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).
Circles
The Used Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you go and do something like that
My fingernail phase
Worst has got the best of you
I ask you and I know I need to change
Change
You took it back
You ripped my heart out of my then you put it back
I let you just a million times
I love you even though it isn't fair
Run we go around again in circles
Play this game over again
Run we go around again in circles
You took it back
You ripped my heart out of my then you put it back
I'm pulling my hair
I let you just a million times
I love you even though it isn't fair
Run we go around again in circles
Play this game over again
Run we go around again in circles
You took it back
You took it back
Run we go around again in circles
Play this game over again
Run we go around again in circles
Circles
Run we go around again in circles
Play this game over again
Run we go around again in circles
Circles
The Used’s song “Circles” is about being stuck in a cycle of toxic relationships. The lyrics describe a love that is hurtful and damaging, but the singer just can’t seem to let go. The song is written from the perspective of someone who has been hurt by their partner, but still can’t resist the magnetic pull of their love. The line “You took it back” is particularly heartbreaking, as it refers to a moment when the singer felt like they had finally won the affection of their partner, only to have it snatched away from them.
The use of the metaphor “circles” in the song is particularly poignant. The idea of going around in circles suggests a cyclical pattern of behavior that the singer can’t escape. No matter how many times they try to break free from this toxic relationship, they find themselves drawn back into it. The repetition of the line “Run we go around again in circles” highlights this sense of repetition and futility.
Overall, the song is a powerful exploration of the pain and confusion that can come with toxic relationships. Despite the hurt, the singer is unable to let go of the person they love, creating a vicious cycle that leaves them feeling trapped and helpless.
Line by Line Meaning
You took it back
You went back on your word or promise.
How could you go and do something like that
Asking how someone could do something hurtful or deceitful.
My fingernail phase
An expression of being uncomfortable, anxious or stressed.
Worst has got the best of you
The negativity and bad parts of life have taken over this person's emotions and actions.
I ask you and I know I need to change
A realization that the person needs to make a change and improve themselves.
Change
An urging to make that change and move forward in a positive way.
You ripped my heart out of my then you put it back
Someone hurt the person deeply, but tried to make things better after the fact.
I'm pulling my hair
A physical manifestation of frustration or distress.
I let you just a million times
A realization that the person allowed themselves to be hurt repeatedly.
I love you even though it isn't fair
Despite everything, the person still loves the one who hurt them.
Run we go around again in circles
Continuing to repeat the same negative patterns and behaviors.
Play this game over again
Referring to the same negative cycle of actions and emotions.
Circles
The repeated, unending cycle of negative emotions and experiences.
Contributed by Sarah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
emileelee
the most underrated song by the used
Jerrad Massey
My favorite still in 2021
Arial Bargeon
This was my fav back in the day!
Karissa wade
Agreed!!!! 2020!
Matt
The nostalgia is strong with this one!
HoodooThatVoodoo
@Alex Fuck! You said 8th grade.. I feel so fucking old, even though I shouldn't.
Alex
Yessss reminds me of my 8th grade trip to Washington DC in like 2004 when I took my CD player with me everywhere. Holy shit. I completely forgot how angsty I was back then. The nostalgia 😩
John Herrera
The intro to this song still sends tingles down my spine. 2017
*Xiola*
The Used will always have a piece of my heart! ♡
hanner burnaner
I know I'm late to your comment but same! Bert's voice makes my heart sing. 💙💛💙