[4] The album reportedly takes its name from the John Coltrane record, Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things (1969),[5] and the cover is a photograph of human nerve cells growing on a microchip.

Nevertheless, on the record's sound, AllMusic's Ned Raggett states: "The rough, clipped, lock and load style of the band remained essentially unchanged at heart -- Broadrick's brawling, echoed vocals, the sheer impact of the guitars and drum machine beats, Green's uneasy bass.

Still, some of the singing is Broadrick's most conventional, some of the riffing almost epically classic rock, and the technical/digital pulse at the heart of the band sufficiently straightforward enough not to annoy those who can't stand the idea of a non-human drummer.

"[8] Trouser Press reported that the album drops the previous techno inclinations for "slow-motion Melvins meltdown surrealism and variations on Chicago skronk ratchetry.

[10] Licensed by Columbia Records to break the band to a larger alternative audience, the album sold approximately 180,000 copies,[13] yielding a commercial result below expectations.