Line #23 Music/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStatesOfAmerica


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/PUSA_7327.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"Naked And Famous" indeed! [[note]] L-R: Chris Ballew, Jason Finn, Dave Dereder [[/note]]]]
3	->''Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches,\
4	Movin' to the country, gonna eat me a lot of peaches,\
5	Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches,\
6	Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches.''
7	-->-- "Peaches"
8
9	To clarify, The Presidents of the United States of America [[DontExplainTheJoke have no actual]] [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates presidents]] [[NonIndicativeName in their band.]] Just so we're clear.
10
11	The Presidents of the United States of America -- also simply known as ''The Presidents'', ''POTUSA'', or simply ''PUSA''; their name is a mouthful even for diehard fans -- are an AlternativeRock band, formed in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, UsefulNotes/{{Washington}} in 1993, who went on to release six albums and be twice nominated for UsefulNotes/{{Grammy Award}}s. Their style combines the frenetic pace of PunkRock with {{Pop}}, {{Grunge}} and CountryMusic influences, which made them slightly atypical of the Seattle scene.
12
13	For much of their existence, they were made up of vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew, drummer and vocalist Jason Finn with "guitbassist" and backup vocalist Dave Dederer. When Dederer left to settle down and raise a family in the 2000s, Andrew [=McKeag=] stepped in to take his place. The "basitar" and "guitbass" were themselves modified guitars, one with two bass strings and the other with three guitar strings, both drop-tuned to C#.
14
15	Originally, the band played their music with a primitive drum machine (as heard on their early demos) before Jason Finn joined. They released their debut SelfTitledAlbum in 1995 on [=PopLlama=] Records. The record, on the strength of memorable singles like "Lump" and "Peaches," gathered such a following that it was re-released on Creator/ColumbiaRecords later that year, and was certified triple platinum. The follow up, ''II,'' was certified gold and didn't match the sales or the critical praise of its predecessor. After three years of touring, Ballew decided to spend more time with his kids and called it quits on the Presidents with the release of ''Pure Frosting'', which combined new material with live tracks and demos. Notably, this record contains a cover of Ian Hunter's "Cleveland Rocks," and this version became the theme song for ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow''.
16
17	The hiatus didn't last long, and the band reformed in 2000 to release a new single, "Jupiter," and thus a new album, ''Freaked Out & Small.'' It got good reviews, but sold 25,000 copies, and the band dissolved again only to reform again in 2004 to release ''Love Everybody,'' and later ''These Are the Good Times People'' in 2008, both on their indie label, PUSA Inc. Their last album, ''Kudos to You!'' was released in February of 2014, released via [=PledgeMusic=] and preceded by the video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4JxY-kiN2Y "Poor Little Me."]]
18
19	The group have had a multitude of side projects, most notably Subset, a supergroup with Music/SirMixALot whose album never wound up being released. Additionally, [[https://chrisballew.org/ Chris Ballew]], a very prolific songwriter, has done (amongst other things) a one-man side project called The Giraffes, made a series of {{Ambient}} music tracks, and has released albums of music for kids under the name Caspar Babypants. Yes, really.
20
21	In November of 2016, Chris Ballew took to the band's Facebook page to clarify as to why the band hadn't had much activity in the past year and a half -- turns out [[http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/the-presidents-of-the-united-states-of-america-announce-breakup/11866929 the band decided to hang it up]]. Or, as Ballew put it, they'd "quietly retired from the PUSA business since [[SelfDeprecation we are OLD PEOPLE NOW!]] ;)"
22
23	Thus, the band leaves behind one of the goofiest bodies of work in alternative music this side of Music/{{Ween}}.
24
25	!!Album discography:
26
27	#''[[SelfTitledAlbum The Presidents Of The United States Of America]]'' (1995) (re-released in a deluxe edition in 2004)
28	#''II'' (1996)
29	#''Pure Frosting'' (1998) (odds & ends compilation)
30	#''Freaked Out And Small'' (2000)
31	#''Love Everybody'' (2004)
32	#''These Are The Good Times People'' (2008)
33	#''Kudos To You!'' (2014)
34	----
35	!!"Scrolling to the trope list, gonna eat a lotta peaches..."
