Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Descendents - Milo Goes to College

Are you in to punk rock? Like, at all? If so, you should be into the Descendents. Hailing from Southern California, this former three-piece surf-rock outfit released, in 1982, an essential document that fused the intensity of hardcore with the bouncy, catchy music of Ramones-style pop punk. Since then, they’ve been sporadically releasing albums and touring (Milo, it turns out, went to college, eventually earning a Ph.D in biochemistry). But this, their first LP from the band, remains their legacy.

The album kicks off with “Myage,” establishing their tradition of ending words in “-age.” Wikipedia mentions that this helped endear them to the nerd crowd, which I’d buy. Several of the album’s songs feature such alterations; “Myage,” Tonyage,” “Bikeage,” etc. Anyway, “Myage” is a punk rock classic, careening through chords as Milo sings about a girl who “don’t need no one/she don’t need me!”

(more…)

The Descendents

It’s a sad day for me, and pretty much all punk fans out there. Frank Navetta, founding guitarist and songwriter for seminal California pop-punk band The Descendents has passed away suddenly. His exact age is unknown at this time.

The band, which formed in 1979 as a surf-rock band, adopted punk rock upon the addition of vocalist/biophysicist Milo Aukerman. Their first album with Aukerman was the Fat EP, followed by the landmark Milo Goes to College LP. The album featured their trademark bouncy rhythms supporting lyrics about girls, coffee, food, girls, and parents. Naturally, the music resonated with many teenagers; it had the aggression of the SoCal hardcore scene, with humorous topics they could identify with more closely than the political rage of bands like the Dead Kennedys.

Navetta left the band during the recording of their follow-up album, I Don’t Want to Grow Up. He became a fisherman in Oregon, and lived a fairly low-key life post-Descendents.

Deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. Thanks for the great tunes, Frank. RIP.

[Source: PunkNews.org]