| Gizmodgery | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 5, 2000 April 25, 2001(Japan) | |||
| Recorded | 1998–May 2000 | |||
| Studio | Bennett House (Franklin) Matt's Old House (Murfreesboro) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:11 | |||
| Label | Spongebath Records | |||
| Producer | Matt Mahaffey | |||
| Self chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover | ||||
 2001 Japanese cover art | ||||
| Singles from Gizmodgery | ||||
| ||||
Gizmodgery is the fourth studio album by the Americanpop rock bandSelf, released on September 5, 2000, bySpongebath Records. Recorded entirely withtoyinstruments, its music was written and composed by lead memberMatt Mahaffey, with the band's other members contributing to select songs. The album's sole single, "Trunk Fulla Amps", received amusic video andtelevision commercial, whilst the song "Dead Man" became asleeper hit in the early 2020s.
Gizmodgery received generally positive reviews upon its release, discussing its unique production and playful energy, with Self's cover of "What a Fool Believes" receiving consistent praise. Commercially,Gizmodgery sold over 13,000 copies in its first week and peaked near the top of multipleCMJ charts. The album was distributed in Japan byAvex Records in 2001, and onvinyl throughEl Camino Media in 2015. Various cut songs andb-sides were later released on their secondcompilation album,Selfafornia (2001).
In 1995,Self was given the cover page of an issue ofVirtually Alternative after the release of the project's debut albumSubliminal Plastic Motives. Within the magazine, lead memberMatt Mahaffey spoke about wanting to create an album solely with toy instruments,[1] aconcept last attempted byPianosaurus in their 1987 albumGroovy Neighborhood.[2] He was additionally inspired byThe Moog Cookbook (1996) andAt Home with the Groovebox (1999).[3] Matt's older brother,Mike Mahaffey, later bought musical toys for his children,[4] which sparked Matt to purchase more througheBay and begin developing the toy album.[5] He chose to do the project independently, feeling less constrained with his labelSpongebath Records compared to prior major label albums,[1] althoughDreamWorks Records expressed interest in publishing the album.[6]
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Toy instruments such as the one-stringMattelstar guitar made chord assembly arduous, requiring each note to be played one at a time.[7] On the back of physical copies, Mahaffey compiled a list of all toys used forGizmodgery,[8] including aSchoenhuttoy piano.[9] Cheryl Botchick ofCMJ noted of these that the listed six-string electric guitar produced byVox "could be construed as a rule bender".[7] Mahaffey recorded the album with a condenser microphone,equalizing the audio withPro Tools to fix abundant mid-range frequencies.[7] "5 Alive", "Pattycake", and "Hi, My Name's Cindy" additionally usedLogic Pro, which required Mahaffey to manually rearrange hundreds of separatestems from Pro Tools to mix the songs. The latter's files were lost during this process, resulting in its final version being a rough mix. "Trunk Fulla Amps" and "Ordinaire" required multiple takes due to recording errors involving theirbass guitar and drums, respectively. Alongside "I Love to Love Your Love My Love" and "Suzie Q Sailaway", these four songs were written together in one day.[1]
