WHO INVENTED POP-PUNK??

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Who invented pop-punk? IMO it's Descendents on their 1985 album "I Don't Want To Grow Up." Some of what I talk about:
* Other early poppier punk bands like Buzzcocks, The Ramones, and Generation X or college rock bands like Husker Du and The Replacements and Dag Nasty's melodic hardcore
* Their roots in the early LA punk scene, Bill Stevenson's time in Black Flag, SST records, and how they compare to other LA bands like Suicidal Tendencies
* How they introduced punk to love songs like "Silly Girl," "Good Good Things" and "Marriage"
* Their 1981 "Fat" EP and how Milo Aukerman's departure lead to "Milo Goes To College"
* How they influenced bands like Blink-182 via Mark Hoppus, A Day To Remember, Real Friends, The Story So Far, Knuckle Puck and even newer emo rappers like Lil Aaron, Lil Tracy or DC The Don
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[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/finnmckenty

[@Cheeseburger.Launch.Sequence]

You upload while I workout. But sorry dude....you are dead wrong on this one. The Fastbacks created poppunk. Directly influenced Bill Stevens. All those eps came out in 1980-81.... they were sugary sweet pop as hell. Might not have directly influenced Blink 182..... but none the less.

[@Cheeseburger.Launch.Sequence]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXiXcmV_h650d7s

[@stephenyoshida9966]

Hey Finn McDjenty!! Love you stuff dude! Can you do a video on positive hardcore? Gorilla Biscuits, H2O, etc?

[@geotechmore8855]

The Buzzcocks were Pop Punk back in 1977.. The Descendants were influenced by The Buzzcocks. The Descendants along with ALL are fantastic Punk bands that brought Pop Punk to the 1980's.

[@johnindigo5477]

Hey finn, theres a KZbin channel called trash theory that goes Into how pop punk became pop punk from proto punk to early 90s California He also used the same thumbnail

[@nicepocket]

Milo goes to college and everything sucks are 2 of my all time favorite records. Can literally play them anytime and I'm happy.

[@lodoublet]

I was a freshman in hs. I went to a sold out punk show and saw them in the reunion tour. Swingging udders and bouncing sould opened. Was epic. 1996

[@nicepocket]

@@lodoublet I too saw them that year as a freshman in hs. But they played with suicide machines. Love me some bouncing souls as well.

[@lodoublet]

@@nicepocket we're old lol. .. I was in green bay wi. ... Sidenote i tear up when i hear "when i get old" nowdays.

[@nicepocket]

@@lodoublet but do you still hop on your bike and ride around town...

[@christianjamesguevarra6257]

PARENTS!!!

[@deathdealer13cat]

dude. as a black punk fan I'd love to see u do an episode about Bad Brains

[@MarvLinares]

deathdealer13cat I know Finn tries to stay away from politics and race issues, but there’s no denying black peoples influence on rock, then punk and finally with bad brains basically creating hardcore punk. We wouldn’t have good music if it wasn’t for black people.

[@rocknroll_jezus9233]

@@MarvLinares cough black flag

[@sonikku956]

Include Death please.

[@6AM_YT]

@@MarvLinares Or Middle Class. But the Bad Brains were amazing, regardless of race.

[@rocknroll_jezus9233]

@@6AM_YT that too, both of your points. Weren't the first but one of the best

[@ReanuKeaves1]

It’s crazy how aware you are of not just music, but everything. You just get it dude. I think a lot of us see things that you talk about but we can’t really put it altogether in a conforming and coherent way, yet you can do that. Props to you for just getting it. I’m sure you’re a great listener too. Keep up the hard work.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Thank you!

[@superunknown2812]

Yes perfectly said

[@DildosForChristmas]

Described it perfectly while giving him an amazing compliment.

[@BrokeAtBestMusic]

My mind auto-corrects your name. Thought I'd share. This is a fun channel, though.

[@morbidgirl6808]

Not all music genres.

[@rafaeldefault]

Back in the day i used to say Descendents was obviously the major influence behind all the pop punk movement for the 90's and early 00's and people would quickly get mad at me, because you know Descendents is a 'classic punk band' how could they be the main influence behind such 'travesty' as a genre like pop punk? I still laugh about it to this day. Thanks for the amazing content as always Finn!

[@piotrb8434]

Punk rock was "pop" from the very beginning. Ramones. The Clash. Buzzcocks. The Undertones. The Boys. The Vibrators. Generation X. Awesome pop songs. "Baby, Baby", "London Girls", "Teenage Kicks", "Brickfield Nights", "What Do I Get?", "Have You Ever Fallen In Love". Years before Descendents.

[@wastoid138]

Descendents still hold up as one of the greatest pop punk bands of all time. I also think that Screeching Weasel played a huge role in shaping pop punk.

