One of the first thoughts I had about The Used was that they sounded a bit like Refused. Writing that now, I know it to be a thoroughly ridiculous statement; I struggled to write it just then, it's that ludicrous. However, the first song of theirs I heard was A Box Full of Sharp Objects - I caught most of the video on MTV when visiting my uncle. There were certain similarities between that video and the video for New Noise (or so I remember) and it was a promising single. At the end I saw that it was by a band called The Used and make a mental note to check them out.
The following spring they'd released their album and second single, The Taste of Ink. I'd bought Hugh's copy of the album from him (for £10 - I must have been planning to buy it myself, and I imagine he was keen to offload his fairly quickly, so I think I paid pretty much what he paid for it) and then a few weeks later picked up this 7" for £1 in my local HMV. I was still enjoying the album then, so it seemed like a good purchase. As a single, it's surprisingly catchy still. That said, I'm not sure why I'm surprised - it's so smooth and over-produced that it was basically pop, and by it's nature pop is catchy. The b-side, Just a Little has a shamelessly tribal drum beat at the start and a very heavy break before another very smooth chorus; it's a strange combination that doesn't quite work (hence the song not making the album, I guess).
Not a single I've played a great deal over the years. I saw the band twice over the years - Reading 2003 and Leeds 2007 - the first time I was underwhelmed and by the second I was long over the band.
Format: 7"
Tracks: 2
Cost: £1 new
Bought: HMV Winchester
When: 10/03/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
