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.
Pictures Of People
Black Lab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And everyone's tired
However every things fine
Everything comes in it's own good time
Pictures of people in magazines
I think that they're trying to tell me something
Pictures of people I've never met
Living inside my TV set
Driving around this town
Feel like Dr. Shivago
Lost in Chicago
Pictures of people never alone or confused
Just looking for something
Left at the side of the road
Pictures of people I never talk to
I want to say I'm pleased to meet you
Pictures of people I could believe in
If there was a way I could touch and feel them
I never see the same again
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
And I never see the same again, yeah
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
Everything gets quiet
I need help to remember
I feel no regret
The kindness of strangers
The kindness of strangers
Come down through the airwaves
Come down through the airwaves
Never alone or afraid
Never alone or afraid
Just searching for something
Left at the side of the road
Pictures of people, people around me
Never run out of things to tell them
Pictures of people, here in my mind
I carry them with me, all of the time
I never see the same again
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
And I never see the same again, yeah
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
What's left of you, what's left of you my friend
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
What's left of you, what's left of you my friend
Pictures of people
Pictures of people
How can I miss you, I've never met you
Pictures of people, pictures of people
How can I miss you, I've never met you
Pictures of people
In "Pictures of People," Black Lab sings about the disconnect between the images of happiness and perfection we see in the media and the feelings of loneliness and confusion we experience in our daily lives. The song takes on a mournful tone, with lines like "Nothing gets done and everyone's tired," conveying a sense of listlessness and aimlessness. The lyrics speak to a yearning for something more genuine than the superficial images we're bombarded with, as the singer wishes he could "touch and feel" the people he sees in magazines and on TV.
The song also references the "kindness of strangers" and the way that human connection can provide a sense of comfort and belonging. The line "I carry them with me, all of the time" suggests that even if we don't know the people we see in media, they become a sort of surrogate community for us. The final verse introduces the idea of death and loss, with the repeated refrain of "what's left of you, what's left of you my friend" suggesting that even when people are gone, they continue to exist in our memories and in the images we've seen of them.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing gets done
No progress is made
And everyone's tired
Exhaustion is felt by all
However every things fine
Despite the exhaustion, everything is okay
Everything comes in it's own good time
Patience is necessary, as everything takes time
Pictures of people in magazines
Images of individuals in publications
I think that they're trying to tell me something
They seem to hold a message for me
Pictures of people I've never met
Photographs of strangers
Living inside my TV set
Displayed on my television screen
My heart gets so full
I feel deeply moved
Driving around this town
Navigating through the city
Feel like Dr. Shivago
Reminiscent of the singer in the novel and film "Doctor Zhivago"
Lost in Chicago
Feeling disoriented in the city of Chicago
Pictures of people never alone or confused
Images of individuals who appear to never feel isolated or uncertain
Just looking for something
Searching for a specific thing
Left at the side of the road
Abandoned and forgotten
Pictures of people I never talk to
Photographs of individuals I have not conversed with
I want to say I'm pleased to meet you
I wish to express my pleasure at making their acquaintance
Pictures of people I could believe in
Images of individuals who emit a sense of trustworthiness
If there was a way I could touch and feel them
If only I could personally interact with them
I never see the same again
My perception is permanently altered
Pictures of people
Images of individuals
Everything gets quiet
The environment becomes silent
I need help to remember
Assistance is required to recall past events
I feel no regret
I hold no remorse
The kindness of strangers
Acts of compassion from unfamiliar individuals
Come down through the airwaves
Transmitted via radio or television frequency
Never alone or afraid
Never feeling isolated or fearful
Just searching for something
Simply seeking out a particular thing
Pictures of people, people around me
Photographs of individuals in my vicinity
Never run out of things to tell them
Always having something to share with them
Pictures of people, here in my mind
Mental memories of individuals
I carry them with me, all of the time
They are always present in my thoughts
What's left of you, what's left of you my friend
The lasting impact of a departed acquaintance
How can I miss you, I've never met you
Questioning the emotional attachment to someone not physically met
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL DURHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kirsten Fitzner Beard
I've been a Black Lab fan since "Your Body Above Me" and can't quit them. NEVER WILL. My favorite band. I'm also in "Pictures of People" at 14 seconds. I was in Cefalu Sicily and saw this beautiful couple at a table and had to make a point.
Terra Hottman
Beautiful voice & music💜Paul Durham's America's best kept secret🤘
Deuce Pickle
There's me at :51 with the Cowboys hat !
I remember watching this with excitement when they first released it to see if I had made the cut.
It's pretty cool to be in a video of one of your favorite bands of all time.
tokiokoetai
This song gives me chills.... makes me want to meet these people in the video and know their stories just because of the pictures.
Grant Voegtle
Lyrically my favorite Black Lab song. Raises very interesting questions about why we can attach ourselves to fictional characters and stories, or put celebrities up on pedestal even though they're really just normal people like us. At least, that's how I interpret the song.
Kirsten Fitzner Beard
real people, real moments in time :: great stuff.
sierranovember6
Awesome video. I didn't submit a picture, but I love this regardless. It is who Black Lab fans are. We are everyone. So many with one special thing in common... Black Lab.
Kevin Redding
I cannot claim to understand what this song is about, not 100%... but that is a characteristic of most of my favorite songs. Only thing I can say with certainty: its a damned good song.
tokiokoetai
This song always makes me cry *sniffle*
Mr.Matric
This song makes me look at the pictures of my Primary school friends and girlfriends,It makes me so sad that we aren't together anymore,even that i'm in the high school and i have many friends i miss my old friends that we're a real friends,that i grow up with.