[@kotanovakota]

Along with Buzzcocks

[@wastoid138]

@@kotanovakota definitely

[@fcatulo]

Oh yeah, Screeching Weasel, The Queers and that crowd helped too, especially for the more silly and sophomoric side of things.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

They had a far smaller impact tho and didnt add much that the ramones hadnt already done

[@williamfulk9574]

The Punk Rock MBA I disagree. The whole lookout records/ Gilman street scene that gave rise to Green Day is more influential than you think. You dismiss it as doing what the Ramones had already done but the Descendants weren’t doing anything the Buzzcocks hadn’t already done. I love the Descendants but I reject the premise you imply of saying one band invented the style. MTX, Queers, Weasel and a lot of bands from that era played a part of the sound evolving. To be dismissive of that era and just make the leap from the Descendants to Blink 182 and modern pop punk is pretty disingenuous.

[@joseguerreroneri18]

Descendants are among one of my favorite punk bands. They were not trying to be militant or preachy as some of their contemporaries in the hardcore scene. Rather, they were just being themselves and musically, they're much more accessible. Another band, in my opinion that pioneered pop punk is Adolescents.

[@superunknown2812]

Yes adolescents for sure

[@jetroeribal1539]

@anton hexler ok

[@BickleBungle1991]

anton hexler Some of y’all might wonder, is this hardcore sarcasm? Lol, if only. But this is really how mindless Alex Jones-sounding (and consuming) Anglo-Saxon correct reactionary reich wing chuds sound like all over the internet. These poorly-educated, red pill-swallowing, “Jews will not replace us” paranoid alt reich chuds really think this way. They cry about PC and Sjws all the time cuz, while we are living in an era where being a white supremacist is okay again thanks to the chuds’ tangerine Fuhrer Humpty Trumpty and the likes of Boris, these snowflake reactionaries and incels can’t go around being MCP’s and bigots anymore without being called out, and that certainly wasn’t the case back in the good ol’ politically correct kkkonservative days. These unhinged troglodyte cons think they’re so edgy sounding like the broken records they are with their cutesy talking points and buzzwords it’s beyond hilarious.

[@BickleBungle1991]

If singing/screaming about real world issues and basically speaking truth to power was being peachy and militant, then bless this band’s contemporaries. If Descendants focused on lyrical content that wasn’t serious and was a reflection of who they were, then the same can be said about *most* of their contemporaries. Many Punk bands from basically day one were taking a stance against the system, but many hardcore bands came from a grittier place and a number of them wrote about harsh things that they themselves experienced. Why do u think the legendary Black Flag wrote anti-cop songs? Because they witnessed - and in some cases experienced - this real thing called police brutality. Why did the ultra politically charged Dead Kennedys write about, well, everything that would label them a political band? Because like many of their contemporaries, they cared about the depressing but very real shit that was happening in the world (mind you, the Dead Kennedys, Jello Biafra specifically, had a very unique way of expressing himself compared to other punk/hardcore lyricists, and he often said what he said with a twisted sense of humor). It’s easy to label everything from 80’s hardcore to the likes of RATM as preachy (and of course, hypocritical and projecting AF reich wing drumpf cultists that don’t ever like to be challenged write off these bands as preachy, pandering, PC, and whatever else they feel makes these totalitarian-loving reich wingers feel good about themselves.) But at the end of the day, just cause it was common for these not-so-lighthearted bands to rage against the system in the era of conservative heroes like Regan and Tatcher (labels aside, these two were just rotten people and others suffered due to their actions,) doesn’t mean they were any less real than the not-so-serious Descendants. Sure, as with any genre or scene, some bands tried too hard. Although the bottom line: many of these bands simply stood up for what’s GOOD, and that, my friend, was Punk AF. ;)

[@BickleBungle1991]

anton hexler P.S. NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF!

[@Cowboysong]

Descendents rule, but can we talk about how good of a drummer Bill Stevenson is? Phenomenal. 10/10 best punk drummer.

[@pollyanna147]

I wish blink followed through with recording with him.

[@username3012]

Bill was the brainchild of the band. All of their best songs are written by him. He said he wrote Clean Sheets without strumming around or taking any time. He had all of it in his head when he woke up. If you haven't, check out Filmage.

[@emmanuelgoldstein2558]

Yeah, true that. How bout Tony Lombardo's bass lines? Really the whole rhythm section was on fire.

[@booperlooper3547]

A super group lead by a drummer that no one outside the community knows about truly the best any punk band couldve hoped to do

[@sidwellsk8er]

I was at an All show with Stacy Hilt around the time Coalesce was first formed. The first drummer was there with us and commented how bad a drummer Bill was. I told him you're a fucking idiot, Bill was the drummer of Black Flag, you can fuck off with that shit and I moved away from him. That was the last thing I ever said to him and introduced Stacy to James Dewees who totally replaced that dick bag.

[@thebeardiest2921]

It's so rare that someone can discuss music genres and break them down without sounding like a complete douche. Once again your killing it, awesome vid.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Thank you!

[@MrHSwager]

One of the greatest and oldest punks I know once said, "The Descendents are the Black Sabbath of pop-punk." He then took a pull off a bottle of Jack and passed out in his own bar, during an insanely loud show.

[@tomgreenfan]

sounds like the goat..

