in a 2012 interview, The Used bassist Jeph Howard said that "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" is probably his favorite song by the band.
A few years ago, while preparing to send the album art for b-side collection Shallow Believer to his record label, Bert McCracken scrawled the word “Artwork” across its cover in silver ink. The sentiment, which, to Bert and his bandmates in The Used, resonated with both extreme simplicity and indescribable complexity, said everything without really having to say anything. Now, the Utah band has titled their fourth full-length album with that very word: Artwork.
The group started writing the album after finishing the Taste of Chaos International tour in 2007, slowly collecting and jamming out ideas with no concrete intention beyond making the songs as dirty as possible. The Used, whose last album, 2007’s Lies For the Liars, debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200, spent the first half of 2008 in LA exploring and refining these ideas, eventually piecing tangential riffs and melodies into a scattering of songs that contained a surprisingly cohesive sensibility. The band members dubbed the music they were writing “gross pop,” their own new genre of hook-laden numbers that pushed the boundaries of the grotesque. Tracking for the album began in June of 2008 with producer Matt Squire and eventually concluded in February of 2009, primarily at LA studios The Lair and NRG. Between a few sporadic tours, the band spent about three months total recording with Squire where they allowed their creativity to dictate when they worked on something.
“I wouldn’t say it was hard to make any of the record but it definitely was time consuming,” Bert says. “We worked on our time table. The band allowed me to create when I was able to create, which was a good thing. I didn’t feel pressure to force things. There was no specific time I had to do anything. If we were in the studio and I’d been working on lyrics for five hours and nothing came out, we would just try again tomorrow.”
In the studio Squire approached the recording process with a laid-back attitude the band both appreciated and needed. The decision to work with a new producer after establishing a longtime relationship with producer John Feldman, who was at the helm of the band’s past three albums (Lies For the Liars, as well as 2004’s In Love and Death and 2002’s The Used, both of which were certified gold), was derived from a simple desire for change. The Used wanted to see what would happen if they entered the studio with someone different, a process guitarist Quinn Allman compares to “breaking up with your girlfriend not because you don’t love her but because you need to try something new.”
“It wasn’t that we absolutely didn’t want to work with Feldman or that we absolutely wanted to work with Squire,” Bert explains. “It was more that the band needed a change. We wanted to try something different and have it sound a lot different. It took a few weeks for us to get a vibe for each, but once we got used to it, it was really easy. Squire brought in this willingness to try anything and an open mind and a good attitude. I feel like he was really in touch with what the band wanted to do and he was really supportive of our ideas.”
The result is a raw collection of twelve songs that not so delicately teeter the line between being aggressively discordant and charmingly hooky. The first single “Blood On My Hands,” which Quinn describes as the song that “sums up everything about The Used,” is confined chaos, brutally thrashing one moment and proffering a pop-driven, sing-along chorus the next. “Empty With You,” a track Bert says is “about feeling empty and lonely but as long as you have someone who can feel lonely with you then everything’s okay,” surges with passion and gripping honesty, while “Cut Yourself” balances the album’s predilection for propulsive rage with its quieter, piano-driven exploration of what it means to have someone to lean on.
“This record is more sincere,” Quinn says. “It’s got a sound more reminiscent of the first record. Lyrically, it completely engulfs you and makes you feel safe but it’s all about feeling alone and empty and knowing there’s always a light. If you’re frustrated that much it means you care that much. The lyrics carry you through the record and you’re right with Bert and where he’s at. The music isn’t showing off. It’s just being what it is. I think the fans will appreciate all that.”
“This record is about coming together,” Bert adds. “Whether it’s through positivity or negativity, it’s about coming together through anything.”
Artwork encapsulates the past eight years of a band that’s played tours and festivals like Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Projek Revolution, Give It a Name, Reading and Leeds and SxSW, and sold over two million albums in the States alone, while simultaneously urging them forward. It’s a collaborative effort that drew The Used closer together during its creation. It’s about love and mortality and the basic human emotions we all experience every day. It’s biting and gritty, and it’s melodic and catchy. It’s a new chapter for a band that’s constantly sought to redefine the bounds of pop music—and have always successfully done so. It’s a reminder, as Bert says, “we’re all artists creating our own art just by living it.”
“I Come Alive” is the first single from The Used's fifth album, Vulnerable. It is the first release on the band's own label, Anger Music Group, an imprint of Hopeless Records. The song was released on January 17, 2012. (I Come Alive Songfacts).
