These Are the Good Times People is the fifth album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by The Presidents of the United States of America

The Presidents of the United States of America (band)

The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...

. It was released on March 11, 2008. This is their first album to feature Andrew McKeag instead of Dave Dederer

Dave Dederer

Dave Dederer, best known as guitarist and singer for The Presidents of the United States of America, was born on October 5, 1964. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, he founded The Presidents with fellow Bush School alumnus...

 on guitbass.

Track listing

All songs by Chris Ballew

Chris Ballew

Christopher "Chris" Ballew is a member of the alternative rock group The Presidents of the United States of America and performs as a children's artist under the pseudonym Caspar Babypants....

 unless otherwise noted.

1. "Mixed Up S.O.B.
   Mixed Up S.O.B.
   "Mixed Up S.O.B." is the first single from The Presidents of the United States of America's album These Are the Good Times People. The single includes the song "Ballad of the Unstoppable Female " as a B-side track.-Music video:...
   
   " – 3:05
2. "Ladybug
   Ladybug (The Presidents of the United States of America song)
   "Ladybug" is the second single from The Presidents of the United States of America's album These Are the Good Times People. On November 4, 2008 the song was released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band along with the songs "Dune Buggy" and "Feather Pluckn" as the Presidents of the...
   
   " – 2:34
3. "Sharpen Up Those Fangs" – 3:05
4. "More Bad Times" (Dan Leone, Dom Leone, Ballew, McKeag) – 2:59
   • A loose cover of an Ed's Redeeming Qualities
     Ed's Redeeming Qualities
     Ed's Redeeming Qualities was an alternative folk group that was founded in 1988 and originally consisted of Dan Leone, Dom Leone, Carrie Bradley , and Neno Perrotta. Jonah Winter joined the band for the albums "Big Grapefruit Cleanup Job" and "At The Fish And Game Club"...
     
      song.
5. "French Girl" – 3:04
6. "Truckstop Butterfly" – 2:04
7. "Ghosts are Everywhere" (Ballew, McKeag, Finn) – 4:08
8. "Loose Balloon" – 2:45
9. "Flame is Love" – 2:39
10. "So Lo So Hi" – 2:18
11. "Poor Turtle" – 2:48
12. "Rot in the Sun" – 2:25
13. "Warhead" (Ballew, Dale Peyser) – 1:54
14. "Deleter" (Ballew, McKeag, Finn) – 3:17

Bonus Tracks

• "Rooftops in Spain" – 2:41 (UK iTunes / Japan CD)
• "Scrappy Puppy" – 2:54 (all iTunes)
• "Truckstop on the Moon" - 4:14 (Walmart mp3 store)
• "What the Hell" - 3:30 (Amazon / Napster)

Personnel

• Chris Ballew
  Chris Ballew
  Christopher "Chris" Ballew is a member of the alternative rock group The Presidents of the United States of America and performs as a children's artist under the pseudonym Caspar Babypants....
  
   – vocals, basitar
• Andrew McKeag – guitbass
• Jason Finn
  Jason Finn
  Jason Finn may refer to:*Jason Finn , rock drummer for Love Battery and The Presidents of the United States of America*Jason Finn , actor in Freedom Writers...
  
   – drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s
• Fysah Thomas – vocals on "Deleter"
• Mark Hoyt  – backing vocals on "Poor Turtle"
• The Love Lights Horn Section - on "Sharpen Up Those Fangs", "Ghosts are Everywhere" and "Deleter"
  • Jerimiah Austin – trumpet
  • Sarah Jerns – trumpet
  • Diana Dizard – baritone sax
• Martin Feveyear
  Martin Feveyear
  Martin Feveyear is a British record producer and audio engineer based in Seattle, Washington. Beginning as a singer-songwriter and musician, Feveyear soon began recording work for artists in both the UK and US before moving to Seattle at the age of 25. Together with Christian Fulghum , he opened...
  
   – mixing

Response

Critical response to These Are the Good Times People was mixed. MusicOMH.com remarked, "There's nothing complicated on this album, but then when did things ever need to be complicated?" Allmusic said that in view of the lineup changes, the album is "perhaps their most eclectic album to date." Billboard found that while nothing on the album is not as immediately memorable as "Lump" or "Peaches," several tracks "come across as less novelty-like as a result of songcraft." The album received a Metacritic rating of 59. Uncut

UNCUT (magazine)

Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...

magazine felt the record was "the desperate death-throe of a rank '90s relic."