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.
Dream At Tempo 119
Silversun Pickups Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At the cardboard screen while no one cared
While the lights stayed on
The familiar buzz was now long gone
I just waited there
As the music soared into the air
As the lights went down
She said don't open your eyes
At tempo 119
They took to the crowd and aimed towards me
As the circle closed
I held onto the one with splintered clothes
Twenty years before
She said don't open your eyes and you can swim
All my friends ignored
She said don't open your eyes
Don't open your eyes
And said goodnight
Don't open your eyes
And said goodnight
I couldn't end it there
As her wooden bones grew through her skin
Crumbled naturally
As her limbs and leaves had broken free
Twenty years before
She said don't open your eyes and you can swim
Wanted nothing more
She said don't open your eyes
Don't open your eyes
And said goodnight
Don't open your eyes
And said goodnight
The lyrics to Silversun Pickups' "Dream at Tempo 119" are mysterious and poetic, leaving room for interpretation. The song appears to be about a dream, possibly a recurring one. The first verse talks about sitting in front of a cardboard screen while the lights are on and waiting for the music to start. As the lights go down and the music plays, someone tells the dreamer not to open their eyes. The tempo of the music is 119 beats per minute, and the band takes to the crowd and aims towards the dreamer.
In the second verse, the dreamer is taken back twenty years, and the same person tells them not to open their eyes and they can swim. The dreamer's friends ignore this advice. The chorus repeats the instruction not to open their eyes and says goodnight. The dreamer can't end the dream there and sees a person whose wooden bones grow through her skin and limbs and leaves have broken free. The person tells the dreamer not to open their eyes and wanted nothing more.
The lyrics to "Dream at Tempo 119" by Silversun Pickups describe a dream that is open to interpretation. The lyrics may be about holding onto something that we know is not quite right, but we still can't let go. The tempo of the music may represent the passage of time, and the dreamer is taken back twenty years to a time when someone gave them advice that they ignored. The repeating instruction not to open their eyes may be a metaphor for not facing reality, the music, or something else entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
I took my seat and stared
The singer sat down and began to observe
At the cardboard screen while no one cared
The singer watched something on a flimsy screen, ignored by those around them
While the lights stayed on
Despite the situation being dim or dark, the lights remained bright
The familiar buzz was now long gone
Any previous noise or energy was now absent
I just waited there
The artist remained patient without knowing what was to come
As the music soared into the air
The music began to play, filling the space
As the lights went down
The room became darker as the lights were turned off
She said don't open your eyes
Someone advised the artist to keep their eyes closed
At tempo 119
At a specific musical pace, a reference point
They took to the crowd and aimed towards me
The performers engaged with the audience and focused on the artist
As the circle closed
A circle of participants drew closer to the singer
I held onto the one with splintered clothes
The artist held onto someone who was tattered, potentially worn by life
Twenty years before
A point in time from the distant past
She said don't open your eyes and you can swim
The advice given was to keep one's eyes closed in order to succeed
All my friends ignored
Despite the advice, those around the singer did not take heed
She said don't open your eyes
The advice was repeated
And said goodnight
The performace came to an end
I couldn't end it there
The singer was compelled to continue even as the performance concluded
As her wooden bones grew through her skin
A metaphor for growth and change
Crumbled naturally
Things broke down in a natural and expected fashion
As her limbs and leaves had broken free
A transformation had taken place, potentially positive, allowing for growth
Wanted nothing more
There was a clear desire or goal
She said don't open your eyes
The guidance was repeated
And said goodnight
The performance ended, this time definitively
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