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| DescendentsSomery1991 SST 
 Review by: soulbleed See others by this writer AMG information / Buy this album (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on January 16th 2004 Descendents were one of the first bands to incorporate the sounds of pop into their punk-influenced skate music, and they were arguably the best at it. Over the past 20 years, they've gone through several breakups and hiatuses, but even when they aren't recording new music together, their records are still being played constantly. The influential cloud this band cast over the punk community during the 80's (the prime years for SST) was and still is undeniable, but with the resurgence of pop-punk during the late 90's and beginning of the new millenium, having knowledge of the Descendents back catalog is more important than ever. And since a lot of new fans aren't really familiar with this band's music (some may be familiar with their side band All, who once upon a time featured Down by Law's vocalist and have recorded for nearly 15 years as well), there needs to be a set starting point for those looking to brush up on their history. And well, Somery is just that album. Somery is the so-called 'best of' collection for the Descendents, even though the band didn't have any singles. It spans 28 tracks and runs a little under an hour and speaks as the perfect introductory piece to this wonderful and amazing band. While it is missing a bunch of their classics, it makes up for it by being the most consistent Descendents record in existence -- there isn't a drop of filler to be found on Somery. Tracks like "Silly Girl" and "My Dad Sucks" do a perfect job at starting off the record, showing this cult band at their best -- pumping out furiously fast skatepunk the way it was meant to be played. Well, almost. Descendents sing mostly about failed relationships, hating parents and school, and how society doesn't understand them, which is pretty much the same formula followed by the newest generation of pop-punkers who follow the blueprint laid down by this band right here. The only problem with this release is that since it was released in 1991, it doesn't contain some of the band's best material. Tracks like "I'm the One" and "She Loves Me" (both from 1996's Everything Sucks are unfortunately absent), but there's no sense griping. Somery is a beautiful place to start building your Descendents collection if you haven't already, mostly because it sums up this cooky band's antics and compresses six hours worth of recorded material into less than one. After you've tackled this release, try Milo Goes to College.People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Milo, sweet milo. All of the best work that the Descendents have put out all in one album? this is a dream come true! "being the most consistent Descendents record in existence" awesome cd. practically all of my favorite songs put onto one album. i like "suburban home". i can relate. heh. god help me. great music. Everything sucks was a decent record, but not nearly as good as the old stuff. Only Bad Religion can pull off the "we were a punk band 20 years ago and still rock your ass" thing. Damn you, damn the broccoli, and the damn the wright brothers! descendents. fucking. suck. next time try writing a review on the berlin project. oh wait, this site hates them for no fucking reason. forget it, just take this gay ass site down that doesn't give bands a chance for shit. fair enough. i guess i wasn't sure if it was clear, though i'm well aware its not obscure Also, Family Guy. Duh. It wasn't an obscure reference or anything. Idiot. "No matter what happens, no one will like it, for one simple reason: It's New! New shit sucks! Blah blah blah!" whoever can guess what that was a reference to gets a cookie all sucks. down by law sucks. krypton sucks. I'm pretty sure I gave a better reason than that. Not every criticism is just a cliche, you know. Man, I can't believe some of you people think Everything Sucks is essential Descendents listening material. It doesn't have the same feel as any of the others, really. I think it may be the fact that it sounds too modern. But by the time Everything Sucks came out in 1996, all the bands that were influenced by the Descendents were out and doing their thing. So Milo and his buddies didn't look unique at all. Man, I can't believe some of you people think Everything Sucks is essential Descendents listening material. It doesn't have the same feel as any of the others, really. I think it may be the fact that it sounds too modern. But by the time Everything Sucks came out in 1996, all the bands that were influenced by the Descendents were out and doing their thing. So Milo and his buddies didn't look unique at all. how come no one mentioned their live album "hallraker". (pep talk, christmas vacation, good good things, cheer, kabuki girl) put that and livage together have all the descendents tracks you'll ever need. yeah, yeah..that guy who just said the stuff he said...that man's a frickin genius. i can't believe there is even a debate about this. the descendents rule all of your worthless asses. don't like it? go eat a bowl of dick! Good