| "Lump" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Presidents of the United States of America | ||||
| from the album The Presidents of the United States of America | ||||
| Released | August 8, 1995 | |||
| Studio | Egg (Brooklyn) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| The Presidents of the United States of America singles chronology | ||||
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"Lump" is a song by alternative rock band the Presidents of the United States of America. It was released in August 1995 by Columbia and included on their self-titled debut album (1995). The song reached number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart same year. Composer Chris Ballew said that the lyrics combined his own history of having a benign tumor in the head with a vision he had of a woman in a swamp, while employing the word "lump" because Ballew was fond of it. [1] The musical part was described by Ballew as him "trying to write a Buzzcocks song". Ballew considers it his favorite composition. [2] The music video for the song was directed by Roman Coppola. "Lump" has been covered or remade by several artists, including the Johnstones and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Musically, Lump is a grunge, [3] [4] pop-punk, [5] [6] alternative rock, [7] [8] post-grunge, [7] and pop rock [9] song.
Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Taken from the band's debut album, Lump clocks in at just over two minutes. And it's so cool you could play it twice in place of those dismal four-minute rock operas churned out by other US-rockers. Full points to Chris Ballew's tongue-in cheek vocals–one of the best things to happen to alternative rock this year." [8] Mark Beaumont from NME remarked "the hook-smattered stoopidity" of tunes like "Lump". [10] David Sinclair from The Times commented, "An intriguing amalgamation of Nirvana-influenced riffs and Weezer-ish harmony vocals, it is a post-grunge formula served up with lashings of oddball humour in place of the usual angst: Lump sat alone in a boggy marsh/Totally motionless except for her heart/Mud flowed up into Lump's pyjamas/She totally confused all the passing piranhas." [11]
The accompanying music video for "Lump", directed by Roman Coppola, takes place in a "boggy marsh" (as the lyrics state). The video shows the band singing in a swamp as well as on the stern of a large barge in Elliott Bay interspersed with a silhouette scene of the band performing.
Another video was also made for the song. This version, commonly referred to as "Lump 2", was considered too disturbing and dark to be aired on MTV (reflecting the band's grunge and post-grunge origins). It features the band performing on a dark stage while various people lip sync the lines "She's lump!" during the chorus. This version can be found on "Ten Year Super Bonus Special Anniversary Edition" of the Presidents of the United States of America's debut album, and on their YouTube channel.
In 2023, both versions were re-uploaded to YouTube in high-definition, as well as the other videos from the debut album. [12] [13]
Credits and personnel are adapted from the "Lump" US promo CD liner notes. [20]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [38] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | August 8, 1995 | CD | Columbia | [21] |
| United Kingdom | December 25, 1995 |
| [41] |
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