The Eames Era were a Baton Rouge, Louis… Read Full Bio ↴Louisiana, USA (2002 - 2008)
The Eames Era were a Baton Rouge, Louisiana based indie pop quintet founded by New Orleans guitarists Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner. The band started its way in 2002, Grant and Ted's junior year at Louisiana State University, when the two former high school friends enlisted drummer Greg Gauthreaux and bass player Brian Waits to form "The Double Zeros". Singer Ashlin Phillips auditioned for the band in December 2002, after work had begun writing and practicing for the band's first gig. The band's name honors famed designers Charles and Ray Eames.
By 2003 the now complete lineup became "The Eames Era" and had begun recording a 3-track demo in Grant's garage. Later that year the band signed on to the C Student Records label to release their first single "Could Be Anything" April 2004. After winning an award at the university's annual independent film festival they embarked on their first tour along the east coast. Upon returning the band released "The Second EP" on the C Student label.
The album's lead track Could Be Anything was featured on the Abercrombie & Fitch website and two television shows (Grey's Anatomy and Falcon Beach) and had received major airplay on college radio stations nationwide. In October 2005, shortly after graduating from Louisiana State University, the band released their full-length debut Double Dutch. The week of the album's release, the band's tour bus got in an accident with a military truck on the way home from a photo shoot, thus canceling a tour booked for November that year. The military truck was only in the area for Hurricane Katrina aid, making the whole event even more painful for the Louisiana based band, who were surely affected from the hurricane.
In 2007, The Eames Era won $2500 in the Yaris SXSW band video contest. . In April 2007, the band released its second full-length album, "Heroes and Sheroes." The song "When You Were a Millionaire" from that album was featured on MTV's new reality show "I'm from Rolling Stone", running at the beginning and end of each of the ten episodes. That song as well as "Watson On Your Side" have videos made by Untucked Films.
In April 2008, Grant Widmer wrote music blog The Rocklist Society to let them know the band had decided to go their separate ways: "That's right, The Eames Era are no more. Ashlin and Greg moved to Chicago in the past few months and they are on to other things. Ted, Brian and I have also moved to New Orleans and we are hard at work on a new album. As I said before, Brian got married this week and his life has been very busy so it's still unclear what kind of role he'll have in the new group. But Ted and I have been traveling to record with Daniel Black, the producer of our last album, in D.C. since January. We are about 1/3 finished and hope to be all done in May. Then it will be time to tour for a while."
Pay Attention
The Eames Era Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hug hug
See you when I see you
Wanna see you like you never get enough
And hug hug
Tell the truth now I'll give you the run around
You know I never answer when I want you to think I'm over there
Pay attention to my blow career cigarettes jump back
Tanqueray tonic black palms heart attack
And eyeballs in the left pocket
And I'm thinking I can see it all
I can see it all
Take off and come back
Left her in the house and everybody left up on the tracks
But your smile
And circle gets a square I left you standing there
And everybody thinks that my obligations head to east
Or so they think
So now it seems that I've been left up in the last crossfire
And everybody wonders where you and I are
Why we're not at that party like we should be
Well I can tell you where, but I know it'd kill you!
Yeah
Well let me calm your curiosity
Cause you have not been playin on my team
But I am not that ordinary
You'll see in time
But I could tell you right the beginning
The Eames Era's song "Pay Attention" is a catchy and upbeat tune with lyrics that can be difficult to decipher at first. It seems to be a song about a relationship that is on the rocks, with both parties trying to pretend that they are over each other while secretly pining for one another. The chorus repeats the phrases "kiss kiss, hug hug, see you when I see you" and "wanna see you like you never get enough," suggesting a strong desire to be together despite their attempts at distance.
The verses are a bit more cryptic, describing the singer's inner thoughts and struggles. They mention a "blow career," which could either refer to drug use or playing a wind instrument. There is also a reference to Tanqueray tonic, suggesting a night of drinking, and the line "left her in the house and everybody left up on the tracks," which is unclear but could be a metaphor for abandoning someone or something. Overall, the song seems to be about the push and pull of a complicated relationship, where both parties try to mask their true feelings but still can't stay away from each other.
Line by Line Meaning
Kiss kiss
Expressing affection through a kiss
Hug hug
Expressing affection through a hug
See you when I see you
Will meet again in future without fixing a specific time
Wanna see you like you never get enough
Desire to see you more often and express stronger affection
And hug hug
Continuing to express affection through a hug
Tell the truth now I'll give you the run around
Won't reveal the truth and will provide false information
You know I never answer when I want you to think I'm over there
Deliberately avoiding someone by not answering and giving an impression of being somewhere else
And kiss kiss
Continuing to express affection through a kiss
Pay attention to my blow career cigarettes jump back
Be mindful of my smoking habit and tendency to take a step backwards
Tanqueray tonic black palms heart attack
Drinking Tanqueray tonic can cause one's palms to get black and may lead to a heart attack
And eyeballs in the left pocket
Keeping something important hidden in the left pocket
And I'm thinking I can see it all
Believing that everything is under control
Take off and come back
Leaving and returning later
Left her in the house and everybody left up on the tracks
Leaving someone behind and causing confusion for others
But your smile
Remembering the beauty of your smile
And circle gets a square I left you standing there
Following an unexpected outcome, leaving someone behind
And everybody thinks that my obligations head to east
Giving an impression that my responsibilities are located in the east
Or so they think
Implying that people's assumptions are incorrect
So now it seems that I've been left up in the last crossfire
Being left alone to face the consequences of someone else's conflict
And everybody wonders where you and I are
People are curious about our whereabouts
Why we're not at that party like we should be
Questioning why we're not at a specific event
Well I can tell you where, but I know it'd kill you!
Knowing where we are, but hesitant to reveal due to potential negative reaction
Yeah
Expressing agreement or affirmation
Well let me calm your curiosity
Easing someone's curiosity or anxiety
Cause you have not been playin on my team
Implying that the person was not working in collaboration
But I am not that ordinary
Asserting that one is unique and not easily replaced
You'll see in time
Insinuating that they will become aware of one's value later
But I could tell you right from the beginning
Suggesting that one has stood out from the beginning and could have been recognized earlier
Contributed by Miles B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.