Lump (song)
"Lump" is a song by alternative rock band the Presidents of the United States of America. It was released in 1995 and featured on their self-titled debut album. The song reached number one on "Billboard"'s Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1995. 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. The musical part was described by Ballew as him "trying to write a Buzzcocks  song". Ballew considers it his favorite composition. Later in the same year, it debuted on the Album Rock Tracks chart, and went on to hit number seven. The song is featured in the video games "Rock Band 2", the Nintendo DS version of "Band Hero", "Just Dance" and "Saints Row IV". It has additionally been covered or remade by several artists such as The Johnstones and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Musical style. Musically, Lump is a grunge, pop-punk, alternative rock, and post-grunge song . Critical reception. 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." Music video. The 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 low definition) Credits and personnel . Credits and personnel are adapted from the "Lump" US promo CD liner notes.