36
37	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: This line from "Lump": "'''L'''ump '''l'''ingered '''l'''ast in '''l'''ine for brains..."
38	** This pops up a lot in their music: "So I'll take it for a ride on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon" from "Mach 5"
39	* AlbumClosure: The closing track of ''II'' is "Ladies and Gentlemen Part 2," which thanks the audience for listening says goodbye . . . at least until the HiddenTrack. The album opens with "Ladies and Gentlemen Part 1" which serves as an AlbumIntroTrack, so the two songs together act as BookEnds.
40	* AntiLoveSong: "Last Girl On Earth," detailing the protagonist's horrendous view of his girlfriend, is this trope in spades. That is, until the second verse where [[SubvertedTrope it turns out the protagonist actually does have feelings for said girl.]]
41	* BizarreInstrument: The basitar and guitbass.
42	* BookEnds: The first track of ''II'' is titled "Ladies and Gentlemen Part I" and the last track on the album (other than the hidden track) is titled "Ladies and Gentlemen Part II". The two songs have the same melody and slightly different lyrics. (The difference is that "I" is an introduction to the performance while "II" is a goodbye to the audience.)
43	* BringMyBrownPants: "Happy campers" exhibit this trope when faced with an erupting volcano in the song "Volcano".
44	* {{Bunny Ears Lawyer}}s: Never mind their silly songs about peaches, kitties, planets, the car from ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' and bugs. A two-string bass and three-string guitar was in itself pretty novel even for the alternative rock landscape. And they sure as hell got hits out of it.
45	* ClusterFBomb: They're usually more cheeky than outright vulgar, but one exception is "Fuck California," which has a TitleDrop four times per verse.
46	* CoverVersion: Their most famous being Ian Hunter's "Cleveland Rocks," used at the theme song for ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow.'' They've also done Music/TheBuggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star," Music/MC5's [[Music/KickOutTheJams "Kick Out The Jams,"]] and The Young Fresh Fellows' "Rock N' Roll Pest Control," the latter of which was featured in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. They even did the Music/SexPistols' "Problems" as a bonus track on a later album, as well as, of all things, the theme from ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' for [[Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle the live-action movie]].
47	** Live, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jp5xUOnGpc there's also the jokey version of]] Music/{{Soundgarden}}'s "Spoonman" (usually while performing "Naked and Famous", given the original version featured their guitarist, Kim Thayil).
48	* EpicRocking: Their longest song is on ''II,'' and it's the five-minute "Puffy Little Shoes."
49	* GenreBusting: With their unusual instruments, they can flatten grunge, pop, punk, and even a touch of funk into a quirky little mishmash.
50	* LeadBassist: Chris Ballew, or in this case, "Lead Basitarist", as he is also the lead singer/frontman.
51	* LyricalDissonance: "Fuck California" is an upbeat, catchy little number about - what else - their bitter hatred for California. They even name specific towns.
52	** ListingCities: ...which makes the song an enthusiastic subversion of this trope.
53	* LongRunnerLineup: The original lineup was Chris Ballew, Jason Finn, and Dave Dederer, which lasted from 1993 to 2005. Dederer left that year, and was replaced by Andrew [=McKeag=], who remained with them till they retired.
54	* MinimalisticCoverArt: ''II.'' Just a blank white background with the band posing in early 20th century attire, for whatever reason.
55	* MotorMouth: The bridge on "Back Porch." Especially live!
56	* NonIndicativeName: As mentioned above, it's just a ridiculous name for the sake of itself. Just for fun, on the inside of the original release of their self-titled debut, the band [[https://www.discogs.com/release/709188-The-Presidents-Of-The-United-States-Of-America/images actually posed]] with UsefulNotes/BillClinton himself.
