Last night I went to the Vic to catch a screening of Filmage, a documentary about the legacy of the Descendents. I’ve loved the Descendents since I was little, and have always been hugely inspired by their music, ethos, and attitude, and seeing the film last night made all those feelings rush back—certain live shots of the band destroying tiny venues in the 80s actually gave me goosebumps. The band is in town this weekend for Riot Fest (they’re kind of staples of the festival at this point) and on Sat 9/13, they’ll be performing their first LP, 1982’s Milo Goes to College, in its entirety (I left this record off of my Riot Fest feature about revisiting classic albums, because it will forever be perfect and how it will age should never be brought into question). Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is “Hope” off of Milo, possibly the quintessential Descendents song: they fuse the melodic sensibility of the Ramones with the West Coast fury of Black Flag to create an undeniable precursor to pop-punk. Check it out below.
Descendents offshoot All is playing Riot Fest as well; their set is this afternoon. Filmage is highly necessary viewing for any punk-rock fan, please check it out if you can.