The Used

The Used is an American band from Orem, Utah. Their sound has been classified under many subgenres of rock. They signed with Reprise Records in late 2001 and rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their debut self-titled album, The Used. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third album, Lies for the Liars, in May 2007. An EP, Shallow Believer, was released in February 2008 that featured most of the band's B-sides to date. They are currently working on their fourth studio album, due out in early 2009. The band has achieved both Gold and Platinum status in over 6 countries worldwide.

2008: Shallow Believer and working on a new album

Before Lies for the Liars was even released, The Used had planned on releasing an EP of the album's B-sides not long after it dropped. However, it was delayed due to problems with their label, and for a time it didn't appear that it would be released at all. Finally on February 19, 2008 the EP was released, titled Shallow Believer, which featured B-sides from all their studio albums. It was only released on digital music stores and it has charted #13 on iTunes' top 100 albums.[5] The Used have worked on their 4th album throughout all of 2008 and will finish it up in October. They took many breaks while working on it to be the headlining band on the inaugural "Get a Life Tour" and to play shows Jakarta, Indonesia and Seoul, South Korea. The album is produced by Panic at the Disco producer Matt Squire,[15] making this their first studio album not produced by John Feldmann. They decided to go with a different producer because they "want [the album] to be very different" from everything else that they've done in the past.[16] This will also be the first studio album by The Used to feature Dan Whitesides as the drummer. The album will be released by the beginning of 2009[17] along with a possible DVD release at the same time or sooner.[18] In total 17 or 18 songs will be recorded for the album, but it is not yet known how many will make the album. Additional information on the album was provided in an interview with Bert in the October issue of Alternative Press magazine. Remarking on the sound of the record, Bert stated "In the past, we've always kind of brought pop sensibility into heavy rock, but this is going to be all that much more tantalizing and brutal. Our songs are 10 times messier and noisier than they've ever been.",[17] and also revealed information about the concept of the album: "This record is about coming to grips with how much you really hate yourself and knowing you can never hate yourself to the full extent, so you're free to hate yourself as much as you want to".[17] The band said on their Kyte page that they should be done recording by the end of October and they have a name for the album but are not ready to announce it. On their Kyte page they've also said that their newest album is going to sound most like a mix of In Love and Death and Lies For the Liars. Bert goes on to say, "we haven't been this excited about an album since our self titled back in 2002. If all goes as planned the record will be out in January or February".

Sebuah Nama Peterpan

Sebelum mengawali lembaran baru dengan pergantian nama band, Peterpan mengeluarkan album baru: Sebuah Nama Sebuah Cerita 2000-2008. Ini album terakhir Ariel (vokal), Lukman (gitar), dan Reza (drum) dengan nama Peterpan. Masih di bawah bendera label Musica Studio, album ini dirilis dalam bentuk CD dan kaset. Untuk CD, album diproduksi sebanyak dua keping dalam satu kemasan dan berisi 30 lagu. Sedangkan kaset berisi 21 lagu. Dalam album itu ada tiga lagu baru dan satu lagu Chrisye yang didaur ulang berjudul Kisah Cintaku. "Selebihnya kumpulan lagu hit dari album sebelumnya," ujar Ariel dalam peluncuran album tersebut, Jumat lalu. Tiga lagu yang diprediksi bakal mengikuti jejak sukses hit-hit sebelumnya ini berjudul Walau Habis Terang, Dilema Besar, dan Tak Ada yang Abadi. Selebihnya berisi lagu-lagu lama, seperti Ada Apa Denganmu, Sahabat, Mimpi yang Sempurna, dan Sally Sendiri.

Mengenai lagu Tak Ada yang Abadi, Ariel mengaku karya itu mempresentasikan perasaan Peterpan saat ini. "Di dunia ini tak ada yang abadi," katanya. Dalam peluncuran itu, Ariel tampak emosional saat membawakan lagu tersebut. Beberapa kali ia menyeka matanya dengan selembar tisu.

Tentang penggantian nama band, menurut Ariel, mereka belum menemukan nama baru. Ia menguraikan, nama Peterpan sudah didaftarkan hak patennya dan semua anggota band berhak atas nama tersebut. Walaupun dua personel, Andhika dan Indra, telah keluar, mereka tetap berhak. "Makanya, sesuai dengan perjanjian (anggota band), seusai kontrak dengan Musica, nama Peterpan tidak dipakai lagi," ujar Ariel.

Bagi Ariel, memulai sesuatu dengan nama baru bagai memulai langkah dari awal. Penggemar yang telah lekat dengan nama Peterpan memang tak mudah menghapus nama itu. "Meski nama berubah, yang pasti ciri khas Peterpan yang dulu nggak akan hilang," ujarnya. Peterpan pun masih memiliki kontrak sisa satu album lagi dengan nama band baru kelak.

Memang susah melepas nama yang membawa grup band ini meraih setumpuk penghargaan AMI Award hingga Multi Platinum. Lewat album Bintang di Surga (2004) saja, 13 penghargaan telah diborong, termasuk MTV Music Award. Dalam kurun tujuh tahun ini, Peterpan telah mengukir karya sebanyak lima album, seperti Kisah 2002 Malam (2002), Taman Langit (2003), Bintang di Surga (2004), OST.Alexandria (2005), dan Hari yang Cerah (2007). AGUSLIA HIDAYAH