The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. After releasing a self-titled 7" record, they became one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. Austin left the band in 1992 and was replaced by Brad Morrison who also left the band and was replaced on drums by Jordan Burns, formerly of fellow Simi Valley natives Ten Foot Pole. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, was released in May of 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed in 1996. In 1998 they released The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat, a compilation album of their pre-Fat Wreck Chords material.
The band showed notable musical growth on their 1998 album Twisted by Design, which was both speedy and technical but also punk-based and with darker overtones. The album established a mixture of the fast, poppy sound the band had established with Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues but mixed it with more atonality and more abstract song structures. Bassist Jim Cherry left the band in 1999 and went on to play in Pulley and Zero Down, but died of heart failure in 2002. He was replaced by Chris Aiken, whose musical background had a strong impact on the 2000 album The Element of Sonic Defiance, which continued in the fast, melodic punk tradition of the band while introducing more hard rock and metal elements.
In 2002 the band released their fourth full-length album An American Paradox, their first release to appear in the Billboard Top 200. The initial production run contained a bonus song entitled "Don't Look Back". A video was filmed for the song "Cemetery" and was included on several punk rock video compilations. In 2003 they recorded and released a live album as part of the Fat Wreck Chords Live in a Dive series. Exile in Oblivion, was released in 2004, with a video filmed for the song "Analog." Strung Out released their sixth full-length album, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles on June 12, 2007.
In March 2009, Strung Out released a compilation of B-sides, demos, and covers called "Prototypes and Painkillers" with material from all eras of the band's history. Many of these tracks have been on various punk compilations and/or were included in their "Live in a Dive" recording.
On September 29, 2009, Strung Out Released a their 7th studio album titled Agents of the Underground.
Vanity
Strung Out Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Did you call out to me from the dark, did you really think I'd stay?
Did you feel me when the hurt rolled in, did you roll your pretty eyes?
Did that feeling rise up from within, did it take you by surprise?
You know you're better off without me.
Eyes like yours could always give you away.
There were times when I needed you to be on my side.
Well you murder me with pink and blue, a possession in a box for you.
Valentines and hand grenades, secret words and serenades.
Symbiotic mass destruction, we're directionless and vain.
Can you feel it when it comes around?
Can you feel it takes you by surprise?
You know you're better off without me.
Eyes like yours could always give you away.
There were times when I needed you to be on my side.
Through these eyes now I sit and watch the end of the world.
At the bottom of the ocean I sit and wait alone
for a chance to breathe the life into my lungs.
Now I feel like myself again
as I beat myself against you one more time, one more time.
Surprise.
You know you're better off without me.
Eyes like yours could always give you away.
There were times when I needed you to be on my side.
Through these eyes now I sit and watch the end of the world.
The end of the world.
The end of the world.
The end of the world.
The song "Vanity" by Strung Out is an emotionally charged reflection on a broken relationship. The opening lines suggest a sense of betrayal and abandonment, with the singer questioning whether their former partner had any concern for their well-being in the aftermath of the breakup. The use of religious imagery, such as references to prayer and the darkness, suggest a feeling of hopelessness and confusion. The singer wonders if their former partner saw it coming, if they anticipated the hurt and betrayal that would follow, and if they simply chose to look the other way.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the destructive nature of their relationship. They describe feeling "murdered" by their partner, and compare their love to a "possessive" and volatile force that leads to "mass destruction." The singer seems to acknowledge that they were caught up in their own vanity and selfishness, acting without thought for the impact of their actions on the other person.
Towards the end of the song, the singer seems to have gained some perspective, recognizing that their former partner is "better off" without them. They express a sense of resignation, recognizing that their inability to see outside of themselves has caused irreparable damage to their relationship. As they sit "at the bottom of the ocean" and watch the end of the world, they seem to be reaching an acceptance that their relationship has been lost, but that they are perhaps better equipped to move forward and find a new sense of self.
Line by Line Meaning
Did you leave a light on for me, did you pray I'd find my way?
Did you have hope in your heart that I would find my way even in the dark?
Did you call out to me from the dark, did you really think I'd stay?
Did you try to stop me from leaving and believe that I would stay?
Did you feel me when the hurt rolled in, did you roll your pretty eyes?
Were you able to sense my pain or did you just ignore it and roll your eyes?
Did that feeling rise up from within, did it take you by surprise?
Were you caught off guard by your own emotions when they surfaced?
You know you're better off without me.
You realize that you are better off without me in your life.
Eyes like yours could always give you away.
Your eyes are very expressive and can reveal your emotions.
There were times when I needed you to be on my side.
There were moments when I required you to support me fully.
Through these eyes that world just died, a new one's born.
I am experiencing a significant shift in my life and my outlook has changed.
Well you murder me with pink and blue, a possession in a box for you.
The love and affection you offer is both overwhelming and suffocating to me.
Valentines and hand grenades, secret words and serenades.
Our relationship is tumultuous and unpredictable.
Symbiotic mass destruction, we're directionless and vain.
Our symbiotic relationship is damaging and lacks direction or value.
Can you feel it when it comes around? Can you feel it takes you by surprise?
Do you sense the negative consequences of our relationship and feel surprised by them?
At the bottom of the ocean I sit and wait alone for a chance to breathe the life into my lungs.
I am in a dark place, struggling to survive and looking for hope.
Now I feel like myself again as I beat myself against you one more time, one more time. Surprise.
I am rediscovering my identity and trying to reconcile with you, but it is a painful process with uncertain outcomes.
Through these eyes now I sit and watch the end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world. The end of the world.
I am observing the destruction of our relationship and the end of an era.
Contributed by Alex B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.