Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is the only studio album by American alternative rock band the New Radicals. Released October 16, 1998, it is their only album release before disbanding in 1999. The album charted in several North American and European countries, and was frontman Gregg Alexander's third album, following two unsuccessful albums released in 1989 and 1992. For the album's recording, Alexander enlisted numerous session musicians and is the only band member to perform on every song. The album's musical style was compared to numerous rock artists, including Billy Corgan, Chumbawamba, and the Rolling Stones. The album spawned two singles. "You Get What You Give" was released as the first single off the album reaching number one in Canada and New Zealand and peaking in the top 40 in the US and the UK, among other countries. The album's second single, "Someday We'll Know", was released shortly after the group disbanded. It was far less successful than its predecessor, failing to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100. Prior to forming the New Radicals, lead singer Gregg Alexander released two solo albums, Michigan Rain (1989) and Intoxifornication (1992). Both albums were commercially unsuccessful, generating no charting singles and receiving mixed reviews from critics. Before forming the group, Alexander had been dropped by two record labels: A&M and Epic Records. In 1997, Alexander signed to MCA Records and allegedly received a $600,000 advance. When recording Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too, Alexander stated that he "completely ripped up the rules that applied to [his] first two records". While the album was credited to the New Radicals, it is often considered to be a Gregg Alexander album, as he wrote and produced most of its songs, played several instruments on it, and is the only constant member of the band. In reference to the wide variety of musicians he recruited to record the album, Alexander stated, "Most of that record was me pulling favors with studios or musicians that had played on earlier records and were like, 'Oh, Gregg's down on his luck—let's go play on his demo for the hell of it, we'll have a good laugh, have a couple of beers and maybe smoke a jay or whatever.