The Presidents Of The United States Of America

Early years (1993–1994)

The band was formed in late 1993 by Chris Ballew (bass guitar and lead vocals) and Dave Dederer (guitar and backup vocals), who met at school in Seattle. Ballew had previously been in a punk-busker band called Egg, who wrote many songs that would later be turned into Presidents songs. Initially a drummerless duo, Ballew and Dederer performed a few shows in 1993 as "the Lo-Fis", "the Dynamic Duo", and "Pure Frosting". Ballew eventually came upon the name "the Presidents of the United States of America". Shortly after, Ballew and Dederer added drummer Jason Finn; the band played their first show as a trio at Seattle's Romper Room in early December 1993. At the time, Finn was also the drummer for Love Battery, who had recently changed record...

Brief reformation and breakup (2000–2003)

The Presidents reunited in 2000 to release a new single, "Jupiter", on MUSICBLITZ Records. Because of the single's popularity, the label convinced the band to release a new album; Freaked Out & Small was issued that year to critical praise. The band did not tour or promote the album, which quietly sold 25,000 copies as MUSICBLITZ, an early digital music player, quickly went bankrupt.

Full reformation and new guitarist (2003–2010)

In 2003, the Presidents once again reformed. In August 2004, they issued Love Everybody on their newly formed indie label, PUSA Inc. Two singles were released through the iTunes Store. In late 2004, the rights to the band's debut album were returned to them, and they have since reissued it through PUSA Inc. twice: once as a tenth-anniversary edition with extra tracks, and again in the spring of 2006 in a low-price edition.

Musical style

The Presidents of the United States of America have been most frequently described as alternative rock and pop-punk. Their musical style has also been called post-grunge. Although they have often been labeled as grunge by the media, The New York Times, at the time of their debut in 1995, considered them "an antidote to the misery and self-absorption of grunge". The Washington Post claimed that the band, "without a hint of angst", "have revived the pleasures of pure pop".

Lump

"Lump" is a song by alternative rock band the Presidents of the United States of America. It was released in August 1995 by Columbia Records and included on their self-titled debut album (1995).

The song reached number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart the same year. Composer Chris Ballew said that the lyrics combined his own history of having a benign tumor in the head with a vision he had of a woman in a swamp, while employing the word "lump" because Ballew was fond of it.

Critical reception

Andrew Mueller from Melody Maker said, "'Lump' is a frantically grinning, gurning, hyperactive lurch that evokes nothing more than visions of retribution involving a plank with a nail through one end." Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Taken from the band's debut album, 'Lump' clocks in at just over two minutes. And it's so cool you could play it twice in place of those dismal four-minute rock operas churned out by other US-rockers. Full points to Chris Ballew's tongue-in cheek vocals–one of the best things to happen to alternative rock this year." Mark Beaumont from NME remarked "the hook-smattered stoopidity" of tunes like 'Lump'. He also named it Single of the Week, praising it as "pure, perfect, dumbass hedonistic pop." David...

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Lump", directed by American filmmaker Roman Coppola, takes place in a "boggy marsh" (as the opening lyrics state). The first half of the video shows the band performing in a swamp while the second half shows them on the stern of a barge in Elliott Bay, interspersed with a scene of the band performing in silhouette.

Parodies and covers

"Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody version of the song known as "Gump", a joking tribute to Forrest Gump. Notably, the last line of this parody, "and that's all I have to say about that" would later be used by the Presidents of the United States of America in their subsequent live performances of the song. Yankovic would later return the favor by covering "Peaches" on The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour with a special appearance by Ballew.