Self additionally worked onBreakfast with Girls (1999),[2] an album planned to be released through DreamWorks, while makingGizmodgery.[10] Mahaffey wrote and recorded "Suzie Q Sailaway" for inclusion on the latter, but was requested by the label to put it on the former.[1] He re-recorded the song with a full band, wishing to contain toy songs toGizmodgery.[11] This process delayed the release ofBreakfast with Girls, which, combined with the track's shift in style, led to a retroactive dissatisfaction.[1][2] Self was proposed byCount Bass D to record a cover of theDoobie Brothers' song "What a Fool Believes" during the album's creation, but the collaboration never came to fruition. Mahaffey later recorded the cover independently, drawn to creating largechords with small instruments. The song was constructed in a non-C majorkey to add variation to the album.[1]
Gizmodgery uses apower pop/rock soundscape with elements ofnew wave.[12] In addition to being an early representation ofsoft grunge,[13] it also takes influence from artists such asPrince,Lenny Kravitz, andQueen.[14] Lead band member Matt Mahaffey consistently labeledGizmodgery as an "exercise in recording", and called the album a "lot of fun" to make.[15] The majority of the vocals inGizmodgery are performed in afeminine manner,[16] characterized by a high level of energy.[17]
"5 Alive" consists of an intro featuring a cacophony of background noises,[12] later complemented by aesthetically pleasing vocals, all while incorporating an element of pop music.[16] "Chameleon" is predominantly made up of a repeating drum loop accompanied by distorted sounds.[12] The publicationThe O'Colly described "Chameleon" as "surprisingly dark,"[18] while Alex Steininger fromIn Music We Trust referred to it “as close as anyone will ever get to creating pop-industrial-electronica.”[16] "Pattycake" is sung in afalsetto reminiscent ofsoul music.[19] "Ordinaire" incorporates unconventional and eccentric rhythms,[16] alongside alarm sounds similar to that of the Americannew wave bandDevo.[12] "9 Lives" is presented in the style of apunk song and evokes elements ofpsychedelic music.[20] While "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" is aparody of populardoo-wop songs,[14] and features a piano ballad.[13]
The opening track, "I Am A Little Explosion" begins with a toy doll stating "Let’s play some music!”, before the song starts.[21] "Chameleon" is characterized by a recurring vocal verse, which also incorporates a sample of a drunken man speaking nonsensically.[12] "Dead Man", is written from the perspective of a man dealing with mortality issues,coping with the stress of everyday life by usingblack comedy as a relief method.[17] Following, "Trunk Fulla Amps" was written humorously, as the band considered it ironic that a song created solely with toy instruments could contain significantprofanity.[22] The lyrics repeatedly state, "Got a trunk fulla amps,motherfucker",[12] and reference several artists by name, includingFreddie Mercury and theElectric Light Orchestra.[23] Mahaffey remarked that after writing the first verse of the song: “—the flood gate opened and the 'f' word flew freely.”[22]
"Pattycake" interpolates thenursery rhymeMiss Lucy had a steamboat,[14] and "Hi, My Name’s Cindy" revolves around a man who ends up on ablind date with a literalblind woman.[24] The twelfth track, "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" is written in the style of aJellyfish song,[23] and narrates aHigh school prom.[2]
The cover artwork ofGizmodgery depicts a boy viewing aGeneral ElectricShow'N Tell, featuring a skeletalultrasoundfetus whoseumbilical cord is connected to a microphone. The fetus featured on the cover is available on display at theMuseum Vrolik inAmsterdam.[25] Unlike the majority of Self's previous releases, the artwork forGizmodgery was created byKii Arens.[26] New artwork was created for the Japanese release.[27]Gizmodgery features unique artwork for every song on the album, similar to that of Self's debutSubliminal Plastic Motives (1995). An icon is used to represent each song on the CD and booklet.
Gizmodgery was released throughSpongebath Records on September 5, 2000,[28] and appeared inretail stores by October 31.[29] Issued exclusively onHDCD,[30] copies were packaged with aparental advisory sticker on the front due to the song "Trunk Fulla Amps",[18] which repeats the word "motherfucker" a total of 18 times.[31]Gizmodgery was not available atWalmart,[32] as the company refuses to stock albums featuring parental advisory stickers.[33] Few concerts were connected to the album's release, limited by the extensive cost of batteries required to power the toy instruments,[34] only consisting of an albumrelease party inMurfreesboro,[15] a performance at Sebastian's on September 8, and atOpry Mills'Tower Records store on September 9.[35] Mike Mahaffey createdchiptune remixes of older songs to lead the band on stage during performances, with plans to release it throughDreamWorks Records.[1] It was instead released on Spongebath's website after Self's tour ended as their secondEPSelf Goes Shopping (2000).[36]
In 1999,Michael Simpson of theDust Brothers remixed the toy recording of "Suzie Q Sailaway", which Mahaffey preferred over the original version.[11] It was released on July 27, 2001, as part of thecompilation albumSelfafornia. It included other cut songs fromGizmodgery's recording sessions,[37] with "Resurrect" as its final track.[38] A music video for "Trunk Fulla Amps" directed by Reed Ridley was released in February 2001. It was intended to be broadcast forMTV's "Indie Day", but the band did not qualify due to their contract with DreamWorks.[11] Self produced a 30-second advertisement consisting of a comically edited version of the music video,[39] which aired during theSuper Bowl XXXV in select areas of the east coast,[40] alongside the2000 MTV Video Music Awards.[41] Both videos were available for download from Spongebath's website.[42]
AJapanese edition ofGizmodgery was released on April 25, 2001, byAvex Inc,[43] with the songs "Dead Man" and "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" being available fordownload from their Japanese website.[44] It included the bonus track "Resurrect",[45] alongside new artwork created by Fujita Blender of Hyppopotamus Graphics. Mahaffey travelled to Japan to promote the album, partaking in a photo shoot taken by Daisuke Fujisawa and 18 different interviews for various Japanese music outlets,[27] with plans to tour Japan in August 2001.[45] Each purchase included a poster, a sticker, and a ticket to enter a contest in which 50 people received a toy used whilst creating the album.[46] Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the album was re-issued throughEl Camino Media on September 11, 2015, available as adigital download and physically as a bluevinyl.[30]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [28] |
| The Daily Nebraskan | [47] |
| Dead On The Web | [20] |
| LMNOP | [48] |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[12] |
| RockZone | A+[21] |
| Portland Press Herald | A[49] |
The album received largely positive reviews upon release. Steve Huey ofAllMusic gave the album a rating of 4/5, complimenting its detailed production against cheap toys and Mahaffey's "playful, often kitschy sense of humor".[28] Andrew Shaw ofThe Daily Nebraskan ratedGizmodgery 4 out of 4 stars, hailing the production and complete soundscapes achieved with the toys.[47] Spencer Owen ofPitchfork criticized the project's stylistics derivations and the noisiness of "5 Alive" and "Chameleon" while lauding the fun energy presented in other tracks, rating it a 6.9/10.[12] The album was reviewed more positively by Samuel Barker ofRockZone, calling it a "good mix of old style funk with a dose of new age pop" and giving it an A+ grade.[21] Steven Fievet ofLMNOP followed with a rating of 5 out of 6 stars, classifying the album as "toy pop" and magnifying its mix of lighthearted and serious undertones.[48] Ryan Peters ofPortland Press Herald gradedGizmodgery an A, praising its tasteful mix of contrasting pop elements and Mahaffey's ability to avoid relying on a gimmick.[49]
