Last Friday, I returned to the office for the first time in eleven weeks. There was only one record waiting for me in the mailroom, but it was a good one.
Six months or so ago, I heard about a Kickstarter project by the grunge band The Presidents Of The United States Of America, who were reissuing their 1995 self-titled debut. I didn’t even need to think about it; just take my money! It was so good to finally get it in my hands, signed by the band.
I don’t think I ever owned the album on CD in the ‘90s. I definitely bought the Lump single, which I’ve always preferred to Peaches, and I remember playing it as the second song in my set (after Weezer’s Hash Pipe) on a radio show I did for an independent station put together by friends in Oldham in the late ‘90s. They’re a majorly quirky band – not everybody’s taste, I’m sure – but I’ve always marvelled at how they managed to craft such catchy songs on such rudimentary instruments – a three-string guitbass and a two-string bassitar (and some no-string drums, as the liner notes proudly state).
Unfortunately, I never saw the band live back in the day, and this is one of my sources of eternal regret. I almost saw them support the Foo Fighters on their first tour in Manchester, touring that debut Foo Fighters album – one of my favourite albums of the ‘90s – but I had an exam the following morning, so I wisely/stupidly chose education over what would have been an awesome gig. Decisions, decisions…
Hit: Peaches
Hidden Gem: Body
Vinyl Stylus 