Descendents

Descendents is an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson as a power-pop/surf punk band. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a singer, and reappeared as a melodic hardcore punk band, becoming a major player in the hardcore scene developing in Los Angeles at the time. Since 1986, the band's lineup has consisted of Aukerman, Stevenson, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and bassist Karl Alvarez.

Quotes about Descendents

• There’s a good argument to be made that no album had a more profound impact on the development of pop punk than [Milo Goes to College]. It was firmly rooted in the hardcore scene and played with the same rawness, speed, and intensity as early Black Flag, [...] but the Descendents added in bright, catchy melodies through Milo Aukerman’s bratty, snotty delivery, and basically invented pop punk in the process. And it wasn’t just the sound of pop punk that Milo Goes to College paved the way for; it was the lyrical content too. With songs about hating your parents, wanting girls to like you, being a loser, and a hint of social criticism, Milo Goes to College laid out what would be the primary concerns for a large majority of pop punk bands to come. Just about every major pop punk band has sung the Descendents’ praises.
  • Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan (July 29, 2020) [1]

• [Descendents are] the only reason blink-182 existed. It was the first band the three of us all agreed on.
  • Tom DeLonge of blink-182, as quoted by Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan (July 29, 2020) [2]