The Infotainment Scan

The album features covers of the Sister Sledge disco track "Lost in Music" and of Steve Bent's "I'm Going to Spain", an obscure song that Bent had performed on the British talent show New Faces in 1976 (Bent's version was included on The World's Worst Record album, compiled by disc jockey Kenny Everett in 1978).[https://newfacesatv.home.blog/2020/05/01/6-mar-76-series-four-12/ "6 Mar 76 – Series Four"], You're a Star, Superstar: The History of ATV's New Faces. The CD edition of The Infotainment Scan also includes "Why Are People Grudgeful?", the only track to be released as a single (albeit in a different version). It is based on two reggae songs: "People Grudgeful" by Joe Gibbs and "People Funny Boy" by Lee "Scratch" Perry.[http://www.visi.com/fall/discog/data/single31.html Why Are People Grudgeful] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219210414/http://visi.com/fall/discog/data/single31.html |date=19 February 2009 }}, The Fall Online.

Of the original compositions on The Infotainment Scan, "Glam-Racket" drew much attention for its alleged criticism of Britpop band Suede, with the lyric "you are entrenched in suede". Mark E. Smith denied that the lyric was a reference to the band and asserted that it was an attack on nostalgia.{{cite magazine|last=Cameron|first=Keith|date=23 April 1993|url=http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/93apr24_nme-info.gif|title=Radical Spangle|magazine=NME|accessdate=11 February 2018|page=30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051120025002/http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/93apr24_nme-info.gif|archive-date=20 November 2005|url-status=dead}} "The League of Bald-Headed Men", identified by Simon Reynolds as a "diatribe against gerontocracy", has a vaguely similar riff to Led Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop", although Smith stated that he had never heard the band's music.{{cite news|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|date=11 July 1993|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/arts/recordings-view-the-fall-softens-its-edge.html|title=Recordings View; The Fall Softens Its Edge|work=The New York Times|accessdate=11 February 2018}}{{cite magazine|last=Thompson|first=Dave|author-link=Dave Thompson (author)|date=September 1993|url=http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/93sep00.html|title=Falling Forward|magazine=Alternative Press|issue=62|accessdate=11 February 2018|pages=43–44|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212095055/http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/93sep00.html|archive-date=12 February 2005|url-status=dead}} A remix of "The League of Bald-Headed Men", retitled "League Moon Monkey Mix", is also included on the CD edition.

"Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room" adapts its title from "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room", an episode of The Twilight Zone.{{Cite web|url=http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/pages/the-annotated-lyrics/paranoia-man-in-cheap-sh-t-room.html#n1|title = Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room}} Smith had previously borrowed episode titles "What You Need" and "Time Enough at Last" (and would later use "Kick the Can").

The Infotainment Scan was reissued by Artful in 1999 with the same track listing as the original CD editions. It was remastered and expanded to a double-CD set by Castle Music in 2006 with slightly amended artwork. The first disc followed the original CD album track order, while the second added B-sides, demos, alternate versions and radio sessions.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Raggett|first=Ned|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-infotainment-scan-mw0000098131|title=The Infotainment Scan – The Fall|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=26 July 2018}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = A−{{cite magazine|last=Flaherty|first=Mike|date=21 May 1993|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1993/05/21/infotainment-scan/|title=The Infotainment Scan|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=26 July 2018}}

| rev3 = Los Angeles Times

| rev3score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|last=Ali|first=Lorraine|author-link=Lorraine Ali|date=30 May 1993|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-30-ca-41384-story.html|title=The Fall, 'The Infotainment Scan,' Matador/Atlantic|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=5 July 2020}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Harrison|first=Ian|date=October 2016|url=https://thefall.org/news/pics/2016-09_Mojo.pdf|title=Rebellious Jukebox|magazine=Mojo|issue=275|accessdate=5 July 2020|pages=62–67}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 8/10

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|date=June 1993|title=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan|magazine=Q|issue=81|page=96}}

| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev7score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book|chapter=The Fall|last=Gross|first=Joe|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/292 292–95]}}

| rev8 = Select

| rev8score = 5/5{{cite magazine|last=Collins|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Collins (broadcaster)|date=May 1993|title=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan|magazine=Select|issue=35|page=91}}

| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev9score = 8/10{{cite book|chapter=Fall|last=Rubin|first=Mike|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=142–44}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan|magazine=Uncut|page=84|quote=Arguably their strongest '90s offering bar Extricate, it saw Smith singing Lee Perry and Sister Sledge...}}

