Ornament & Crime is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Self. Originally planned to release in late 2003, it was later delayed and completed in early 2004 before its indefinite shelving by the folding of DreamWorks Records into Geffen Records. The album leaked multiple times after its cancellation, followed by the release of its B-sides as Porno, Mint & Grime (2005) and a band hiatus until late 2012. El Camino Media later announced an official issue of the album on vinyl and CD, which was released on August 25, 2017.
Upon release, Ornament & Crime was met with favorable to mixed reviews. It was praised for its instrumentation and compared to Self's debut album Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995), but sometimes labeled as more commercialized than their recent efforts. The song "Out with a Bang" appeared in various films, including Evolution (2001) and a Guinness World Record-awarded Team Fortress 2machinima.
Background
In September 2000, Self released their fourth studio album, Gizmodgery, through Spongebath Records, who had published or co-published the band's entire discography up to that point.[3] Spongebath was shut down in 2001 due to a lack of sales and major label interest, though Self maintained a distribution deal with DreamWorks Records.[4] To be closer to the label, the band moved from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to Los Angeles, California.[5] Lead member Matt Mahaffey subsequently began writing Self's next album, planning a rock approach harkening back to their debut album Subliminal Plastic Motives.[3]
Writing and production
The first song recorded was "Out with a Bang", appearing in the 2001 sci-fi comedy film Evolution. It was written for its ending after a meeting with director Ivan Reitman. Absent from any soundtrack album, the song could only be heard in the film.[6] The song "Emotional" was produced second as Self began sorting through a collection of 35 demos for the album. Four were recorded through two weeks in late July 2002: "Insecure Sober", "Grow Up", "No One Knows You", and "Hellbent", with an Anna Waronkerduet planned for the former. Further sessions were done in late September for "Coming Over", "Can't Go On", "The Pounding Truth", and an unnamed fourth song.[‡ 1] Throughout the album's development, various stylistic changes were requested by DreamWorks due to the label's desire to present Self as a modern rock band comparable to Weezer. Its lyrical content was attenuated and keyboard components were stripped back, described by Mahaffey as "a love letter to KROQ". It approximately cost $650 thousand to make the album.[2]
Mahaffey prominently used Pro Tools during the recording process of Self's fifth album, limiting analog use for drums and some guitars.[3] While producing it, the band titled the project Ornament & Crime after a Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles clothing boutique of the same name near their recording studio. The album was originally scheduled for completion in September 2003, but was delayed to March 3, 2004 to accommodate for newer material. Multiple videos detailing the recording process were uploaded to the band's website during this time.[1] On November 11, 2003, DreamWorks Records announced the sale of their company to Universal Music Group's Geffen Records for $100 million ($171millionin 2024).[7]Ornament & Crime was finished on January 8, 2004,[8] followed by the sale's finalization the very next day.[9] Geffen's executives believed that the album would commercially underperform, cancelling it and leaving Ornament & Crime indefinitely unreleased.[10][11]
Between late 2001 and early 2004, various songs recorded for the album were scrapped, including some recorded for the DreamWorks animated film Shrek 2 (2004). These were compiled into a compilation album titled Porno, Mint & Grime (2005), a soundalike of Ornament & Crime. Shortly after the death of guitarist Mike Mahaffey a few weeks later, the band entered hiatus,[12] playing a tribute show on September 10, 2005.[13] It would be the band's final release until their reunion with the extended play Super Fake Nice (2014).[14] The Duluth News Tribune retrospectively compared the compilation to Psalm One's Woman at Work series, citing a wide range of style and genres.[15]
Release
Cover artwork used for the album in leaks and later by Self prior to its official release.
Promotion and leaks
Self released small snippets of the upcoming album on their website in mid–2002, after the release of their compilation album Selfafornia (2001).[‡ 2] In May 2003, Self updated their website with branding to reflect Ornament & Crime, featuring a red fingerprint embellished with the band name.[16] The song "Grow Up" was released as the album's sole single later in the year, issued by DreamWorks in partnership with Streetwise Concepts and Coke as part of a sampler album. After Ornament & Crime's delay was announced to fans, a demo version of the album was leaked online on the blogging website LiveJournal in mid–2004. Unofficial track titles were applied by fans, leading the song "How Can I Make You Happy?" to be known as "Mermaid". Mahaffey initially hesitated to acknowledge the leaks, encouraging fans to wait for an official release. While it remained unreleased, the album was only legally available via streaming on Self's Myspace and YouTube channels.[1]Fan artwork by Rafe Heltsley was created using the band's website graphics, which received widespread circulation and was thereafter used by Self to represent Ornament & Crime's unreleased version. A second unmastered version of the album was later leaked on the peer-to-peer network LimeWire.[16]
Official release
In 2017, Mahaffey began composing the score of the animated television series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, co-developed by Andy Suriano.[17] During their partnership, Mahaffey selected two of Suriano's illustrations published in 2008 and adapted them into cover artwork for his album, adding the title as text on top.[16] On June 9, independent record label El Camino Media opened pre-orders of Ornament & Crime, announcing a summer release date.[‡ 3] The album was officially released on August 25 as a limited-edition vinyl, alongside a re-issue of Porno, Mint & Grime.[18]Autographed copies of both albums were sold as ticket bundles for WRLT's Ellison Place Street Festival.[19] Since its release, Self has stagnated on music output and had little presence online.[20]
Reception
Stephen Trageser of Nashville Scene praised the song "No One Knows You", describing the combination of rock styling and catchy hooks as a standout of the band's discography.[18] Gabe Besecker of Woof Magazine noted its simpler instrumentation as more focused, commending the stripped-back style.[12] Gerald Dih of AudioPhix highlighted "How Can I Make You Happy?" for its adaptation of Madonna's "Material Girl", comparing the album's style to the band's debut, Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995). He additionally complimented other songs' lyricism and vocal performances, but found it to lack the quirk present in Breakfast with Girls (1999).[1] In a separate review, Dih lauded the song "Out with a Bang" as a "high-energy alt-rock anthem", describing its intense guitar bridge as fit for TikTok trends.[21]
Use in media
"Hi Kitty0706 fans! Very sorry to hear of his passing. My name is Matt. I wrote, produced, and sang this song. I'm glad you stopped by to listen to it."
The song "The Pounding Truth" was used in commercials promoting the third generationChrysler Sebring,[1] while "Out with a Bang" is featured in the intro of the Team Fortress 2machinimaTeam Fabulous 2 by Kitty0706.[21] It garnered over 17 million views by February 2016, receiving an award from Guinness World Records for being the "Most watched Team Fortress machinima on YouTube". Kitty0706, whose real name was Colin Wyckoff, passed away on January 25, 2015.[22] Mahaffey shared his condolences on a reupload of the track on YouTube in 2021, thanking viewers for listening to it.[21]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Matt Mahaffey, except where noted.
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