Album of the Day — January 20
The Presidents of the United States of America — Self-titled debut— 1995
The Presidents of the United States of America — Self-titled debut— 1995
20.January.2021
The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America
1995
As the music was moving into a post-grunge era and a year after Kurt Cobain’s suicide, fellow Seattle-ites The Presidents of the United States of America released their self-titled debut album.
The President of the United States of America found a way to blend “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Buzzcocks, and Primus while injecting some much-needed levity into the music business.
By 1995, everything was so serious. And most certainly, the music and the music business took themselves MUCH too seriously. Along comes this seemingly goofy trio who scored a massive hit with the song “Lump.”
What makes “Lump” interesting is that the song’s bouncy and fun sound has its origins in something darker. Lead singer and writer Chris Ballew wrote the song about a benign tumor in his head and combined it with a vision of a woman in a swamp. Using the word “lump” simply because he liked it.
Lump sat alone in a boggy marsh
Totally motionless except for her heart
Mud flowed up into lump’s pajamas
She totally confused all the passing piranhas
She’s lump, she’s lump
She’s in my head
She’s lump, she’s lump, she’s lump
She might be dead
Ballew says he was aiming for a “Buzzcock sound.” When you watch the video, it’s maybe the Buzzcocks …via The Monkees. Whatever they did with the song seemed to work as it made its way to #1 on Billboards Alternative Airplay and #26 on Billboards Mainstream Top 40.
[Fun Fact: the video for “Lump” was directed by Francis Ford Coppola's son and Sofia’s brother, Roman Coppola.]
“Lump” has been covered many times, even by the aforementioned “Weird Al” Yankovic with “Gump,” his tribute to the Tom Hanks character Forrest Gump.
The song had a resurgence after the 2016 election because it is phonically similar to the last name of the 45th President of the United States (who in just a few hours will cease being the POTUS).
The second single, “Peaches,” faired almost as well. It reached #8 on Billboards Alternative Airplay and #27 Billboards Mainstream Top 40. Not a real metaphorical stretch, the song is about a woman Ballew had a crush on. It’s a perfect match then that the band has openly acknowledged they pinched some riffs from Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin Love.”
The President of the United States of America even covered the MC5’s classic “Kick Out the Jams” on the record. Fellow Seattle-ites, Pearl Jam, would begin covering the song in 2004.
Critic’s were all over the place on this album, but The Presidents of the United States of America album sales speak the truth. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Album Chart and has, to date, sold three million copies in the United States alone.
It’s a fun, tight record, with 13 songs clocking in at just under 38:00.
Somehow, The Presidents of the United States of America seemed an appropriate choice for AOTD.