Descendents “Milo Goes To College” 1982. New Alliance Records/SST. Their first full-length LP, famously titled for singer’s Milo Aukerman’s leaving the group to go to college for biochemistry and decorated with his nerdy iconic cartoon likeness. Milo Goes to College is cited as an inspiration for the development of the melodic hardcore sound of 80′s California punk with its “super clean, super tight, super poppy hardcore about hating your parents, riding bikes” and girls. (It was also perfect for Midwestern punks in the 80′s: The Descendents, and then All, played A LOT in the mid-to-late 80′s in Appleton/Green Bay area of Wisconsin; it seemed there was a show every other month or so, and several of my friends got to know the band members and/or helped organize shows at various VFW clubs, bars and bowling alleys, the typical venues for all-ages punk shows.)

Though Milo Goes to College is youthful and snotty, my favorite aspect of the album is Tony Lombardo’s bass playing, which provides both rhythm and melody; Lombardo was already in his 30′s when the Descendents formed in ‘79 and the rest of the band were in their teens. Lombardo wrote a significant number of tracks for the album and they tend to be my favorites (though I particularly love the killer bass line Bill Stevenson’s “Myage”): “I’m Not a Punk” about his impatience with the punk scene (damn kids!), “I Wanna Be a Bear” (co-written with Frank Navetta) and the classic “Suburban Home.”

I want to be stereotyped
I want to be classified

I want to be a clone
I want a suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home

I want to be masochistic
I want to be a statistic

I want to be a clone
I want a suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home
Suburban home

I don’t want no hippie pad
I want a house just like mom and dad

I want to be stereotyped
I want to be classified
I want to be masochistic
I want to be a statistic