The original lineup consisting of Kody Templeman, Zack Rawhauser, Cory Laurence, and Tim (Timmy V) O'Hara as a four-piece only recorded the first 7",I Lost My Marbles, produced by Joe King of The Queers for his More Bounce to the Ounce compilation. The band continued as a three-piece after Zack quit.
Their first full-length album, titled Shit Out of Luck, was released on Clearview Records in 1996. Following the release of their first album the band changed their lyrical focus. In 1999 they went into the studio with producer-engineer Mass Giorgini to record a new LP. This was done with the band's own money, and without the benefit of a record label. The result was Death By Television, an album that took sci-fi movie-themed songs such as War Of The Worlds and Invasion Of The Saucermen and combined them with tracks that made references to other retro themes, such as X-Ray Specs. The recordings instantly created a buzz. Successful label Fat Wreck Chords offered to release the album, but the band had already accepted an offer of Panic Button Records, an imprint of influential punk label Lookout! Records that was overseen by Ben Weasel of Screeching Weasel fame.
The band spent the next two years touring heavily within the punk scene and disbanded after teaming with Giorgini for their final Panic Button/Lookout! release, the spy-themed LP The Backchannel Broadcast, which was released in February, 2001. The album included the song Wait It Out, written by Ben Weasel and later re-recorded by The Riverdales for their record Phase Three.
John Jughead (of Screeching Weasel and Even in Blackouts) filled in as second guitar on many tour stops on the Death by Television and Backchannel tours. Other notable appearances on these tours include Ben Weasel (at The Fireside in Chicago, his first stage appearance since 1995), and Lurch Nobody. Timmy V left the band after Death by Television and was replaced by Austin, Texas drummer Scott.
Red Scare Industries reissued Death By Television (remastered) and Backchannel Broadcast in 2005.
The band split for a few years before reuniting with all original members to release an album, [album artist=the lillingtonsThe Too Late Show in 2006, with no plans on reuniting for a tour to support due to the members' other commitments.
In 2017 they released an album [album artist=the lillingtons]Stella Sapiente.
Frontman Templeman is currently a member of Laramie, Wyoming pop punk band Teenage Bottlerocket.
Drummer Timmy V is currently playing as a hired hand with Albuquerque, New Mexico all girl three-piece The Eyeliners, and plays drums in his own project Stabbed in Back, with a hardcore/punk album entitled A Portrait of Noise.
Night Visions
The Lillingtons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still remain a mystery
Are they real or fantasy?
Or some looming prophecy
I see tunnels underground
With little light, devoid of sound
The mystic symbols are profound
I see a village in the rain
Its citizens have gone insane
Performing rites deemed too profane
To bring about a world of pain
Whoa, night visions
Recurring nightmares cloud my mind
Eradication of mankind
The stars beginning to align
A dark, intelligent design
Whoa, night visions
The Lillingtons' song Night Visions touches on the theme of seeing things that others cannot see - visions that are either real or mere figments of the imagination. The song's narrator talks about seeing dark, mysterious events happening around them, but it is unclear whether they are actual events or visions that represent something greater. The lyrics paint vivid, terrifying images of tunnels underground, mystic symbols caught in stone, a village in the rain with its citizens gone insane, and recurring nightmares that threaten the eradication of mankind. It appears that these visions are a forewarning of an impending disaster, perhaps a product of some dark, intelligent design.
The overall tone of the song is foreboding and eerie, with a sense of ever-present danger lurking in the shadows. The chorus emphasizes the haunting nature of these visions, with the phrase "Whoa, night visions" repeated throughout the song. The Lillingtons draw inspiration from horror film imagery, which is evident in the visuals they describe in the song.
Overall, Night Visions is a thought-provoking song that touches on the darker aspects of the imagination, and the possibility of there being something deeply unsettling hidden beneath the surface of reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Visions only I can see
The visions that the singer is experiencing are personal and cannot be seen by anyone else.
Still remain a mystery
Despite the singer's efforts to understand the visions, they are still unexplainable.
Are they real or fantasy?
The singer is questioning if the visions are real occurrences or simply a creation of their imagination.
Or some looming prophecy
The singer is contemplating whether the visions they are experiencing are messages of things to come in the near future.
I see tunnels underground
The singer is experiencing a vision of tunnels that are located beneath the earth's surface.
With little light, devoid of sound
The tunnels that the singer is seeing are dark, and no sounds are present within them.
The mystic symbols are profound
The symbols that the singer is witnessing are unusual and are of great importance.
Caught in stone on Earth not found
These symbols are etched into stone and are not from this earth.
I see a village in the rain
The singer sees a village in the midst of a rainstorm.
Its citizens have gone insane
The people who inhabit this village have lost their minds and are not in a sane state of being.
Performing rites deemed too profane
The people in the village are engaging in rituals that are viewed as inappropriate and taboo to others.
To bring about a world of pain
The consequence of these rituals will result in a world of suffering and discomfort.
Recurring nightmares cloud my mind
The singer is experiencing repeated nightmares that are interfering with their thoughts and emotions.
Eradication of mankind
The singer's nightmare revolves around the complete destruction of humankind.
The stars beginning to align
The singer sees constellations in the sky that are forming into a specific alignment.
A dark, intelligent design
This alignment appears to have been thought out and designed with a malevolent purpose in mind.
Contributed by Kaylee C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.