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).
Bulimic
The Used Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the way that I felt it
It wasn't worth my time
And now it's sad cause all I missed
Wasn't that good to begin with
And now I've started you begging
Saying things that you don't mean
It isn't worth my time
And I'm about to see all of them
Goodbye to you
You're taking up my time
You call my name when I wake up
To see things go your way
I'm coughing up my time
Each drag's a drop of blood a grain
A minute of my life
It's all I've got just to stay down
Why the fuck am I still down
I'm hoarding all that's mine
Each time I let just one slip by
I'm wasting what is mine
I'm about to see a million things
I thought I'd never see before and I
I'm about to do all the things I've dreamed of
And I don't even miss you at all
The lyrics of The Used's song 'Bulimic' describe the singer's feelings towards a toxic relationship. The first verse describes how the singer initially thought the relationship was worth their time, but now realizes it wasn't that great to begin with. The line "A line's a dime a million times" refers to the fact that the other person's words and promises have been said so many times before that they no longer hold any value. The chorus then tells the other person that they are taking up the singer's time and they need to let go.
The second verse describes how the other person tries to control the singer and make everything go their way. The line "I'm coughing up my time, each drag's a drop of blood a grain" shows how the relationship is slowly draining the singer of their life and energy. They are wasting their time and their life holding onto something that isn't worth it. The singer finally realizes that they need to let go of the toxic relationship and move on with their life. They are excited to see and do new things without the other person holding them back.
Overall, the lyrics of 'Bulimic' are about the realization that a toxic relationship is not worth it and the need to let go and move on. The song uses powerful imagery to describe how the relationship is draining the singer's life and energy, and how they need to break free to pursue their dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
From the way that you acted
I observed your behavior
To the way that I felt it
I processed how your behavior made me feel
It wasn't worth my time
Our relationship wasn't worth my time
And now it's sad cause all I missed
Looking back, I realize I didn't miss much
Wasn't that good to begin with
Our relationship wasn't that great from the start
And now I've started you begging
My decision to end things has led to you begging for me to stay
Saying things that you don't mean
Your desperation has caused you to say insincere things
It isn't worth my time
I don't feel it's worth my time to continue this relationship
A line's a dime a million times
Hollow words are plentiful and unimpressive
And I'm about to see all of them
I'm tired of hearing meaningless promises and lies
Goodbye to you
I'm saying farewell to you
You're taking up my time
Being with you is a waste of my time
You call my name when I wake up
You expect me to always be there for you
To see things go your way
You want things to always go your way
I'm coughing up my time
Being with you is making me feel ill and wasting my time
Each drag's a drop of blood a grain
Each moment spent together is painful and draining
A minute of my life
Every moment I spend with you feels like wasted time
It's all I've got just to stay down
I feel exhausted and powerless in this relationship
Why the fuck am I still down
I question why I continue to stay in this relationship
I'm hoarding all that's mine
I'm holding onto my own self-worth and happiness
Each time I let just one slip by
Each time I give in, I feel like I'm losing myself
I'm wasting what is mine
By staying in this relationship, I'm wasting my own time and happiness
I'm about to see a million things
I'm ready to move on and experience new things
I thought I'd never see before and I
I'm excited and hopeful for the future
I'm about to do all the things I've dreamed of
I'm ready to pursue my own goals and desires
And I don't even miss you at all
I don't feel any regret or longing for this relationship
Lyrics © THE BEST MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: BRANDEN STEINECKERT, JEPH HOWARD, QUINN ALLMAN, ROBERT MCCRACKEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@veraferdy6418
From the way that you acted
To the way that I felt it
It wasn't worth my time
And now it's sad cause all I missed
Wasn't that good to begin with
And now I've started you begging
Saying things that you don't mean
It isn't worth my time
A line's a dime a million times
And I'm about to see all of them
Goodbye to you
You're taking up my time
You call my name when I wake up
To see things go your way
I'm coughing up my time
Each drag's a drop of blood a grain
A minute of my life
It's all I've got just to stay down
Why the fuck am I still down
I'm hoarding all that's mine
Each time I let just one slip by
I'm wasting what is mine
I'm about to see a million things
I thought I'd never see before and I
I'm about to do all the things I've dreamed of
And I don't even miss you at all
@7d7e7f7
Their first album is still the best. Always.
@crazy_acid77
In Love and Death was really great too!
@chelc0
@Trevor E. and lies for the liars
@NoName-gx6jc
@chelsea x3 not as good as 1 and 2
@darrindrones5304
Branden was my favorite drummer amongst all of these bands.
@misslambchop8690
this song literally helped me get over my past relationships/friendships. music helps soo much!
@duwithdarktower5132
Sematary Kat music saved my life
@auroraborealis675
Sematary Kat I like your username a lot
@mnemonix1315
Check the 21 precepts of dokkodo
@samklingenberg9181
This album saved my life. Multiple x. Every breakup, every hardship.
Saw them at Taste of Chaos '06 and again in 2017. Bert pointed me out because I was singing every damn line 💜💜💜 I dont think I've ever felt so high!!!