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).
I Caught Fire
The Used Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head on your chest
Waiting to cave in
From the bottom of my
Hear your voice again
Could we dim the sun
And wonder where we've been
Maybe you and me
My heart stopped beating
Such a softer sin
(I'm melting, I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
Now
Never caught my breath
Every second I'm without you I'm a mess
Ever know each other
Trust these words are stones
Why cuts aren't healing
Learning how to love
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
(Stay with me lay with me now)
You could stay and watch me fall
And of course I'll ask for help
Just stay with me now
Take my hand
We could take our heads off
Stay in bed just make love that's all
Just stay with me now
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me lay with me
(Stay with me, lay with me)
In your eyes
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes (I'm melting in your eyes)
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes
The Used's song I Caught Fire is a deeply emotional and intense love song. The lyrics describe a profound and consuming feeling of love and want. The singer describes being unable to catch their breath and feeling like they are about to cave in. They long to hear the other's voice, and they want to stay with them forever. They describe how the other person makes them feel like they are melting, and they feel at peace when they are with them. The lyrics allude to a sexual or intimate relationship, with the singer describing the experience of catching fire and staying in bed together. The chorus repeats the desire to stay with and lay with the other person, while the bridge reinforces the emotions driving the song's lyrics, as the singer describes being lost and melting in the other person's eyes.
Overall, the lyrics to I Caught Fire express intense emotions of love and desire. The singer is consumed by their partner's presence and overwhelmed by their feelings. There is a sense of urgency and desperation in the lyrics, as the singer pleads with their partner to stay with them and never leave. The song's use of imagery and metaphor adds to its emotional impact, making it a moving and powerful love ballad.
Line by Line Meaning
Seemed to stop my breath
I was so taken aback by you that I couldn't even breathe
My head on your chest
I felt safe and comfortable with you, resting my head on your chest
Waiting to cave in
I felt vulnerable and like I could completely give in to my emotions
From the bottom of my...
I speak from the depths of my soul
Hear your voice again
I longed to hear your voice once more
Could we dim the sun
I wanted to create a romantic, intimate atmosphere with you
And wonder where we've been
Reflecting on our past and our journey together
Maybe you and me
Perhaps it's just you and me together, nothing else matters
So kiss me like you did
Recalling a past kiss between us and longing for it again
My heart stopped beating
You have such a strong impact on me that I become overwhelmed
Such a softer sin
Being lost in love with you is not shameful, it's a beautiful thing
In your eyes
I see myself reflected in you and I feel a connection
I lost my place
I'm so wrapped up in my emotions for you that I lose sight of everything else
Could stay a while
I want to be with you for as long as possible, enjoying the moment
Like my first time
Being with you feels new and exciting every time
That I caught fire
My passion and love for you burns brightly
Just stay with me
I want you to be by my side and never leave
Lay with me
I want to be close to you physically and emotionally
Never caught my breath
You continue to take my breath away, even after all this time
Every second I'm without you I'm a mess
Being without you is so difficult for me that I feel like I am falling apart
Ever know each other, trust these words are stones
We know each other so well and these promises we make to each other are unbreakable
Why cuts aren't healing
The wounds left from past hurts haven't fully healed and are still affecting me
Learning how to love
Our love has taught me so much and I continue to grow and learn from it
You could stay and watch me fall
I trust you to be there for me even if I am vulnerable and falling down
And of course I'll ask for help
I know I can rely on you for support and assistance
Take my hand
I want to hold your hand and feel connected to you
We could take our heads off
We can let our guards down and be completely open with each other
Stay in bed just make love that's all
Our intimacy is what truly matters, and we can just be together in bed and share our love
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I want to spend every possible moment with you, leaving nothing untouched
Lyrics © THE BEST MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: BRANDEN STEINECKERT, JEPH HOWARD, QUINN ALLMAN, ROBERT MCCRACKEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ozielprado563
Seemed to stop my breath
My head on your chest
Waiting to cave in
From the bottom of my...
Hear your voice again
Could we dim the sun
And wonder where we've been
Maybe you and me
So kiss me like you did
My heart stopped beating
Such a softer sin
(I'm melting, I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
Now
Never caught my breath
Every second I'm without you I'm a mess
Ever know each other
Trust these words are stones
why cuts aren't healing
Learning how to love
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
(Stay with me lay with me now)
You could stay and watch me fall
And of course I'll ask for help
Just stay with me now
Take my hand
We could take our heads off
stay in bed just make love that's all
Just stay with me now
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
and I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
and I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me lay with me
(Stay with me, lay with me)
In your eyes
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes (I'm melting in your eyes)
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes
@KarimJovian
This type of music saved a lot of people back then. Now we have so many lost souls with no music that speaks to them
@FederalEmployee
Sad times indeed
@kaiju_rex0380
You're right on that
@MOOMOO2728
I ❤ the used. It was the perfect amount of
@lurchbag1671
you're 100% correct there.. but they can still reach back to this... it will never die.
@almccleery
I’m a fake was my song. I used to be a cutter and it helped me get through some dark times. The Used is my all time favorite band! ❤
@BridgetSexton
28 years old... still love this song like the first time I heard it. ♡
@micheleleighcollins
I met Quinn at one of their shows 😍😍
@celirijimenez6607
when i listening this song i remember my EMO fashion ^^,
@epiquewenqa
29 here. feel the same :)