CD, simply put they influenced alot of bands today ( primary infleunce to all 3 blink memebers) , and I'm excited to hear their new stuff descendents. fucking. suck. next time try writing a review on the berlin project. oh wait, this site hates them for no fucking reason. forget it, just take this gay ass site down that doesn't give bands a chance for shit. Milo went to UC San Diego and majored in biology. one of my favorite bands, but there were (at least) 2 things wrong with this review: And I only like the ALK3 songs that Matt Skiba sings!! With a couple of exceptions! This review was good, but here's how I would make it better: I cannot tell who is better, but there's a fact: the more you say ALL is worst the less you have appreciated/understood Descendents. And vice versa, of course. i think All is really quite horrible, while Descendents are one of my favorite bands, the musical and vocal changes are enough to piss me off. All is waaaay too poppy, but milos voice has a nice growl to keep it from sounding like hes whining. There is a vast differance between ALL and Descendents musically, not just vocally. dude, like the only difference between ALL and the descendents is a singer. it is like saying you only like the Alkaline Trio songs that Skiba sings. don't be dummy heads, dummy heads. ESAD "Allroy Saves" is probably the best record to come out of either camp. Then "Revenge." Then "Milo Goes to College." Then "All." This is fact, not opinion. to anyone that says descendents are better than ALL: have you heard anything other than the epitaph albums (mass nerder and problematic)? because those are their weakest. but allroy's revenge and pummel honestly DESTROY the descendent's best work. i think it's funny that it's trendy and you sound "cool" if you go "descendents are better than ALL." but sorry, it's just not true. Descendant does beat ALL pretty badly. I do disagree with the "Everything Sucks" comment. While the title tracked sucked, I think that was a very solid cd. Albeit more poppy, the songs were catchier making it more enjoyable than previous releases. Come on Descendents are so much better than All! Milo is just more pissed off than Chad! Silly Girl and Cheer me up are 2 of the best Descendents songs ever. "Everything sucks" is a great album REALPUNX4LIFE. Reason, it doesn't contain as many of those annoying filler tracks where Milo just yells over crazy music which lasts for barely a minute (ie half of "I don't wanna grow up"). "Milo goes to college" is their best though, with songs like Bikeage, Hope and Myage you can't go wrong. You guys are CRAZY! While I'm a bigger fan of ALL than Descendents, I can say without any fear that "Everything Sucks" is most definitely the worst thing to come out of either camp. It's even worse than "Problematic" and no one will quesion me when I say that that record is bad. "Milo Goes to College" and "All" are the two best Descendents records. Then "I Don't Want To Grow Up" with "Enjoy" hanging around the bottom of the barrel with "Everything Sucks." It seems as though I'm forgetting something, other than "Bonus Fat," live records, other rarities and the inevitably awful upcoming records. Boy, I am not looking forward to those! (Maybe if my expectations are low enough, I'll actually like them. Maybe. But Christ, have you listened to "Everything Sucks"? Milo is an awful singer these days and things are only getting worse with that new mp3. Fuck your Milo worship, dorks.) i have to agree, get two things, then everything sucks.. then maybe all then the rest... this was my first descendents cd, its fucking great. where is kabuki girl? I second scott's comment, Everything sucks and two things at once are the only essentials, but they are in fact ESSENTIAL! i actually find that liveage serves as a beter overview of the band, as i think a lot of the band's studio material suffered from poor recording that softened the impact of the songs. however, the live versions are power-packed. also, ALL's self-titled best of CD is freaking amazing, and should silence all the doubters that say ALL is no good. Wow scott thinks everything sucks is better than I don't wanna grow up, Enjoy, and All... that is INSANE Some Descendents songs are really good.....some not so much. This album has lots of both. But greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls..... just to clarify what someone said below-their record 'two things at once' is basically 'milo goes to college' some extra tracks. so yea, buy that and skip this record. down by law is fucking terrible. I bought this without realizing it was a best-of at first, and I already owned Two Things At Once. There was no point in keeping this, simply because the songs weren't in the order I was used to hearing them in and it drove me nuts. Doesn't this have some the clunkers from Descendents "All" on it too? I concur with the person below- just get the full originals: "Milo Goes To College" "I Don't Want To Grow Up" and "Enjoy". You'll end up buying these anyways, so ya might as well save the money for "Somery" and put it towards "Milo Goes To College" or "I Don't Want To Grow Up". I'd rather listen to the actual albums way to break my streak asshole first. good cd. woo! |
