It’s the birthday of Descendents’ front man Milo Aukerman. The Descendents – and the album Milo Goes to College – were huge for my brother Brendan back in the day, which he wrote about in an essay I posted here. Milo Aukerman was both 1. a punk rock musician and 2. a science nerd on his way to being an actual scienTIST. Which he did eventually become. The Descendents are still kicking around, and the nostalgia factor is high. When I first posted my brother’s essay on Instagram, and hashtagged it, tons of people showed up, flocking to it. They remember. And you’re part of the coolest crowd if you remember the Descendents. Just tripped over an interesting recent piece on Pitchfork, where Aukerman listed the music he loved, the music that influenced him, or just turned him on. I love pieces like this.
But go read my brother’s essay!
Part of the reason why I do these “birthday posts” is to highlight writing in my 20-years (and counting) archive. Even I forget what’s in there. It’s good to resurrect things periodically for new people to discover.
Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0, if you’d like to subscribe.
