Gizmodgery Explained

Gizmodgery
Type:Album
Artist:Self
Cover:Self Gizmodgery Front.jpg
Released:September 5, 2000
April 25, 2001 (Japan)
Recorded:Bennet House, Franklin, TN and Matt's Old House, Murfreesboro, TN
Genre:Alternative rock
Length:42:11
Label:Spongebath
Producer:Matt Mahaffey
Prev Title:Breakfast with Girls
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:Self Goes Shopping
Next Year:2000

Gizmodgery is the fifth studio album by alternative pop/rock band Self.[1] [2] It released in 2000 by Spongebath Records. The LP was recorded entirely with children's toy instruments.[3] It was released in the short-lived HDCD format.

The album contains a cover of the Doobie Brothers' hit song "What a Fool Believes".[4] "Trunk Fulla Amps" appears twice on the album, the second version with the expletives removed. The song references and parodies a variety of rock artists, including Freddie Mercury/Queen, ELO, Glenn Danzig/Danzig, and Lenny Kravitz. The Japanese import version of the album contains the bonus track "Resurrect", and alternate artwork.

Two songs from Breakfast with Girls ("Suzie Q Sailaway" and "Uno Song") had originally been recorded for inclusion on Gizmodgery but they were added to Breakfast at the insistence of DreamWorks Records.

Critical reception

The Pitch called the album "brilliantly conceived," writing that "even beyond the novelty of the toys’ sound, Gizmodgery is an enjoyable, diverse listening experience, as Self conjures up images of everyone from Queen and Jellyfish to the Doobie Brothers, whose 'What a Fool Believes' Self covers with disarming reverence."[5]

Personnel

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Artist Biography by Heather Phares . AllMusic . 23 March 2021.
  2. Web site: "WE NEVER BROKE UP, BUT WE GOT BURNED OUT"—MATT MAHAFFEY ON THE RETURN OF SELF . Alternative Press . 27 August 2014 . 23 March 2021.
  3. Web site: Leaders of the onetime Murfreesboro indie boom, Self, dip a toe into the 21st century . Nashville Scene . 23 March 2021.
  4. Hall . Rashaun . 'They're Playing My Song' . Billboard . October 28, 2000 . 112 . 44 . 44.
  5. Web site: Best Albums of 2000: Critics' Picks . The Pitch . 14 December 2000 . 23 March 2021.