
Rafael Esparza
2018! still the best!
william Lam lam
After six years ,its stil my favourite song, he is so talented and underrated,what a shame
ashish negi
nice and good vocals
건
Very good!
Raider Badlands
Can't decide which version of this I prefer.
Sjoerd
is it me or should this song be on the cd "see the sun" instead of "passion leaves a trace"... since i have both and that is how my editions look. just sayin' :)
Volkan Erek
Thumbs up if it is " Perfect Song" !
Melpomene Mnemosyne
Anthem for the girl who peaked in high school...
lookibatmanitesfatma
I listen to this while playing saints row the third