Amy Phillips ofThe Village Voice positively reviewed the album's youthful themes, classing "Pattycake" as its best song.[14] Mark Woodlief ofCMJ shared similar sentiment, admiring Mahaffey's production and comparing his experimental songwriting toWayne Coyne ofthe Flaming Lips.[29] Scott Hefflon ofLollipop Magazine likened the song "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" tothe Beatles andJellyfish, commending its harmonies anddoo-wop composition.[23] J Noise ofHybrid Magazine equated Mahaffey's guitar work throughoutGizmodgery toBrian May's, admiring the diverse combination of genres and stating a resemblance toBeck'sOdelay (1996).[32] Carlos Ramirez ofNo Echo was pleased by Mahaffey's choice not to emulate the original singing style of "What a Fool Believes", enjoying its synthetic buoyancy.[50] Jeff Brown ofThe Pitch additionally approved "What a Fool Believes" and the varied moods ofGizmodgery, ranking the album as one of the best of 2000.[51] Bill Ribas ofNY Rock held a similar ranking for the year, favoring "Trunk Fulla Amps" for its similarities toDavid Bowie'sScary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980).[52] Ron Rollins ofDayton Daily News praised the album's energy and quirk,[53] while Ben Wener ofThe Orange County Register complimented its craftiness and use of childhood imagery.[54]
Shortly after completing the album in May 2000, both Mahaffey and keyboardistChris James moved toLos Angeles in order to be closer to the bands' major label,DreamWorks Records, followed by bassistMac Burrus moving toSan Diego in September,[1] with plans to release their fifth studio albumOrnament & Crime (2017) by Summer 2001.[45] Mahaffey said he planned to return toalternative rock, and did not see a return to Self's previous sound.[1] Their home label,Spongebath Records, collapsed shortly after the band left.[55] Mahaffey has remained positive about the album, tellingVice in 2014 that he still received praise for the album, remarking “I’d never do it again, but it was a good exercise.”[56]
J.P. Grant ofThe A.V. Club compared the "toy" gimmick of the 2011video gameToy Soldiers: Cold War to that ofGizmodgery’s, praising both for “transcending its gimmick with its solid fundamentals.”[57] In the early 2020s, "Dead Man" and "What a Fool Believes" becamesleeper hits, rising in popularity onSpotify long after their release.[58] "What a Fool Believes" was used in the first episode of theNetflix seriesFUBAR in 2023.[59] "Dead Man" gained larger popularity after Spotify'sAIalgorithm began to promote it alongside songs byindie rock artistsLemon Demon andTally Hall,[60] additionally being used in an episode of Tally Hall's internet show in 2011,[61][17] with fans of the band confusing it for a new Tally Hall song.[60] The song "Trunk Fulla Amps" was featured in thefinal season ofWeeds,[56] additionally becoming a regular staple of Self's live performances.[62]
Gizmodgery was commercially successful for Self, with 5,000 units being sold viapre-order. In its first week, the band sold 5,000 more units through Spongebath, with an additional 3,000 distributed through retail stores.[1] It debuted at number 198 on theCMJ Radio 200 chart on October 2, 2000. It received 87 radio adds for the week, ranking number 3 in Radio 200 adds and number 5 inadult alternative adds.[63] It jumped 183 positions the following week,[64] and reached number 8 on November 13.[65] It additionally peaked at number 12 on CMJ's Internet Broadcast chart, number 10 on CMJ's Core Radio chart,[66] number 9 on CMJ's Alternative Radio Airplay chart,[29] and number 4 on the CMJ Top 200.[27] On January 26, 2020, the track "What a Fool Believes" peaked at number 69 on the Radio Top 100 Alternative Songs chart in Japan.[67]
All tracks are written byMatt Mahaffey, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Am a Little Explosion" | 3:35 | |
| 2. | "5 Alive" | 3:09 | |
| 3. | "Chameleon" | 2:53 | |
| 4. | "Dead Man" | 3:03 | |
| 5. | "Trunk Fulla Amps" |
| 3:24 |
| 6. | "Pattycake" |
| 4:05 |
| 7. | "Ordinaire" |
| 3:22 |
| 8. | "Miracle Worker" | 2:02 | |
| 9. | "Hi, My Name's Cindy" | 2:29 | |
| 10. | "What a Fool Believes" | 3:42 | |
| 11. | "9 Lives" | 2:33 | |
| 12. | "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" |
| 4:23 |
| 13. | "Trunk Fulla Amps" (radio edit) |
| 3:26 |
| Total length: | 42:11 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Resurrect" (bonus track) | 3:22 |
| Total length: | 45:33 | |
Notes
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[68]
Musicians
Technical
| Chart (2000–2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Alternative Radio Airplay (CMJ)[29] | 9 |
| CMJ Radio 200[65] | 8 |
| CMJ Top 200[27] | 4 |
| Core Radio (CMJ)[66] | 10 |
| Internet Broadcast (CMJ)[66] | 12 |
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