View source for The Half-Baked Serenade

{{Infobox album
| name         = The Half-Baked Serenade
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Self (band)|Self]]
| cover        = Self - The Half-Baked Serenade.jpg
| alt          =
| released     = {{Start date|1997|3|5}}
| recorded     =
| venue        =
| studio       = [[Matt Mahaffey]]'s home
| genre        = *[[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]
*[[jazz]]<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |last=Flippo|first=Chet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66|title=Billboard|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=109|issue=32|pages=66–67|date=August 9, 1997|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref>
| length       = 33:43
| label        = [[Spongebath Records|Spongebath]]
| producer     = [[Matt Mahaffey]]
| prev_title   = [[Subliminal Plastic Motives]]
| prev_year    = 1995
| next_title   = [[Feels Like Breakin' Shit]]
| next_year    = 1997
| misc         = {{Singles
| type        = studio
| single1     = KiDdies
| single1date = 1999
}}
}}
'''''The Half-Baked Serenade''''' is the second studio album by American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Self (band)|Self]], released through [[Spongebath Records]] on March 5, 1997.
==Background==
Following the success of [[Self (band)|Self]]'s debut album ''[[Subliminal Plastic Motives]]'' (1995), lead member [[Matt Mahaffey]] frequently received invitations to [[strip club]]s from [[radio personality|radio personalities]] and other music industry colleagues. Mahaffey's strong disinterest in this lifestyle led him to drop his guitar usage, citing the stereotypes around [[rock music|rock]] bands like [[Eve 6]] and [[Green Day]] as the reason. Using a [[Discman]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Harkey|first=Scott|url=https://silentuproar.com/interviews/3/self/|title=Self / Interviews|website=Silent Uproar|language=en|date=September 11, 2000|accessdate=November 20, 2024}}</ref> he recorded the album solely in his living room. ''The Half-Baked Serenade'' was sold on [[Compact disc|CD]] for $7 [[United States dollar|USD]], available exclusively through [[mail order]].<ref name="Billboard"/> After release, "KiDdies" was marketed as the album's sole single in 1999, receiving radio play through [[KROQ-FM]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1       = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev1Score  = 7.5/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |last=Fowler|first=Shan|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com:80/record-reviews/s/self/half-baked-serenade.shtml|title=Self: The Half-Baked Serenade: Pitchfork Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|language=en|year=1997|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404070936/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com:80/record-reviews/s/self/half-baked-serenade.shtml|archive-date=April 4, 2005|accessdate=November 20, 2024}}</ref>
| rev2       = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev2Score  = 7/10<ref name="Spin">{{cite magazine |last=Eddy|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Eddy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-86CzNjg9cC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA143|title=Self: The Half-Baked Serenade|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=13|issue=7|pages=143–144|date=October 1997|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref>}}
''The Half-Baked Serenade'' received favorable reviews. Shan Fowler of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' gave the album a rating of 7.5/10,<ref name="Pitchfork"/> while [[Chuck Eddy]] of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' gave it a rating of 7/10.<ref name="Spin"/> The album peaked at number 70 on [[CMJ]]'s Top 200 chart,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oVDTEZdWha0C&pg=PA6|title=CMJ New Music Report|magazine=[[CMJ]]|volume=52|issue=545|pages=6|date=November 10, 1997|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref> and peaked at number 48 on their Top 75 Alternative Radio Airplay chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA55|title=CMJ New Music Monthly|magazine=[[CMJ]]|issue=54|pages=55|date=February 1998|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| headline = ''The Half-Baked Serenade'' track listing
| all_writing = [[Matt Mahaffey]].
| title1  = Joy, the Mechanical Boy
| length1 = 4:11
| title2  = Dielya Downtown
| length2 = 2:16
| title3  = Crimes on Paper
| length3 = 2:57
| title4  = KiDdies
| length4 = 2:33
| title5  = Cinderblocks for Shoes
| length5 = 2:56
| title6  = Song for Nelson
| length6 = 1:57
| title7  = Preschool Days
| length7 = 3:02
| title8  = Cater to Your Ego
| length8 = 1:58
| title9  = Microchip Girl
| length9 = 3:39
| title10 = Sassy Britches
| length10= 5:04
| title11 = When You're Alone
| note11 = [[bonus track|bonus]]
| length11= 3:07
| total_length = {{Duration|m=33|s=43}}
}}
==Personnel==
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=The Half-Baked Serenade|others=Self|year=1997|publisher=Spongebath}}</ref>
{{div col}}
* [[Matt Mahaffey]] – lead vocals, instruments, [[Record producer|production]], [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]], arrangement
* Tommy Dorsey – [[mastering engineer]]
* [[Chris James (audio engineer)|Chris James]] – mixing
* Jason Rawlings – mixing (all tracks), drums (2)
* Brian Rogers – guitar (4)
* Mike Mahaffey – guitar (9)
* Brian Bottcher - album design, artwork direction
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Self (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Half-Baked Serenade}}
[[Category:1997 albums]]
[[Category:Self (band) albums]]