}}

The Infotainment Scan received generally positive reviews. AllMusic's Ned Raggett called it "a winner and a half" and "one of the band's most playful yet sharp-edged releases", picking out "Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room" as a highlight. Jim Sullivan for The Boston Globe called it "10 tracks of caustic wit set to backing music that swirls one moment and grinds the next".{{cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Jim|date=3 June 1993|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8230388.html|title=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan (Matador/Atlantic)|work=The Boston Globe|accessdate=26 July 2018|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212005129/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8230388.html|archive-date=12 February 2018|url-status=dead}} Robert Christgau gave it a three-star "honorable mention", with the comment "great original sound, one hell of a cover band".{{cite book|chapter=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan|chapter-url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=3602|accessdate=26 July 2018|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|title-link=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2000|isbn=9780312245603}} Ben Thompson, in The Independent, gave it a positive review, stating "Smith's invective has rarely been more sharply honed" and that the band "have rarely sounded brighter".{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Ben|date=1 May 1993|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/rock-manchesters-old-flames-blaze-again-ben-thompson-experiences-the-reviving-properties-of-new-2320488.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/rock-manchesters-old-flames-blaze-again-ben-thompson-experiences-the-reviving-properties-of-new-2320488.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Rock: Manchester's old flames blaze again: Ben Thompson experiences the reviving properties of new albums from The Fall and New Order|work=The Independent|accessdate=11 February 2018}} Simon Reynolds, reviewing it for The New York Times, stated it "may be one of the Fall's more approachable records, but Mr. Smith's lyrics are as caustic as ever". Keith Cameron, reviewing for the NME, said the album "stands at the very peak of their canon". Chuck Eddy, for Spin, was less enthusiastic, saying Smith "used to seem smarter" and accusing him of repeating himself.{{cite magazine|last=Eddy|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Eddy|date=August 1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSfPXCr4lJMC&pg=PA87|title=The Fall: The Infotainment Scan|magazine=Spin|volume=9|issue=5|accessdate=25 July 2018|page=87}} Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post stated "the album continues the swaggeringly uncompromising and hopelessly unmarketable mix of Craig Scanlon's scratchy guitar, bassist Stephen Hanley and drummer Simon Wolstencroft's loping thump, and Smith's caustic and cryptic, cut-up and spit-out poetry."

The album was included in Robert Dimery's 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|title-link=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|editor-last=Dimery|editor-first=Robert|publisher=Universe Publishing|edition=revised and updated|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2}}

{{track listing

| title1 = Ladybird (Green Grass)

| writer1 = Mark E. Smith, Craig Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Dave Bush, Simon Wolstencroft

| length1 = 3:59

| title2 = Lost in Music

| writer2 = Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards

| length2 = 3:49

| title3 = Glam-Racket

| writer3 = Smith, Scanlon, Hanley

| length3 = 3:12

| title4 = I'm Going to Spain

| writer4 = Steve Bent

| length4 = 3:27

| title5 = It's a Curse

| writer5 = Smith, Scanlon

| length5 = 5:19

| title6 = Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room

| writer6 = Smith, Scanlon

| length6 = 4:27

| title7 = Service

| writer7 = Smith, Scanlon, Hanley

| length7 = 4:11

| title8 = The League of Bald-Headed Men

| writer8 = Smith, Hanley

| length8 = 4:07

| title9 = A Past Gone Mad

| writer9 = Smith, Bush, Wolstencroft

| length9 = 4:19

| title10 = Light/Fireworks

| writer10 = Smith

| length10 = 3:46

| total_length = 40:36

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Additional tracks (CD only)

| title11 = Why Are People Grudgeful?

| note11 = CDSPERM9 single, 1993

| writer11 = Lee "Scratch" Perry, Joe Gibbs

| length11 = 4:33

| title12 = League Moon Monkey Mix

| note12 = alternative version of "The League of Bald-Headed Men"

| writer12 = Hanley, Simon Rogers, Smith

| length12 = 4:36

| total_length = 50:08

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2006 Castle reissue bonus disc

| title1 = Ladybird (Green Grass)

| note1 = Peel Session #16 – 13/3/93

| length1 = 4:05

| title2 = Strychnine

| note2 = Peel Session #16 – 13/3/93

| writer2 = Gerry Roslie

| length2 = 2:54

| title3 = Service

| note3 = Peel Session #16 – 13/3/93

| length3 = 3:36

| title4 = Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room

| note4 = Peel Session #16 – 13/3/93

| length4 = 4:19

| title5 = Glam-Racket

| note5 = Mark Goodier Session – 17/5/93

| length5 = 3:34

| title6 = War

| note6 = Mark Goodier Session – 17/5/93

| writer6 = Peter Blegvad, Anthony Moore

| length6 = 2:36

| title7 = 15 Ways

| note7 = Mark Goodier Session – 17/5/93

| writer7 = Smith, Scanlon, Hanley

| length7 = 2:51

| title8 = A Past Gone Mad

| note8 = Mark Goodier Session – 17/5/93

| length8 = 4:35

| title9 = Why Are People Grudgeful?

| note9 = CDSPERM9 single mix

| length9 = 4:28

| title10 = Glam-Racket

| note10 = CDSPERM9 single mix

| length10 = 3:33

| title11 = The Re-Mixer

| note11 = CDSPERM9 single mix

| writer11 = Smith, Scanlon

| length11 = 6:03

| title12 = Lost in Music

| note12 = CDSPERM9 single mix

| length12 = 3:50

| title13 = A Past Gone Mad

| note13 = alternative version

| length13 = 4:39

| title14 = Instrumental outtake

| writer14 = Scanlon, Hanley

| length14 = 3:46

| title15 = Service

| note15 = instrumental demo

| length15 = 4:40

| title16 = Glam-Racket

| note16 = instrumental demo

| length16 = 3:21

| title17 = Lost in Music

| note17 = mix 3

| length17 = 4:40

| title18 = Lost in Music

| note18 = mix 7

| length18 = 4:39

| title19 = Lost in Music

| note19 = mix 14

| length19 = 4:28

| total_length = 76:37

}}

;The Fall

• Mark E. Smith – vocals, tapes, production (2, 10)
• Craig Scanlon – guitar
• Steve Hanley – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Simon Wolstencroft – drums, programming
• Dave Bush – keyboards, programming, backing vocals

;Additional personnel

• Rex Sargeant – production (1, 4–9, 11)
• Simon Rogers – production (3, 12)
• Pascal Le Gras – cover art

{{reflist}}

{{The Fall}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Infotainment Scan}}

Category:1993 albums

Category:The Fall (band) albums

Category:Matador Records albums