NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS, HERE’S THE PRESIDENTS
<b>By Ross Greenawalt, kotv.com</b><br><br><br><b>The Presidents (of the United States of America): Freaked Out and Small (MusicBlitz, 2000)</b><br><br>Five years ago, Seattle’s Presidents of the UnitedFriday, December 8th 2000, 12:00 am
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By Ross Greenawalt, kotv.com
The Presidents (of the United States of America): Freaked Out and Small (MusicBlitz, 2000)
Five years ago, Seattle’s Presidents of the United States of America shook the pop world with both a brutally long band name and a unique approach to rock music. Gone were the layers of noise and distortion, throaty vocals, and dark lyrics previously associated with the Pacific Northwest, replaced with minimalist instrumentation (a 3-string guitar, a 2-string bass), unbelievably catchy tunes, and a perpetually grinning Chris Ballew exuberantly singing the goofiest lyrics this side of They Might Be Giants.
Suffice it to say the MTV crowd was surprised.
“Peaches†and “Lump†sold records aplenty (thanks to superheavyinfactdangnearconstant rotation on radio and music video), the latter inspiring one of Weird Al Yankovic’s finest parodies (“Gumpâ€). The Presidents’ self-titled debut, with its deliberately dippy lyrics (mostly about animals, food, and more animals), gave way to a second release (“IIâ€) in 1996. The second record expanded the Presidential repertoire to include songs about natural phenomena, even more animals, and a number of well-placed pop culture references (notably in “Mach 5†and “Tiki Godâ€). Then, after releasing a quick b-sides compilation (1998’s “Pure Frostingâ€), the Presidents - forgive me - left office.
Clearly, the joke had run its course. Any band having this much fun tends to be dismissed as a novelty act, and novelty acts tend to follow an accelerated timeline - so the early retirement was probably for the best. But like The Who (who have retired what, 17 times now?), the Presidents didn’t stay away for long. All three ex-Presidents worked on solo projects and other bands - Ballew formed the Giraffes, guitarist Dave Dederer (along with Guns ‘n’ Roses bassman Duff McKagan) formed the Gentlemen, and drummer Jason Finn played in the Pin-Ups and the Nevada Bachelors. Last year they teamed with Sir Mix-a-Lot - speaking of so-called novelty acts - for a rock/rap project called Subset, then the reformed Presidents recorded a few tracks for the MusicBlitz website. When the fourth Presidents album, “Freaked Out and Small,†came out quietly on the MusicBlitz label a few months ago, no one but the old fans seemed to notice.
And in a way that’s a good thing. “Freaked†should please the hardcore addicts, but its charms are probably too few to grab many new ones. The instrumentation is a little broader - Ballew plays lots of keyboards (piano, organ, clavinet, and something called the Orgatron), Dederer covers lead vocals several times, and his pal McKagan even guests on one track - but there aren’t too many surprises here.
Easily half of these tracks could be b-sides from the first two Presidents releases (with “Superstar†a possible escapee from a Lemonheads album). Still, there are some moments of inspiration: “Jupiter†picks up right where “Volcano†left off; “Meanwhile Back in the City†and “I’m Mad†rock out a la “Mach 5;†and “Last Girl on Earth†is the best mildly psychedelic anti-love song the Kinks forgot to write first.
The best parts of “Freaked†plus the best parts of “Pure Frosting†would have made the Prezzes an unforgettable third album two years ago. Like their early hits, many of the Presidents’ new songs will be nigh on impossible to dislodge once they’ve crawled into your ears. Unfortunately, the others may make you wish you could just hear “Lump†for the first time again.
But I’ll still take 36 minutes of average Presidents over 36 minutes of Florida Recount analysis any day.
When not hanging out around the discount music bins at the local Best Buy, Ross Greenawalt is the senior producer-director at KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We must also mention that he's a native of Stubenville, Ohio. Why? Why not?
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