A Lesson In... 9.15.09: The Used
Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 09.15.2009
Moving away from glam-rock and British pop-rock and back to bands you should have heard of, this week’s Lesson In...looks at emo quartet The Used. Join Alistair McGeorge for a look at the band’s career, from their self-titled debut to their latest release, Artwork.
Welcome back to A Lesson In..., with Alistair McGeorge. I'm back once again to bring you a lesson in whatever band took my fancy on this particular week. I actually had a tough time choosing this week's band, with a few all leaping out as potential lessons. I won't be telling you who the other options were, because well...I'll be using them in the future, it was just the timing wasn't right. A couple of them have new albums coming out over September/October, and the other only had two albums to discuss, so I'll be waiting until they release something new. This week's band has a decent history and a brand new album, making them a fairly easy choice in the end.
Disappointingly this week, we've got no comments to respond to (poor show, readers, poor show), meaning there's no feedback section. I guess no-one really cares about The Darkness and two bands they've never heard of. Well, hopefully this week we'll get a few more comments so I can get back to keeping in touch with you all next week. In a way, the lack of comments is a blessing in disguise. I'm actually half way through packing my life into a few boxes to move back to university (which for me now is tomorrow, but by the time you read this I'll be nicely settled into my new apartment at uni), so there's a lack of time to get a lot done- I'm writing this in an afternoon and evening, whereas usually I'd have a few days to do everything.
Not to seem like I'm making excuses, as I do enjoy writing this column each week for you all, and I look forward to continuing this until I've covered every band there is to cover. Maybe I'll get a library named after me...maybe...not. Enough of going off on tangents, STOP!
It's banner time.
This week's band formed eight years ago, at the beginning of 2001. Initially called Used, the band began with Branden Steineckert, Jeph Howard and Quinn Allman, who began to search for a singer for their new band. After some terrible auditions, Bert McCracken was asked to join the band, and accepted. Within days of joining, he'd written lyrics for what later became "Maybe Memories", and recorded a demo of it.
A demo recorded in Branden's bedroom was recorded, imaginatively titled Demos from the Basement by fans.. John Feldmann (of Goldfinger fame) was sent a copy, and wanted to get them signed after he heard "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" (which would become their first single). After some failed attempts at getting record company interest in LA, the demo was spread round and in late 2001, a deal was reached with Reprise.
A name change was the first major event of the band for 2002, after discovering that Used was copyrighted. A simple change to The Used, and the band were set to release their self-titled debut, produced by the man who had been so instrumental in their journey thus far…
Poetic Tragedy…
On June 25, The Used was released. Despite failing to chart, it has since been certified gold, and was a great debut for the band. Songs like the lead single and "Bulimic" were a sign of what to expect from a band that would become one of the stars of the alternative/underground emo scene. I almost hesitate to say it, but comparisons to My Chemical Romance's debut (released at a similar time) would definitely not be unfounded. The wails of "goodbye to you" at the end of "Bulimic" make McCracken and Gerard Way's vocals almost indistinguishable, at this stage in their early careers.
"A Box Full of Sharp Objects" was the first single to be taken from the album, but it received little fanfare and failed to make any kind of impact in the charts. During a later episode of Cribs, it was featured during their tour of Steve-O's home. The second single "The Taste of Ink" performed much better, and showed another side to the band. It would become a huge live favorite, and is one of the group's most recognizable songs (I didn't realize I knew it until I sat down to write this column). Reaching #19 in the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, it also managed to get to #52 in the UK Singles chart.
"Buried Myself Alive" followed this release, and whilst it didn't chart in the UK, it saw a slight improvement on the previous single's performance in the US, peaking at #13. To be honest, when band's like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy get called emo at the stage they're at in their careers, I will now just point to this song when people ask me what I personally consider emo. The way the guitars, vocals and everything else is combined, it just embodies the feelings and style of emo music (I'm in no way stating this opinion as a bad thing- I think it's fantastically done). Plus… "if you want me back, you're gonna have to ask/nicer than that"…even the lyrics embody emo as a genre. The next single didn't chart as well as previous entries, but it's a brilliant moment showing a more sensitive side to the band. Here's a look at "Blue and Yellow"…
It only reached #23 in the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, but as we all know, chart performance will never dictate quality in music (like I said in my first column a couple of months ago, just ask Coldplay or the Jonas Brothers). Before I sat down to write this article, I wasn't a big fan of The Used. This isn't really relevant to their history or why I usually write these columns, but I have to say it here- this song has definitely convinced me to give them more of a chance.
Slots at Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution and Warped Tour all followed, as The Used built up their reputation to greater heights. News of McCracken dating Kelly Osbourne gave the band even more publicity, further promoting their name and music. A release in 2003 entitled Maybe Memories contained a CD and DVD, the latter being a history of the band (after only 2 years, they managed to fill it with a brief history, member bios and bits of a show). The CD contained live versions of some of the tracks from their debut, demo versions and some rare, previously unreleased songs. Besides a beautifully moving version of "On My Own" (to date still one of my absolute favorite songs of all time, based on the emotion alone), it also contains a completely unexpected demo called "Sometimes I Just Go For It". A stunning piano piece, it was an idea for the debut that never progressed any further. For a complete shock at what we missed out on, have a listen…
Yesterday's Feelings…
2004 marked a horrible time for the band, specifically Bert McCracken. His ex-girlfriend (carrying his child at the time) died of a drug overdose. The Used would call their second album In Love And Death, as a reference to Bert's loss and the tragedy he was dealing with for much of the album's recording. Many of the lyrics and song titles reference this period, and "Hard To Say" was a song written for his ex-girlfriend, albeit years earlier.
Originally released on September 28, the album would see a re-release on May 3, with the addition of a collaboration with My Chemical Romance on a cover of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" as a bonus track. There are rumors that, after being friends for a while, Way and McCracken fell out of contact and friendship because The Used didn't get permission to put the song on the album. Whatever, the reason (the song was originally done for charity, I believe), the bands no longer have the close link they had in their early years.
"Take It Away" was the lead single for In Love And Death, and was the band's highest performing single in the UK at the time. Peaking at #44 in the Singles chart, it also hit #13 in the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. The following single wouldn't get the same kind of success, but is one of the band's best known songs. Dedicated to David Bowie (no, not that Bowie. This one was Bert's dog, which was hit by a truck during the recording of the album. The guy really couldn't get a break at this time…), "All That I've Got" hit #19 in the US, and definitely deserves a listen…
The next single ("I Caught Fire") was the first single by The Used to fail to chart in the US since the release of "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" in 2002. However, this didn't affect album sales too much- the album, like their debut, has since been certified Gold. An international tour quickly followed, which was in turn followed by a 7-month break, before work on the next album began.
On September 12 2006, it was confirmed that Braden had departed from the band. Although nothing was confirmed 100%, the vague reasons given were needing to move forward without him, and an undisclosed "personality conflict" with an unnamed member of the band. Dan Whitesides would eventually replace him on drums. 2007 would see a lot of releases for the band, including a live CD/DVD and then a new studio release. Let's get McCracking…
…I just get wittier every week. To paraphrase UK comdian and TV personality Simon Amstell (UK readers will recognize this, US readers just pretend I'm making this line up as well), if you think you could write jokes for A Lesson In…, all you need is a crayon. And the sense of humor of a seven-year-old.
[Insert clever pun-based title about the live album here]
Berth (released on February 6 2007) starts where Maybe Memories left off, updating the band's history from 2003 onwards. The DVD contains footage from the world tour, the making of the next studio album, events from the last release (In Love and Death), the band answering questions suggested by the fans and music videos.
The DVD also contained a live show, with a slightly different (and longer) track-list to its CD counterpart. The live versions definitely come across well, and whilst it's not a good starting point for a new fan of The Used, it's a good addition to their catalogue for older fans, and was a nice way to fill time before the new album. However, fans only had to wait 3 months for the third studio album from the band…
Smother Me…
Lies for the Liars was released on May 22, and despite having some great tracks on it, was their first album not to be certified Gold. Whilst Whitesides would tour with the band, he did not record any of the drumming on this album. Good Charlotte's Dean Butterworth actually recorded the drum parts, and Whitesides was later confirmed as the new official drummer.
Four singles were taken from the album, the first of these being "The Bird and the Worm". Reaching #130 in the UK, it performed much better in the States, peaking at #9 and #7 in the Modern Rock Tracks and Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles charts respectively.
"Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)" was the next single, but with ten instances of the "f-word" (we're keeping this column clean, kiddies), it wasn't even released to the radio, and a video wasn't made. Thus, with such a lack of promotion, it failed to make any kind of impact. The heavy, almost Papa Roach-style "Pretty Handsome Awkward" was released in September 2010, but again didn't make a big impact in the charts.
The final single was an Australian/Canadian video single, and was the album track "Paralyzed". Whilst the singles were a general, comparative let-down, Lies for the Liars debuted in the Top 5 in over seven countries worldwide.
In February 2008, The Used brought out a b-sides compilation entitled Shallow Believer. It was the second release from the band not to feature Whitesides since he joined. It also performed quite well, at least online, reaching #13 on iTunes top 100 albums. For the rest of 2008, work progressed on their next album, which would be the first not to be produced by John Feldmann.
Sold My Soul...
Released just a couple of weeks ago, Artwork was the fourth studio album by the band, their first to be produced by Matt Squire (All Time Low, Panic! At The Disco and HIM, amongst others). I'll be checking in with a full review of this album once I get my copy from 411mania (should be with me any day now, it's in the post), so I'll keep this brief. I've heard bits on Spotify, and it's a brilliant album. "Kissing You Goodbye" is a beautiful ballad, and a total contrast to other tracks like "Meant to Die" (an almost pop-punk song, but still with the heavy undertones we've come to expect).
It's a good release, but it's too early to really comment on its chart performance. For my full thoughts, keep checking 411mania.com/music over the next week or so for the official review.
Grading… The Used
Before I sat down to write this column, I had a set opinion that The Used would pale in comparison to early My Chemical Romance, and would fail to have anything that would really hold my attention. I couldn't have been more wrong, to be honest. From their early material and demos right up to Artwork, there isn't a lot not to like about this band. It's aggressive, it's raw, it's most definitely emotional, but most importantly…it's distinctive and it works. I've definitely discovered a great band through this column.
That does us for this week's A Lesson In..., thanks for joining me. If you like or hate anything you've read here (or in any of my columns so far), please don't hesitate to praise or rant in the comments section, and I'll be sure to respond to the comments next week. Speaking of next week, here are your clues for next week's band…
Homework:
1. I'll be honest…as much as I like this band, they smashed their way to mainstream popularity in 1999 with a couple of hits, and are generally seen as pretty much a "one hit wonder".
2. They have covered the likes of The Monkees and The Beatles.
3. They've appeared in a film with the man behind Mr. Bean, plus can be linked to Shrek.
I'm working on making the clues a bit less obscure, and I should probably get back in the habit of offering a future subject suggestion to whoever can answer the clues and name the band first. Leave your guesses, hate-mail and love letters in the comment section, and I'll get back to you all next week. Until then, enjoy the new single from Welsh post-hardcore rockers Funeral For A Friend…
