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).
Noise and Kisses
The Used Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm jaded now whatever that means
By sharing these things
I rip my heart out
It's worth my time
Whatever that means
Hard to see up
My neck feels stiff until I wake up
And back to my neck
It's worth my time
Whatever that means, so
Share with me
Cause I need it right now
Let me see your insides
Or write me off
Cause I'd rather stop now
If you won't open up
Give it to me
Give me all, whatever you want
It's never been me
To want this much from you
I can see
It tears me up
The lyrics to The Used’s song “Noise and Kisses” delve into a sense of weariness and disillusionment with life. The singer of the song is jaded and tired, but they’re willing to rip their heart out and share their feelings if it’s worth their time. It's difficult for the singer to see past their own struggles and anxieties, but they're hoping that by opening up and connecting with others, they can feel a little less alone.
The first verse of the song speaks to physical discomfort such as a stiff neck because of anxiety, and annoyance with everyday things like choking on an orange. The second verse is an appeal to other people for honesty and vulnerability. The singer is asking them to share their inner selves because they need it right now. The chorus, “Give it to me / Give me all, whatever you want / It's never been me / To want this much from you / I can see / It tears me up,” highlights the singer's desire for connection and also their sense of hesitation.
The emotional weight of the song is conveyed through the haunting melody and the intense vocals of Bert McCracken. The song ends with the singer admitting that their desire for intimacy and connection is tearing them up inside. Overall, "Noise and Kisses" is a powerful song that speaks to the human need for connection and honesty.
Line by Line Meaning
Look in my eyes
Pay attention to me, see the pain I'm hiding behind my eyes.
I'm jaded now whatever that means
I'm exhausted from experiencing too much pain, although I do not know the actual definition of being jaded.
By sharing these things
By opening up and revealing my innermost feelings and thoughts.
I rip my heart out
I expose my vulnerability to you, risking that you may hurt or reject me.
It's worth my time
The possibility of forming a deep connection with you is worth the emotional cost.
Whatever that means
Even though the meaning and outcome of forming this connection are uncertain, I am willing to take the risk.
Hard to see up
I feel emotionally and mentally overwhelmed and incapable of seeing a way out of this predicament.
My neck feels stiff until I wake up
My body manifests the pain and anxiety that I experience, even when I am not consciously aware of it.
The orange I choked
An obscure and meaningless detail that seems to have become associated with my emotional pain.
And back to my neck
My thoughts and feelings are physically affecting me and causing me pain.
Share with me
Open up and share with me to help me feel connected and healed.
Cause I need it right now
I am in pain and require your emotional support and understanding at this moment.
Let me see your insides
I want to know your true self and connect with you on an emotional level.
Or write me off
If you do not feel the same way or are unwilling to connect with me, then end this now instead of leading me on.
Cause I'd rather stop now
I would rather end this relationship now than continue on without a deep emotional connection.
If you won't open up
If you are incapable of being vulnerable and opening up to me emotionally.
Give it to me
Give me all of your emotional baggage and pain.
Give me all, whatever you want
Reveal everything about yourself, regardless of how uncomfortable or painful it may be.
It's never been me
I am not normally this vulnerable or seeking this kind of deep emotional connection.
To want this much from you
To feel such a strong desire to connect so deeply with you.
I can see
I am aware of the intense pain and risk of vulnerability that comes with wanting to form a deep emotional connection.
It tears me up
The emotional cost of wanting this connection is causing me a lot of pain.
Lyrics © THE BEST MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: BERT MCCRACKEN, BRANDEN STEINECKERT, JEPH HOWARD, QUINN ALLMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind