The Descendents released their debut album “Milo Goes to College” in 1982.
The album was recorded in June 1982 at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach, California, and released on September 4 through New Alliance Records. Its title refers to vocalist Milo Aukerman leaving the band to attend college, while the cartoon version of Milo on the cover became the Descendents’ enduring mascot.
The record fused fast, aggressive Southern California hardcore punk with melody, concise songwriting and unusually personal subjects, including relationships and everyday frustrations. That combination later made it a foundational influence on pop-punk, even though its initial circulation was modest. Early pressings sold about 1,000 copies locally.
Listeners sometimes confuse 1982 with 1981, the year the band released the Fat EP. Another possible confusion is 1985, when the Descendents returned with I Don’t Want to Grow Up after Aukerman’s college-related absence. Neither date is the debut album’s release year.