The Presidents Of The United States Of America

"Four score and seven years ago..." - Lincoln

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." - FDR

"I am not a crook." - Nixon

"I have never had relations with that woman" - Clinton

"Peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man" - PUSA

     I considered spending President's Day in quiet contemplation, reflecting on the words of our Nation's great leaders. After two minutes, I decided to post about the band, The Presidents Of The United States Of America (PUSA), instead. One thing I envy about old people (I'm 48, I'm not old!) is that they lived in a time when the Presidency was respected. My first political memories were of Watergate, so I've never really had any respect for institutions of any kind, especially the Presidency. I just assume they're all crooks. But enough about those Presidents. Let's talk goofy rock music instead.
     PUSA may have been the craziest and most unlikely band ever. They came out of Seattle, Grunge City, USA. Their music, however, was a complete rejection of that whole scene. Instead of making music driven by angst, they wrote absurd songs about peaches, kitties and little dune buggies. Their instruments were unconventional and inspired by Mark Sandman of Morphine. Chris Ballew sang and played "basitar", which was a guitar with two bass strings. Dave Dederer played the three string "guitbass". Their eponymous, debut album was a huge hit in the mid-90's and featured the songs "Lump", "Peaches" and "Kitty". Two of my favorite tracks are cover songs, "Kick Out The Jams" and "We Are Not Going To Make It". They did both, however, for a short time. I freely admit that this album is borderline stupid, but I love it. It's one of those cd's that is cathartic when you're in the right frame of mind. And really, has there ever been a better line than "peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man"? I think not. Well maybe "Lump lingered last in line for brains and the one she got was sorta rotten and insane" or "mud flowed up into Lump's pajamas, she totally confused all the passing pirahnas". This is the only cd by PUSA that I own and I strongly recommend it to my kids. I think I'll spend the day listening to this cd and watching their videos on Youtube. You can't beat a video for a song about peaches with ninjas in it. Yay America! Peace.