Gizmodgery

''Gizmodgery'' is the fourth studio album by American pop rock band Self, released on September 5, 2000, by Spongebath Records. Recorded entirely with toy instruments, its music was written and composed by lead member Matt Mahaffey, with the band's other members contributing to select songs. The album received positive reviews from critics, discussing its unique production and playful energy. Commercially, ''Gizmodgery'' sold 10,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number nine on CMJ's Alternative Radio Airplay chart. The album was distributed on vinyl through El Camino Media in 2015.

Background

In 1995, Self was given the cover page of an issue of Virtually Alternative after the release of the project's debut album '' Subliminal Plastic Motives''. Within the magazine, lead member Matt Mahaffey spoke about wanting to create an album solely with toy instruments, a concept last attempted by Pianosaurus' in their 1987 album ''Groovy Neighborhood''. He was additionally inspired by The Moog Cookbook and ''At Home with the Groovebox'' (1999), Matt's older brother, Mike Mahaffey, later bought musical toys for his children, which sparked Matt to purchase more through eBay and begin developing the toy album.

Production

Mahaffey recorded his instruments with a condenser microphone, later equalizing the audio with Pro Tools to fix abundant mid-range frequencies. The songs "5 Alive", "Pattycake", and "Hi, My Name's Cindy" were additionally created using Logic Pro. Complications arose from this, as Mahaffey had to manually recreate the tracks with hundreds of separate files in Pro Tools to mix the songs. The files for "Hi, My Name's Cindy" were lost during this process, leading the song's final version to be a rough mix.

Self was proposed by Count Bass D to record a cover of the Doobie 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 large chords with small instruments. The song was constructed in a non-C major key to add variation to the album. Some instruments such as the one-string Mattel star guitar made chord assembly arduous, requiring each note to be played one at a time. On the back of physical copies, Mahaffey compiled a list of all toys used for ''Gizmodgery''. Of these, Cheryl Botchick of CMJ noted that the listed six-string electric guitar produced by Vox "could be construed as a rule bender".

Self additionally worked on ''Breakfast with Girls'' (1999), an album planned to be released through DreamWorks Records, while making ''Gizmodgery''.
Mahaffey wrote and recorded "Suzie Q Sailaway" for inclusion on the latter, but was requested by the label to put it on the former. He subsequently re-recorded the song with a full band, wishing to contain toy songs to ''Gizmodgery''.
This process delayed the release of ''Breakfast with Girls'', which, combined with the track's shift in style, led to a retroactive dissatisfaction. A remix of the song's toy recording was created in 1999 by Michael Simpson of the Dust Brothers. Mahaffey preferred this remix to the original version, eventually adding it to the compilation album ''Selfafornia'' (2001).

Release

''Gizmodgery'' released through Spongebath Records on September 5, 2000, and appeared in retail stores by October 31. Issued exclusively on HDCD, the album sold 10,000 units in its first week. Copies were packaged with a parental advisory sticker on the front due to the song "Trunk Fulla Amps", which repeats the word "motherfucker" numerous times. Few concerts were connected to the album's release, limited by the extensive cost of batteries required to power the toy instruments. "Trunk Fulla Amps" received a music video directed by Reed Ridley in February 2001, published through MTV. Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, the album was re-issued through El Camino Media on September 11, 2015, available as a digital download and physically as a blue vinyl.

Reception

The album received positive reviews upon release. Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album a rating of 4/5, complimenting its detailed production against cheap toys and Mahaffey's "playful, often kitschy sense of humor". Andrew Shaw of ''The Daily Nebraskan'' rated ''Gizmodgery'' 4 out of 4 stars, hailing the production and complete soundscapes achieved with the toys. Spencer Owen of ''Pitchfork'' 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. The album was reviewed more positively by Samuel Barker of ''RockZone'', calling it a "good mix of old style funk with a dose of new age pop" and giving it an A+ grade. Steven Fievet of ''LMNOP'' 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. Ryan Peters of ''Portland Press Herald'' graded ''Gizmodgery'' an A, praising its tasteful mix of contrasting pop elements and Mahaffey's ability to avoid relying on a gimmick.

Amy Phillips of ''The Village Voice'' positively reviewed the album's youthful themes, classing "Pattycake" as its best song. Mark Woodlief of CMJ shared similar sentiment, admiring Mahaffey's production and comparing his experimental songwriting to Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Scott Hefflon of ''Lollipop Magazine'' likened the song "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" to the Beatles and Jellyfish, commending its harmonies and doo-wop composition. J Noise of ''Hybrid Magazine'' equated Mahaffey's guitar work throughout ''Gizmodgery'' to Brian May's, admiring the diverse combination of genres and stating a resemblance to Beck's ''Odelay'' (1996). Carlos Ramirez of ''No Echo'' was pleased by Mahaffey's choice not to emulate the original singing style of "What a Fool Believes", enjoying its synthetic bouyancy. Jeff Brown of '' The Pitch'' additionally approved "What a Fool Believes" and the varied moods of ''Gizmodgery'', ranking the album as one of the best of 2000. Bill Ribas of ''NY Rock'' held a similar ranking for the year, favoring "Trunk Fulla Amps" for its similarities to David Bowie's '' Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' (1980). Ron Rollins of ''Dayton Daily News'' praised the album's energy and quirk, while Ben Wener of ''The Orange County Register'' complimented its craftiness and use of childhood imagery.

Use in media

"Dead Man" appears in an episode of Tally Hall's internet show, which boosted the track in popularity on Spotify alongside "What a Fool Believes". The latter song is featured in the first episode of the Netflix series FUBAR.

Track listing

Notes
* "Miracle Worker" is sometimes stylized as "Miracleworker"
* "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" is sometimes stylized as "ilovetoloveyourlovemylove"

Personnel

Musicians

*Matt Mahaffey – lead vocals, instruments
*Mike Mahaffey – guitar (10), instruments (5, 7, 12, 13)
*Mac Burrus – instruments (5, 7, 12, 13)
* Chris James – instruments (5, 7, 12, 13)
*Jason Rawlings – instruments (5, 7, 12, 13)

Technical

*Chris James – mixing engineer
*Tom Baker – mastering engineer
*Matt Mahaffey – engineer (1–4, 6, 8–11, 14)
*Shawn McLean – engineer (5, 7, 12, 13)
*Kii Arens – package design
*Fuzita Blender – Japanese package design
*Daisuke Fujisawa – Japanese photography
*Kozaburo Sakamoto – Japanese photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control

2000 albums
2000s concept albums
Self (band) albums
El Camino Media albums