57	* OneWomanSong: "Vestina" from ''Love Everybody.''
58	* OneWordTitle: A few of their songs, and possibly the ''II'' album, depending on how it's interpreted. There are no spaces, in any case:
59	** "Vestina" from ''Love Everybody.''
60	** "Supermodel" and "Supersonics", which are also {{Portmantitle}}s because they're compound words.
61	* OverlyLongName: To the point [[https://www.discogs.com/master/90540-The-Presidents-Of-The-United-States-Of-America-The-Presidents-Of-The-United-States-Of-America/image/SW1hZ2U6ODkzNzMzNA== it took three lines to spell in their album]], and abbreviations are common (PUSA, The Presidents or Pot USA).
62	* PerformanceVideo: "Mach 5" parodies this trope mercilessly.
63	* PrecisionFStrike: ''"Fuck you, kitty, you're gonna spend the night..... [[CarefulWithThatAxe OUTSIDE!!!]]"''
64	* RepurposedPopSong: The band rewrote the lyrics of their song "Supermodel" and released it as "Supersonics", a tribute to Seattle's (now non-existent) NBA franchise.
65	* RockTrio: One of the goofiest, most good-natured trios in rock, hands down. To the point that, as mentioned above, they're not a traditional guitar-bass-drums trio given the "hybrid" stringed instruments.
66	* SelfDeprecation
67	-->''"We're not gonna make it (oh no!), we're not gonna make it\
68	Cause there's a million better bands with a million better songs...''
69	** The lyrics for Lump mention "Lump lingered last in line for brains, and the one she got was sorta rotten and insane". The song is partially based on Chris Ballew's experience with a brain tumor, meaning the brain in question is his.
70	* ShoutOut:
71	** In latter-day performances, when they perform "Lump," they end the song with the ''Film/ForrestGump'' line that finishes off Music/WeirdAlYankovic's parody of it, "Gump".
72	--->''"And that's all I have to say''
73	--->''ABOUT THAT!"''
74	** "Fuck California" references "Green Onions" by Booker T & The [=MGs=] in its lyrics. The general groove sounds similar to that song, too.
75	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Dave was lead vocalist in "Superstar." Both Dave and Jason get a verse to themselves in "Toob Amplifier."
76	* TheStoic: The titular "Lump" seems to be a girl who has this as her general demeanor. She might actually cross the line into EmptyShell, depending on how you interpret Chris Ballew's WordSaladLyrics.
77	* StudioChatter: The song listed above, "We Are Not Going To Make It," has a false start where they muck up a take, keep rolling and start over (somehow, it seems appropriate).
78	* StuffyOldSongsAboutTheButtocks: "Carolyn's Booty."
79	* SuddenlyShouting: The running joke in "Fuck California" is that every stanza is punctuated by either a TitleDrop or "fuck [Californian town]." At one point Chris Ballew just snaps:
80	-->"This city is so beautiful, the clouds come out in the fall and I love to see them back, and '''FUCK California'''!!!"
81	* TitleTrack: Of their six albums, only ''Love Everybody'' has one.
82	* WordSaladLyrics: Okay, they're not Music/{{Beck\|Musician}} weird, but they're still pretty weird.
83	** "Twig", one of their weirder songs, was apparently written as an AffectionateParody of Beck's lyrics (an early version was released by Caspar & Mollusk, which was basically a one-time collaboration between Chris Ballew and Beck). A sample lyric:
84	--->I'm happy feeling crappy in your nappy little car
85	--->[[PerfectlyCromulentWord Squozen]] frozen duplicated drunk in a bar
86	--->Tape recorded all distorted genius machine
87	--->Spokesmodel dipped in refried beans
88
89	----
90

Context Music / ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStatesOfAmerica