The Descendents started out in 1977 as a power pop duo. Consisting of Frank Navetta and Tony Lombardo, both on acoustic guitars. In 1978 they became a trio with the addition of Bill Stevensen on drums (after he failed to join a local band called Panic, later known as Black Flag!). This lineup recorded one 2 song EP. Later, singer Milo Aukerman would join and take over on vocals. With the addition of Milo they became a great Hardcore- pop punk band.

"It was so desperate; Four people with no friends- except for the ones in the band- and they don't even get along that well themselves. It was a desperate bid to get attention- amplified logarithmically by like 400 gallons of coffee. It was great."
~ Bill Stevensen

Two Things at Once Is made up of, really, three releases. The LP "Milo Goes to College" and the EP's "FAT" and "Ride The Wild"(both compiled as "Bonus Fat". They are on the CD in revers order though.

I will rate this album by album then track by track.

"Milo Goes to College" is the first 15 tracks on this CD. Released in 1982, this is great pop influenced hardcore. Very raw and also catchy. Milo's vocals are great on this album. This album is very bass driven. The guitar isn't as loud and demanding as most other hardcore albums of the time.

Tracks:

1. Myage- Awesome bass intro in the beginning before the guitar starts in. This song has a great riff for the intro which pops up two more times in the song. Milo's scratchy and young sounding vocals are great on this album. 10/10

2. I Wanna Be A Bear- Fast and short. 7/10

3. I'm Not A Loser- Great angry song. Some seemingly homophobic lyrics towards the end. Still a great song though. 8/10

4. Parents- "Parents, why wont the shut up?!/Parents, They're so F***ed up!"...Says it all. When Milo yells "But little do they know that one day ill explode!!!!" with such passion... its great. 7/10

5. Tonyage- This song has more single note guitar stuff like "Myage". "eh, doesn't matter, you all suck/ don't know sh*t about punk rock/ bunch of F***ing drug addicts/ screwin' up what we call fun". 9/10

6. M-16- More political song. Army sounding guitar tune in the beginning. 8/10

7. I'm Not A Punk. The guitar is louder in this song. Basic power chord song about conformity in punk. 9/10

8. Catalina- Starts out with just bass... then the guitar starts in, both of them playing a single note over and over with Milo just talking. Bam! Then it turns into a great catchy song with good lyrics just about getting away... In this case to go fishing... But mostly just getting away "...and get you outta my head!". 8/10

9. Suburban Home- Sarcastic song. A little more pop oriented than some of the previous tracks. 9/10

10. Statue Of Liberty- Very strong sounding guitar in the beginning and great lyrics. 9/10

11. Kabuki Girl- Extremly catchy. 9/10

12. Marriage- Milo sounds very vulnerable in this song. Good catchy song. 9/10

13. Hope- Great catchy song about a girl. 9/10

14. Bikeage- Great bass line in this song. Somewhat touching lyrics. 10/10

15. Jean Is Dead- Wow. This song doesn't sound like it , but this is a very sad song. I remember first reading the lyrics to this while it was playing(Lyrics arent included on the "Milo goes to college" CD... Only on "Two Things at once".

The "Fat" EP came out before "Milo goes to college. These are the first songs that Milo did with the descendents. The guitar is louder and sounds much stronger on these tracks.

16. My Dad Sucks- Title says it all. 6/10

17. Mr. Bass- Great song about fishing. 7/10

18. I Like Food- 16 seconds "I Like Food, Food Tastes good" is most of the lyrics. Was featured on the fat wreck chords comp. "Short Music for Short People. 7/10

19. Hey, Hey- Catchy little punk song. Heavy and catchy at the same song. Also a little political I believe. 8/10

20. Weinerschnitzel- "welcome to Der Weinerchnitzel, may I take your order please."..."yeah I want, TWOLARGECOKES, TWOLARGEFRIES, CHILECHEESEDOG, DOCTERPEPPER, SUPERDELUXE, WITHCHEESEANDTOMATOE!"... 11 seconds. I dont know how to rate this. Hilarious.

21. Globel Probing- I really like this song. Kinda similer to "hey, Hey". 8/10

OK. Now "Ride the Wild" EP. This came out in 1979, before milo was in the band. Has Frank Nevetta and Tony Lombardo singing. The guitar is only slightly distorted, and the bass is as good as ever, just more mellow.

22. Ride the Wild- Great little power pop song. Has a great little guitar "solo" in the middle. 8/10

21. Rat Race- Not quite as good as "Ride the Wild". seems a little more "punk" though. "Gotta keep up with the crowd/ If you can't be quite then you gotta be loud". 7/10

Overall this is a great cd. Although "Milo Goes to College" is their best release in my opinion, the other songs on this cd are worth the extra couple bucks. This also has all of the lyrics, which aren't available on these releases individualy. The Descendents are a great band and this cd is very special to me, still one of my very favorites.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening