Gizmodgery

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. 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. He chose to do the project independently, feeling less constrained with his label Spongebath Records compared to prior major label albums, ==Production==

Toy instruments such as the one-string Mattel star guitar made chord assembly arduous, requiring each note to be played one at a time. including a Schoenhut toy piano. Cheryl Botchick of CMJ noted of these that the listed six-string electric guitar produced by Vox "could be construed as a rule bender". "5 Alive", "Pattycake", and "Hi, My Name's Cindy" additionally used Logic Pro, which required Mahaffey to manually rearrange hundreds of separate stems 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 their bass 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. Mahaffey wrote and recorded "Suzie Q Sailaway" for inclusion on the latter, but was requested by the label to put it on the former. This process delayed the release of Breakfast with Girls, which, combined with the track's shift in style, led to a retroactive dissatisfaction. 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. ==Music and lyrics==

Style and influences Gizmodgery uses a power pop/rock soundscape with elements of new wave. it also takes influence from artists such as Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Queen. The majority of the vocals in Gizmodgery are performed in a feminine manner, characterized by a high level of energy. "Ordinaire" incorporates unconventional and eccentric rhythms, Following, "Trunk Fulla Amps" was written humorously, as the band considered it ironic that a song created solely with toy instruments could contain significant profanity. The lyrics repeatedly state, "Got a trunk fulla amps, motherfucker", The twelfth track, "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" is written in the style of a Jellyfish song, ==Artwork==

The cover artwork of Gizmodgery depicts a boy viewing a General Electric Show'N Tell, featuring a skeletal ultrasound fetus whose umbilical cord is connected to a microphone. The fetus featured on the cover is available on display at the Museum Vrolik in Amsterdam. Unlike the majority of Self's previous releases, the artwork for Gizmodgery was created by Kii Arens. New artwork was created for the Japanese release. Gizmodgery features unique artwork for every song on the album, similar to that of Self's debut Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995). An icon is used to represent each song on the CD and booklet. ==Release==

Gizmodgery was released through Spongebath Records on September 5, 2000, copies were packaged with a parental advisory sticker on the front due to the song "Trunk Fulla Amps", which repeats the word "motherfucker" a total of 18 times. Gizmodgery was not available at Walmart, Few concerts were connected to the album's release, limited by the extensive cost of batteries required to power the toy instruments, only consisting of an album release party in Murfreesboro, Mike Mahaffey created chiptune remixes of older songs to lead the band on stage during performances, with plans to release it through DreamWorks Records. were included in copies of Gizmodgerys Japanese edition. In 1999, Michael Simpson of the Dust Brothers remixed the toy recording of "Suzie Q Sailaway", which Mahaffey preferred over the original version. with "Resurrect" as its final track. A music video for "Trunk Fulla Amps" directed by Reed Ridley was released in February 2001. It was intended to be broadcast for MTV's "Indie Day", but the band did not qualify due to their contract with DreamWorks. which aired during the Super Bowl XXXV in select areas of the east coast, alongside the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Both videos were available for download from Spongebath's website. A Japanese edition of Gizmodgery was released on April 25, 2001, by Avex Inc, with the songs "Dead Man" and "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" being available for download from their Japanese website. It included the bonus track "Resurrect", Celebrating its 15th 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 largely 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". 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 buoyancy. 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. ==Legacy==

Shortly after completing the album in May 2000, both Mahaffey and keyboardist Chris James moved to Los Angeles in order to be closer to the bands' major label, DreamWorks Records, followed by bassist Mac Burrus moving to San Diego in September, Mahaffey said he planned to return to alternative rock, and did not see a return to Self's previous sound. Mahaffey has remained positive about the album, telling Vice in 2014 that he still received praise for the album, remarking "I’d never do it again, but it was a good exercise." In the early 2020s, "Dead Man" and "What a Fool Believes" became sleeper hits, rising in popularity on Spotify long after their release. "What a Fool Believes" was used in the first episode of the Netflix series FUBAR in 2023. "Dead Man" gained larger popularity after Spotify's AI algorithm began to promote it alongside songs by indie rock artists Lemon Demon and Tally Hall, additionally being used in an episode of Tally Hall's internet show in 2011, additionally becoming a regular staple of Self's live performances. ==Commercial performance==

Gizmodgery was commercially successful for Self, with 5,000 units being sold via pre-order. In its first week, the band sold 5,000 more units through Spongebath, with an additional 3,000 distributed through retail stores. It jumped 183 positions the following week, and reached number 8 on November 13. It additionally peaked at number 12 on CMJ's Internet Broadcast chart, number 10 on CMJ's Core Radio chart, number 9 on CMJ's Alternative Radio Airplay chart, ==Track listing==

Notes • On physical releases, "Miracle Worker" is stylized as "Miracleworker" and "I Love To Love Your Love My Love" as "ilovetoloveyourlovemylove". ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. 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==