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...Feels Like Breakin' Shit
Cover art made by Mahaffey, 1999
Compilation album by Self
Released	1998
Recorded	1994–1997
Genre	Alternative rock punk rock techno
Length	49:53 (Spongebath) 49:19 (DreamWorks)
Label	Spongebath Records DreamWorks Records
Producer	Matt Mahaffey Todd Kinnon
Self chronology
The Half-Baked Serenade (1997) ...Feels Like Breakin' Shit (1998) Brunch (1999)

...Feels Like Breakin' Shit is the first compilation album by American alternative rock band Self, released for free via Spongebath Records and DreamWorks Records as an internet download in 1998. It consists of songs scrapped from the band's first two albums along with other demos, covers, and parodies.

Background

After the completion of Self's Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995) and The Half-Baked Serenade (1997), lead member Matt Mahaffey had a collection of songs scrapped from both albums. Concerned that his DATs would corrupt, he compiled the songs onto a single CD-R as a backup. He made several copies, entitled ...Feels Like Breakin' Shit, and gave the first one to his manager at Spongebath Records, Rick Williams. It spread throughout the label and leaked online with positive feedback from fans, leading multiple colleagues to encourage Mahaffey to put out the compilation. It was then officially released as a free Internet download through Spongebath and DreamWorks Records. Fans were encouraged to make their own artwork for the album, as none was included with the digital files. Mahaffey made his own cover for it in 1999. The album was later removed and replaced with Self Goes Shopping (2000), the band's second compilation album.

Content and reception

...Feels Like Breakin' Shit widely varies in style through its tracklist, such as techno instrumentation on the opening song "Having Dinner With the Funk". Laurent of Indiepoprock praised this alongside the compilation's quality, suggesting that the songs "Pumpkinhead" and "Dog You Are" would've fit on Subliminal Plastic Motives. The track "Dog You Are" was played during live shows beginning in 1996, stated by Mahaffey to be about a critic from Utah who negatively reviewed Subliminal Plastic Motives. Another song on the album, "Breakdancers Reunion", was written about a friend named James who would breakdance on command, with Mahaffey having numerous recordings of him on Bourbon Street. The ending composition of it came from a desire to say "motherfucker" through a vocoder.

Various cover songs appear on ...Feels Like Breakin' Shit, such as a frenetic cover of Prince's "Let's Pretend We're Married". Another cover is of "Hey, Lou", written by Sam Baker of Fluid Ounces. Self's version contains a light chord progression, intended to contrast the darker instrumentation used by other bands who covered the song at shows. Two parodies are also featured: The first is of Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" as "Moronic", with vulgar and comedic lyrics replacing the original. This precedes the song "Titanic", inspired by Mahaffey singing the Pixies' "Gigantic" before watching the film Titanic (1997). Following the experience, he spent 30 minutes writing a parody of the song around the film plot and included Weezer's "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" after realizing the two songs shared a melody.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matt Mahaffey, except where noted.

References

1. "Self - Discography". Spongebath Records. Archived from the original on May 28, 2000. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
2. ^ Laurent (September 15, 1999). "Self - Feels like breakin' shit". Indiepoprock (in French). Retrieved November 21, 2024.
3. ^ Besecker, Gabe (December 11, 2023). "sElf-Indulgent: A Retrospective on the Band That Started Matt Mahaffey's Career". Woof Magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
4. ^ Duritz, Darius (March 10, 2000). "The PiG Interview with Matt Mahaffey". PiG Publications. Archived from the original on April 19, 2001. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
5. "Self - FLBS Art". Spongebath Records. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
6. "Self - Bsides". Spongebath Records. Archived from the original on January 4, 2001. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
7. Fischer, Blair (May 1996). "Concert Review: Self Likes to Be in Control". RockNet. Archived from the original on November 14, 1996. Retrieved November 21, 2024.

• 1997 compilation albums
• Self (band) albums
• B-side compilation albums
• Albums free for download by copyright owner
• DreamWorks Records albums