Take It Away
The Used Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And this dagger is my excuse
I'm a pawn
I should have paid up
And I left an hour late
I was laid up
I must abuse myself
I'm against all that I've made up
Set in stone the sun will come
And I hate light
You know I hate light
To me it looks so pretty burning
Burn the sun
Burn the light
Take take take take take take it away
Take my hand
Take my life
Take take take take take take it away
I must have caught something
In the heat of all these dances
I'm a worm with no more chances
And I've lost all doubt
In a chemical romance
I can't stop itching
Over thoughts of tarnished hope
Kinda funny
Lonely feeling
I'm not in love
You know it's not love
Don't make it look so pretty burning
Burn the sun
Burn the light
Take take take take take take it away
Take my hand
Take my life
Take take take take take take it away
Burn the sun
Burn the light
Take take take take take take it away
Take my hand
Take my life
Take take take take take take it away
Brothers and sisters
I'm right here with you
Cause everyone's got one
A story to to kill me
I'm so apathetic in my resentment
Living, loving, knowing not
Take my hand(x8)
Take my life
Take my heart take my mind
Take my life take my life
Burn the sun burn the light
Take take take take take take it away
Take my hand take my life
Take take take take take take it away
Burn the sun burn the light
Take take take take take take it away
Take my hand take my life
Take my life
Take my life
The lyrics of The Used's song Take It Away suggest a struggle with self-destructive tendencies and a life filled with regret. The singer is using a dagger as an excuse for lying to himself and he recognizes that he is merely a pawn. It seems that he owes a debt, and he has missed his chance to pay up, which he says is his fault. He also mentions losing track of time and being laid up, which suggests that he has made some poor choices.
The singer then describes himself as an abuser and is against all that he has created. He compares life to something set in stone, but he hates the light and wishes that it would burn. He repeats the phrase "take it away" several times, which could be interpreted as a desire to have his mistakes and pain removed. He then talks about catching something and being a worm with no more chances. He has a chemical romance and is itching with thoughts of tarnished hope. He is lonely and feeling a bit funny, and says he is not in love.
The lyrics seem to suggest that the singer is struggling with addiction, among other issues. He is apathetic and resentful, but he recognizes that everyone has a story that could "kill" him, implying that everyone has their own struggles. Overall, the song seems to be about a person battling personal demons and seeking a way out.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm lying to myself
I'm not being honest with myself
And this dagger is my excuse
I use pain as an excuse to cause harm to myself
I'm a pawn
I'm being controlled by external forces
I should have paid up
I owe something to someone
And I left an hour late
I missed an opportunity
I was laid up
I was injured
I must abuse myself
I inflict pain onto myself
I'm against all that I've made up
I'm at odds with my own decisions
Set in stone the sun will come
The future is inevitable
And I hate light
I hate positivity
You know I hate light
It's well known that I dislike positivity
To me it looks so pretty burning
I find enjoyment in destruction
Burn the sun
Destroy positivity
Burn the light
Destroy hope
Take take take take take take it away
Remove all positivity from my life
Take my hand
Take control of me
Take my life
Take my existence
I must have caught something
I contracted a disease or negative mindset
In the heat of all these dances
In the midst of all these activities
I'm a worm with no more chances
I'm a lowly being with no more opportunities
And I've lost all doubt
I'm completely sure of something
In a chemical romance
In a superficial love affair
I can't stop itching
I can't get rid of negative thoughts
Over thoughts of tarnished hope
Over negative thoughts of lost potential
Kinda funny
It's ironic
Lonely feeling
Sad and isolated emotions
I'm not in love
I don't have romantic feelings
You know it's not love
It's a well-known fact that it's not real love
Don't make it look so pretty burning
Don't glorify destruction
Brothers and sisters
Fellow humans
I'm right here with you
I'm here with you in this struggle
Cause everyone's got one
Because everyone has a story
A story to to kill me
A story that brings me down
I'm so apathetic in my resentment
I'm indifferent towards my negative feelings
Living, loving, knowing not
Existing, caring, without understanding
Take my hand(x8)
Repeatedly request for aid
Take my life
Take away my existence
Take my heart take my mind
Take control of my emotions and thoughts
Lyrics © SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
Written by: BRANDEN STEINECKERT, JEPH HOWARD, QUINN ALLMAN, ROBERT MCCRACKEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind