En la tranquila ciudad de Orem, Utah, cuatro jóvenes se unieron para formar una banda que cambiaría sus vidas y las vidas de millones de fanáticos alrededor del mundo. El camino de The Used comenzó en 2000, cuando Bert McCracken (vocalista), Quinn Allman (guitarrista), Jeph Howard (bajista) y Branden Steineckert (baterista) se encontraron por primera vez. Cada uno de ellos compartía una pasión insaciable por la música y una visión común de crear algo que resonara profundamente con la audiencia.
El sonido de The Used se destacó inmediatamente en la escena musical. Su mezcla de emo, post-hardcore y rock alternativo, junto con las letras crudas y emocionales de Bert McCracken, capturó rápidamente la atención de los críticos y los fans. Su dinámica escénica y su habilidad para conectar con el público les permitieron ganar un seguidor fiel, incluso antes del lanzamiento de su primer álbum.
En 2002, The Used lanzó su álbum debut homónimo bajo el sello Reprise Records. Producido por John Feldmann, el álbum incluía sencillos como "Box Full of Sharp Objects", "The Taste of Ink" y "Blue and Yellow", que rápidamente se convirtieron en himnos para una generación. La capacidad del grupo para capturar la emoción bruta y la angustia juvenil ayudó a solidificar su lugar en la corriente principal de la música.
Go, obvious blasé
Broken so completely, built me up in the same way
Same way, same way
Ghost, tell me that you'll stay
Devour me so sweetly, you prefer me sick this way
I'll stay sick this way
Six feet in my guilt
Broken hinges on my casket
Playing with matches, we knew this would happen now
Watch it all go up in flames
If there's a chance, let's bury the hatchet now
Watch it all go up in flames
Taken, taken from myself
These pages won't rewrite themselves
The way it has to end is always bittersweet
Take this, take this away from me
Six feet in my guilt
Broken hinges on my casket
Playing with matches, we knew this would happen now
Watch it all go up in flames
If there's a chance, let's bury the hatchet now
Watch it all go up in flames
How did all these feelings pile up to the ceiling?
Stripped of all their meaning, let's break them into kindling
Playing with matches, we're playing with matches
Playing with matches, we're playing with matches, ooh
(Play, play, playing with matches)
(We'll play, play, play, play, play)
(Playing with matches, we'll play, play, play)
Watch it all go up in flames
Playing with matches, we knew this would happen now
Watch it all go up in flames
If there's a chance, let's bury the hatchet now
Watch it all go up in flames
How did all these feelings pile up to the ceiling?
Stripped of all their meaning, let's break them into kindling
Playing with matches, we're playing with matches
With matches, we're playing with matches
Mm-mm