1. Self, an alternative roc… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name
1. Self, an alternative rock band from Tennessee
2. Self, a melodic, pop punk band from South Carolina.
3. SELF, a dark ambient project from Brooklyn
4. Self, a black metal band from Belgium
5. Self, a lo-fi acoustic project from Adelaide, Australia.
1. Self, sometimes stylized as sElf, is a rock band that is mostly the brainchild of one Matt Mahaffey from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Mahaffey began his musical career as a drummer, forming his first band at the precocious age of nine or ten with band members twice his age. Having gigged with punk, reggae, and pop bands, and even bluegrass square-dancing bands, Mahaffey went on to produce beats for rap artists out of his college dorm room. His diverse musical tastes would contribute to Self's unique sound. He later founded the indie label Spongebath with his bandmate at the time, Seth Timbs, and manager Rick Williams.
While Mahaffey has received nearly all the attention for the music, he is not the only member of the band, and not the sole songwriter either. Current members of the band include Chris James (keyboards, piano, samplers, guitar, backing vocals), Mac Burrus (bass guitar, keyboards, horns, backing vocals), and Jason Rawlings (drums). Past members include Matt's brother, Mike Mahaffey (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Timm Nobles (bass guitar). Because Matt is proficient in almost all of the instruments that Self uses, he plays most of the instruments on the albums, but the other members do contribute occasional parts on albums, and shine when the band plays live. Seth Timbs has also played a small role in the band's songwriting and contributes vocals to a cover of the song Dizzy, but is not an official member of the band.
Mahaffey's debut Self album, Subliminal Plastic Motives, was released in 1995 on the Spongebath label. It was followed by The Half-Baked Serenade in 1996 and an album released for free via the internet in 1997 called Feels Like Breakin' Shit. An EP titled Brunch (1998) and the album Breakfast with Girls (1999) were co-released by the Spongebath and Dreamworks labels. Back at Spongebath, Self released Gizmodgery in 2000, an album notable for being created entirely with children's toy instruments. That same year, Self released two more free internet-only albums, Self Goes Shopping and Selfafornia.
In 2005, Self again released an album for free on the internet. Porno, Mint, and Grime consists of demos recorded during the 2001-2004 sessions for the unreleased album Ornament and Crime.
Their album Ornament and Crime is fully complete; however, Dreamworks (their record label) has declined to release the album for unknown reasons.
A DVD has also been completed, but due to legal reasons, may or may not be released. The performance includes a cover of AC/DC's hit song Back in Black, which has not yet been approved.
Self also did a cover of Ana Ng, originally done by They Might Be Giants, which is on the album Hello Radio, released July 2006. A new album tentatively entitled Super Fake Nice was announced in 2010 and released in 2014. A single, Could You Love me Now? was released in May 2010 and was later put on the B side for Record Store Day single Monogamy. Later in 2017 their previously never released albumOrnament and Crime was released on CD and vinyl but for legal reasons never put on streaming.
2. Self was a 3 piece melodic pop punk band from Columbia, South Carolina, active in the late 1990s. They released a single album named Codename: Spivey in 1996, which was re-released by Offtime Records in 1998.
3. SELF is the side-project of Brooklyn based True Crime Electronics project SLOGUN, in a dark ambient vein. Released one LP to date, titled The Mind and the Matter in 2004.
4. Self started as a solo project around 1999. Hennix (Demonizer) joined forces for the recordings of Searing Winds but left afterwards (2001-2003). Searing Winds was recorded at the home studio, except for the drums, recorded at Shumcot (http://www.shumcot.be/). Everything mixed and mastered at the home studio. The album never got officially released.
http://www.myspace.com/selfblackmetal
5. Self is an acoustic lo-fi project by Adelaide singer/songwriter Olly Byrne. He released his first album, The Bitter Cold recorded in his bedroom in early 2018.
