Silversun Pickups is a Grammy-nominated American indie rock band which form… Read Full Bio ↴Silversun Pickups is a Grammy-nominated American indie rock band which formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 2000. The band consists of Brian Aubert (vocals, guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass, vocals), Joe Lester (keyboards) and Christopher Guanlao (drums). The band members are friends who had played together previously or in mutual friends' bands.

The name Silversun Pickups refers to a liquor store across the road L.A. rock-scene hang Silverlake Lounge. One of the band’s friends would often arrive at the store late at night to buy liquor, and would be as such making the "Silversun Pickup".

The band is signed to Dangerbird Records. They released their debut EP "Pikul" in July of 2005. The band has released four albums, 2006's "Carnavas", 2009's "Swoon", 2012's "Neck of the Woods" and 2015's "Better Nature". The band managed two Top 10 singles on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2007: "Lazy Eye" (#5) and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" (#9). In 2009, they managed their third top 10 on the chart, "Panic Switch" (#1) and a fourth song "Substitution" was also on that chart (#23).

Silversun Pickups have been compared to The Smashing Pumpkins (possibly due in part to Brian Aubert's vocal style) and 90's shoegazing bands like My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Ride, and Slowdive. Silversun Pickups claim they have been heavily influenced by Modest Mouse and The Velvet Underground as well as other lesser-known acts.

Their first break came when a friend mailed a boombox demo to CMJ and they were accepted. They got their start in many of the most important L.A. clubs and began to draw a strong following upon the release of the Pikul EP. This culminated in frequent touring, including a co-headlining stint with Viva Voce.

The band finished a three-week tour opening for Australian rockers Wolfmother on December 9, 2006, and have toured with OK Go and Snow Patrol on their U.S. spring tour, which ended on April 10, 2007. The Pickups played at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California on April 27, 2007.

The band supported Foo Fighters, along with Nine Inch Nails on August 21st 2007 as part of the 'T on the Fringe' music festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then on the 22nd in Marley Park, Dublin, Ireland. They also performed at the Carling Reading and Leeds festivals on the 25th/26th August 2007 and supported Kaiser Chiefs on their Autumn European tour and Snow Patrol on their tour of Australia (with Paolo from Snow Patrol joining them regularly to play guitar on Lazy Eye and Nikki guesting on vocals for Snow Patrol's Set The Fire To The Third Bar onstage). On some of these dates the band have been covering Joy Division's Shadowplay and Bjork's Big Time Sensuality, both of which have been recorded for web or radio sessions.

The second full studio album, entitled "Swoon", was released 14th April 2009 in both the US and UK.

The band was also part of Lollapalooza 2009 in Chicago, IL, Voodoo Fest 2009 and 2012 in New Orleans, and the 2009 Sasquatch! Festival.

In early 2010, they supported the UK anthem-rock superstars Muse for several of their North American dates for The Resistance tour.

Draining
Silversun Pickups Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You ask me to be stone again,
Been waiting out here for a while,
At least the wait could be the end,
But not likely,

And it's draining,
And it's draining,

You see my shadow coming in,
Dirty sheets pulled to your chin,
Well maybe now we can be kin,
But not likely,

And it's draining,
And it's draining,
We're evading,
And it's draining,

You asked me before,
You asked me to consider operating,
We've been here before,
We've been here the delivery is no good,

We'll leave it alone,
We're leaving that's where we start repeating,

Don't ask anymore,
Don't ask me the delivery is no good,

And it's draining,
And it's draining,
We're evading,
And it's draining,

And it's draining,
And it's draining.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Silversun Pickups' song Draining suggest a sense of exhaustion and weariness with a situation. The singer is being asked to return to a state of emotional detachment, represented by the idea of being "stone again." They've been waiting for some kind of resolution to this situation, but it seems unlikely that anything will change.

The second verse introduces another person, someone who is hiding under dirty sheets, perhaps hiding from the world. The singer suggests that they could now be "kin," or perhaps connected in some way, but again, the likelihood of this happening seems low.

The chorus repeats the idea that the situation is "draining," and the two people are evading some kind of confrontation or resolution. The third verse suggests that they've been in this situation before, and perhaps even attempted to change things ("consider operating") but it never works out ("the delivery is no good"). The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the draining nature of the situation.

Overall, the song seems to be exploring the frustration of being stuck in a difficult situation that never seems to change or improve. Despite attempts at altering things, the singer seems resigned to the fact that they're simply "draining" away their energy and emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

You ask me to be stone again,
You want me to suppress my emotions and not let them show, just like a stone.

Been waiting out here for a while,
I've been patiently waiting here for some time.

At least the wait could be the end,
Maybe this wait will finally be over.

But not likely,
But I don't think that will happen.

And it's draining,
This situation is exhausting and taking a toll on me.

You see my shadow coming in,
You notice my presence even before you see me.

Dirty sheets pulled to your chin,
You're trying to hide under the covers and ignore the problems.

Well maybe now we can be kin,
Maybe now we can be closer and have a better relationship.

But not likely,
But it's doubtful that anything will change.

We're evading,
We're avoiding facing the issues and addressing them.

You asked me before,
You already asked me about this before.