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.
Make Believe
Silversun Pickups Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wrapped it in a box, locked it in a key,
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Bring you what you need
You, the same for me
But I lost my mind!
I can never show you what you gave to me
I wouldn't like to stay and give my everything
Shaking up realities!
I really like to be there when you raise for me
A shape before, a make believe
I wish I could just warn you what my death will be
Shaking up realities!
I give everything you got to feel the canyon useless to,
From plastic foliage, collect the catalog, another victory
I was sentenced every month over 21 to the guilty
Stay, never,
I'm not good with words, what it all means?
This is not I came for me
But I might have lost my mind!
I can never show you what you gave to me
A shape before, a make believe
I wouldn't like to stay and give my everything
Shaking up realities!
I really like to be there when you raise for me
A shape before, a make believe
I wish I could just warn you what my death will be
Shaking up realities!
You would knew the same,
But I've might have lost my mind!
I can never show you what you gave to me
A shape before, a make believe
I wouldn't like to stay and give my everything
Shaking up realities!
I really like to be there when you raise for me
A shape before, a make believe
I wish I could just warn you what my death will be
Shaking up realities!
The lyrics of Silversun Pickups’ song “Make Believe” convey a sense of lost hope and confusion, as the singer reflects on the things they have lost or been unable to grasp. The first stanza contains imagery of possessions and desires that have been locked away, as well as the idea of reciprocal support between the singer and a loved one. However, the final line disrupts this sense of security, as the singer reveals that they have “lost [their] mind.”
In the second stanza, the lyrics suggest that the singer has been given something valuable by their loved one, but they are unable to fully appreciate or reciprocate it. They describe it as a “shape before, a make believe,” perhaps implying that it was an ideal or a dream that they have been unable to actualize. The lines “I wouldn’t like to stay and give my everything/Shaking up realities” suggest a fear of commitment and the potential upheaval that could come from fully engaging with their loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
They took everything you want,
Your desires were stolen away from you
Wrapped it in a box, locked it in a key,
Your stolen desires were hidden and inaccessible
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Expressing a sense of frustration or despair
Bring you what you need
Providing only what you require, but not what you truly desire
You, the same for me
Reciprocating the relationship, with both giving and taking
But I lost my mind!
Feeling as though you've become unstable or irrational
I can never show you what you gave to me
Unable to express the true impact of what you've received
A shape before, a make believe
The idea of something existing only in imagination or thought, rather than reality
I wouldn't like to stay and give my everything
Reluctant to fully commit and invest in the relationship
Shaking up realities!
Disrupting or challenging established perceptions of what is real
I really like to be there when you raise for me
Wanting to witness and appreciate the good things in the relationship
I wish I could just warn you what my death will be
Regretting the potential consequences of your actions for the relationship
You would knew the same,
Expecting the other person in the relationship to understand and feel the same way
But I've might have lost my mind!
Expressing uncertainty and confusion about your own state of mind
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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