https://selfselfself.bandcamp.com/releases
Potential
Self Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Should spark jealousy in all the other girls
Hey, that's a real nice dress
Now every man around here's thinking about sex
You got beautiful new hair
But there's a stylist much richer somewhere
And what a lovely shiny car
If it were mine I'd make payments 'til 3004
Did you pretend not to see
What I like to think
That you'd do it for me
But I'm just not cool enough
I got so much Potential
But you don't give a damn about Potential
Yeah, the future's inconsequential
I guess I'll go alone
I got so much Potential
But you don't give a damn about Potential
Until the Benz and friends are not rentals
I guess I'll go home alone
Hey, that's a nice new nose
I guess you cut it off to cut down on the coke (habit)
And what a fancy new chest
Maybe later me and the boys can play b-ball with one breast (grab it)
You drop a grand on a make-up kit
But most men would probably dig you better without it
The most baffling part
Is that you work so hard
To fuck celebrities
Just so you can name drop
Did you pretend not to see
What I like to think
That you'd do it for me
But I'm just not cool enough
I got so much Potential
But you don't give a damn about Potential
Yeah, the future's inconsequential
I guess I'll go alone
I got so much Potential
But you don't give a damn about Potential
Until the Benz and friends are not rentals
I guess I'll go home alone
The lyrics of Self's song Potential express feelings of frustration and disappointment towards superficiality and materialism that seem to dominate modern society. The singer is addressing someone who he feels is more interested in showing off their possessions and physical features rather than appreciating his true potential as a partner or a friend. The song is structured around a series of compliments and corresponding sarcastic remarks that contrast materialistic and superficial traits with personal qualities that are not valued as much. For instance, the admiration for a nice purse or dress is followed by the observation that they only evoke jealousy and lust in others, not genuine admiration or attraction. Similarly, the praise for a beautiful new hair or a shiny car is undermined by the suggestion that someone else could do it better.
The chorus of the song, "I got so much potential, but you don't give a damn about potential," highlights the main theme of the song, that the singer feels undervalued and overlooked because he doesn't fit into the shallow values and expectations of the person he is addressing. This feeling of being judged based on his material worth rather than his personal qualities is further emphasized by the image of a Benz car and rich friends that are the prerequisites for social acceptance and desirability. In contrast, the singer accepts that he may have to go home alone because he refuses to compromise his identity and values to conform to these standards. Ultimately, the song presents a poignant critique of a society that values appearances over substance and encourages conformity rather than creativity and individuality.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, that's a real nice purse
The singer is admiring the purse and is trying to spark jealousy in other women.
Should spark jealousy in all the other girls
The singer believes that the purse is something that other women would envy.
Hey, that's a real nice dress
The singer is admiring the dress and believes that it is something that would make men think about sex.
Now every man around here's thinking about sex
The artist believes that the dress is so attractive that men cannot help but think about sex when they see it.
You got beautiful new hair
The artist is admiring the new hair of the subject.
But there's a stylist much richer somewhere
The singer believes that the subject's hair could have been styled by a more expensive stylist.
And what a lovely shiny car
The singer is admiring the car of the subject.
If it were mine I'd make payments 'til 3004
The artist likes the car so much that even if they owned it, they would keep making payments for a long time.
Did you pretend not to see
The artist is asking if the subject pretended not to see their admiration.
What I like to think
The artist is expressing their interpretation of the subject's actions.
That you'd do it for me
The singer believes that the subject would have made the changes to themselves for them.
But I'm just not cool enough
The artist believes that they are not cool enough to be able to make the subject do something for them.
I got so much Potential
The singer believes that they have a lot of potential.
But you don't give a damn about Potential
The singer believes that the subject does not care about their potential.
Yeah, the future's inconsequential
The singer believes that the future does not matter to them.
I guess I'll go alone
The artist is resigned to being alone because the subject does not care about them.
Until the Benz and friends are not rentals
The artist believes that the subject will not be interested in them until they own a luxury car and have wealthy friends.
I guess I'll go home alone
The singer is resigned to the fact that they will be alone.
Hey, that's a nice new nose
The singer is admiring the new nose of the subject.
I guess you cut it off to cut down on the coke (habit)
The artist believes that the subject got a nose job to cut down on their cocaine habit.
And what a fancy new chest
The artist is admiring the new chest of the subject.
Maybe later me and the boys can play b-ball with one breast (grab it)
The artist is making a crude joke about the subject's new chest and suggesting that they could play basketball with one of the breasts.
You drop a grand on a make-up kit
The singer is criticizing the subject for spending a lot of money on a make-up kit.
But most men would probably dig you better without it
The artist believes that most men would find the subject more attractive without make-up.
The most baffling part
The singer is referring to the part that they find the most confusing.
Is that you work so hard
The singer is surprised that the subject works hard.
To fuck celebrities
The singer believes that the subject is working hard to have sex with famous people.
Just so you can name drop
The artist believes that the subject is doing this so that they can name-drop and seem cool.
Contributed by Chloe D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.