The Most Underrated Albums of All Time, Volume II: Presidents of the United States of America – Self Titled

I am on my second copy of the great, eponymous debut album from The Presidents of the United States of America; I wore the first one out years ago and my new CD is already so scratched that I couldn’t even rip it onto ITunes.

The Presidents of the United States came onto the scene during a time when it seemed that any band, any style could break and become massively popular. They epitomized what rock music was capable of in the 90’s. And although I am loathed to do this, I want to include a short editorial review from Amazon.com’s Adem Tepedelen, who hits the nail squarely on the head:

“The Presidents of the United States of America scratch that itch that you can’t reach. They do and say all those things that you’d like to, but fear what people might think of you. They are your inner-child, but stinking drunk on a half-case of cheap beer. And, with the youthful appeal of the Dead Milkmen, the off-kilter storytelling of Primus, and a razor-sharp sense of irony, they are utterly undeniable.

Try, if you will, not to sing along with “Lump.” It sticks in your brain after the first chorus and won’t leave until you hear something supremely catchy just to scrape the chorus out of heavy frontal lobe rotation. Musically, they keep everything very minimal (they have only five strings between bassist Chris Ballew and guitarist Dave Dederer) and use their incredibly twisted wit to engage the listener. From the punkish “Lump” and “We Are Not Gonna Make It” to the funky “Boll Weevil,” the Presidents are the perfect antidote to the serious, heavy-handed rock perpetuated by their Seattle brethren.”

Mr. Tepedelen hits a couple of great points, most importantly: The President’s existence as an antidote and the over-looked importance of their minimalist tendencies. It’s true that The President’s used two and three string guitars, the result producing a kind of punk rock twang. Their songs were often about bugs and animals and simple things, but with an underlying, perpetual wink of the eye. “Kitty” and “Peaches” have sexual undertones that wouldn’t be appropriate in any classroom despite the childish nature of their tunefulness and the kiddy sing-along style of their lyrics (not counting the “fuck you” part in “Kitty,” of course).

It was this very contradiction that became the foundation of the antidote that is so central to their success. They were a Seattle band that came out almost a year after the suicide of Kurt Cobain and if one wanted to be saucy, and why wouldn’t they; they might contend that The President’s arrival signaled the death of grunge more so than even Cobain’s stunning departure.

You could dissect the songs on this debut for hours, but despite all the hidden themes it will always come down to one thing: this was happy music. The Presidents of the United States of America made sunny day, backyard BBQ music; they were the antithesis of Nirvana despite coming from the same city at, roughly, the same time.

However, this also had a downside. The confines of the sun-soaked pop rock that The Presidents honed would also lead to their undoing. They were written off as novelty artists and by the time they pumped out their follow-up, II, the novelty had worn off.

For what it’s worth, I feel that II, as well as some of their subsequent material, has been wrongly discarded by mainstream tastes. But, hopefully, their legacy as grunge killers will remain firmly intact for a long time with their self-titled debut: The Presidents of the United States of America.