Cry (The Used song)
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Cry
| cover = CryTheUsed.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = The Used
| album = Imaginary Enemy
| released = {{Start date|2014|01|27}}
| recorded = 2013
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Post-hardcore
| length = 3:26
| label = Hopeless
| writer = Quinn Allman
- John Feldmann
- Jeph Howard
- Bert McCracken
- Dan Whitesides {{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/886757677|title=ASCAP Repertory entry for this song |work=ASCAP|accessdate=May 16, 2021 }}
| producer = John Feldmann
| prev_title = Hands and Faces
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = Over and Over Again
| next_year = 2017
| misc =
{{External music video|{{YouTube|CE2CAvJZiiM|"Cry"}}}}
}}
"Cry" is a song by American rock band the Used, and was released as the first single for their sixth studio album Imaginary Enemy. It was released to radio and music video in January 2014.
Release
On January 20, 2014, the Used released a sample of "Cry" on their Instagram page.{{cite web|last=Crane|first=Matt|title=The Used tease new song from 'Imaginary Enemy' |url=http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/the_used_tease_new_song_from_imaginary_enemy |website=altpress.com|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} The song was released with an accompanying music video a week later on January 27, 2014.{{cite web|last1=Sharp |first1=Tyler|title=The Used Release New Song "Cry"|url=http://mindequalsblown.net/news/the-used-release-new-song-cry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020506/http://mindequalsblown.net/news/the-used-release-new-song-cry|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 7, 2017|website=Mind Equals Blown|accessdate=November 6, 2017}}
Background
The Used's lead singer, Bert McCracken, explained that "Cry" was about the fight between love and conflict and that he believed everyone has experienced a loss of control while in a relationship.{{cite web|title=The Used Mix Personal & Political On New Album 'Imaginary Enemy'|url=http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2014/04/the-used-imaginary-enemy|website=fuse.tv|accessdate=January 16, 2017}}
Reception
{{Song ratings
| rev1 = AAA Music
| rev2 = Bring the Noise UK
}}
AAA Music said that while Cry departed from the band's "cry-hard songs" of the 2000s, the lyrics aligned with The Used's image.{{cite web|last1=Panasuik|first1=Samantha|title=THE USED – Cry|url=http://www.aaamusic.co.uk/2014/03/03/the-used-cry/|website=aaamusic.co.uk|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} Similarly, Bringthenoiseuk praised McCracken's alternating vocals by saying they were performed "in a way only veterans of the style can".{{cite web|last1=Lasbury|first1=Emily|title=ALBUM REVIEW: The Used – Imaginary Enemy|url=http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201403/music/reviews/album-review-the-used-imaginary-enemy|website=bringthenoiseuk.com|accessdate=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118051112/http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201403/music/reviews/album-review-the-used-imaginary-enemy|archive-date=January 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}
Nick Antone, of Mindequalsblown, critiqued McCracken for having a "pop-sounding voice" on the lyrics in comparison to the rawness of The Ocean of the Sky. On the other hand, Antone praised the usage of Auto-Tune to create a Depeche Mode-like track.{{cite web|last1=Antone|first1=Nick|title=Single Review: The Used's "Cry"|url=http://mindequalsblown.net/reviews/single-reviews/single-review-the-useds-cry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603141542/http://mindequalsblown.net/reviews/single-reviews/single-review-the-useds-cry|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 3, 2016|website=mindequalsblown.net|accessdate=November 7, 2016}}
Music video
The Used released a music video for "Cry" directed by Gus Black on January 27, 2014. The music video takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert where a heroine, whose face is covered by a gas mask, goes against a villain who burns books.{{cite web |last1=O'Neil |first1=Luke|title=The Used Usher In A Pop-Screamo Revival With Their Post-Apocalyptic Video For 'Cry'|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2306500/the-used-cry-video/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107033859/http://www.mtv.com/news/2306500/the-used-cry-video/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2016|website=mtv.com|accessdate=November 7, 2016}}
Bert McCracken, lead singer of The Used, said that the video was to remind people to embrace the present and to avoid the constrictions of the future. In his statement, McCracken quoted Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right and said "The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk".
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (2014)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Billboardmainstreamrock|38|artist=The Used}} |