[@matthewcassidy8671]

God Bless this channel for introducing me to bands I would have never heard before because none of my friends like this music lol

[@Kyle4OH8]

Follow him on Spotify he usually makes playlist of the bands he talks about on each video

[@tylerwilson503]

Dude, Finn is such a blessing to music fans. Not to completely ride his shlong, but the guy has so much knowledge and awareness of all of what I call "fringe music" aka punk, metal and all of the sub genres... it's incredible. I learn so damn much on almost every video. Finn doesn't know everything and he isn't the end all be all, but HE'LL TELL YOU THAT. It's the fact that he has such a well rounded view and understanding of how it all works together and how things came to be. Idk man, so happy I started watching his videos a year or two ago. [EDIT] I just saw the comment above me... either that is the funniest obvious troll comment I've seen in a while, or that is the cringiest unironic comment I've seen in a while. Either one takes the cake dude like wtf 😂

[@keithgillrie8718]

"I don't wanna grow up" was the blueprint for Blink's entire career. A New Found Glory too. Plus Milo made it cool for The Offspring and Weezer to go be scientists and rock out.

[@renecardenas-villegas9449]

My all time favorite band! I'm from the South Bay, and the Descendents literally started down the street from me. Tony is a huge influence on my bass playing; down stroke 8th notes. I don't wanna grow up was my first tattoo as well!

[@mightbeellie4552]

I think the Ramones helped to because of songs like i wanna be your boyfriend and stuff like that

[@Garebear21]

For sure

[@nicks4802]

Ramones-core is the original pop punk.

[@jesseedmondson2861]

Negative Zero I was just about to suggest that and rockaway beach but you beat me to it. They sound like they were trying to be The Beach Boys or the four seasons sometimes, so I definitely count them as pop punk.

[@benjaminperez6756]

I was thinking the same thing, but I think the difference is that the Ramones were trying to create a 50s/60s pastiche sound with punk instruments. I don't know if that can be the considered its own thing

[@Cheeseburger.Launch.Sequence]

Check out The Fastbacks. The ORIGINAL pop punk band. Also check out The Jam "In The City"... older and more pop punk. Part of the 1977 wave.

[@deanathan]

The way Finn delivered who he thought started pop punk sounded like he already knew what band we were thinking of. If you’ve ever obsessed over a pop punk band and traced their influences- you’ve definitely ran into The Descendants at some point. I’m a HUGE blink182 fan and in so many interviews they mention The Descendants. Great vid as always Finn 🤘🏽

[@lofer9138]

deanathan YESSS blink-182 got me into the Descendents and now I love them

[@Redtee1986]

My kid listens to this when I watch em and finds himself new bands lol. He is completely obsessed with punk, emo and metalcore

[@urphakeandgey6308]

My mom told me she used to listen to punk when I was in her stomach and I've liked the music ever since for the most part.

[@Redtee1986]

@@urphakeandgey6308 ❤️ my son has been like that too lol I put an earbud in my belly button for him 😂

[@austinshort3990]

Been a fan of pop punk for half my life, and I've somehow never listened to The Descendants before this video. Thanks for the album recommendation at the end there, it's gonna help me get through this shift.

[@waffleironjumpsuit]

Huge props for calling out "Hope" and the like for being a bit iffy in their subject matter. I always loved The Descendants and grew up with them. When I got rejected by girls, I took a cue from these songs and assumed the victim role. This brought me no peace, but I don't think I could've understood that until I got older.

[@georgeshears7974]

Clean Sheets is one of the greatest songs ever, that chorus is undeniable

[@bassage13]

Yes, it is. And sooo are yoou!

[@leanish9556]

nice

[@ryanmontgomery5988]

Feckin right it is

[@fcatulo]

By far the best thing about to the Descendents is that I can deeply relate to the lyrics at 30 at the same level but for entirely different reasons than I did at 13. Also the song Ace pretty much saved my life and to this day it helps me get through tough spots in my life.

[@abbieharris3476]

I love the Descendents but have never heard Pep Talk before. It's exactly what I need to hear right now. Thanks Finn.

[@darylhellobear]

Descendents were massively influenced by an L.A Punk / Post Punk band called The Alley Cats. If you listen to them to can hear so many Descendents vibes in the music it's unreal. Descendents are such a legendary band. Forever engraved in music history.

[@Rkitt8]

You should do a video on The Shape Of Punk To Come and how that literally gave way to all the bands of the early 2000s like The Used and others

[@commissargribb]

OMFG Refused? Yes please.

[@sideshowbob6416]

Way overrated by people who don't know anything

[@whitereap7196]

@@sideshowbob6416 What other bands did have that kind of sound in the 90s tho?

[@bbc9256]

Maybe i just havent heard that album in forever but idk how The Used was that close to Refused

[@Rkitt8]

j rock d I’m saying bands like The Used in the early 2000s were obviously very influenced by Refused’s style. I didn’t say they ripped of the Refused....I’m just those bands are derived from the sound Refused created.

[@thomasuniat2939]

You got me into NOFX. I have to drive 8 hours today for work but I'm looking forward to it because I'm going to have Punk in Dublic cranked to 11 most of the way. TY!

[@pjcaps100]

Thomas Uniat so long and thanks for all the shoes is a great one too

[@curtisfroude6283]

I heard they suck live

[@erica5513]

I absolutely agree. Milo Goes To College is what sparked all my interest in punk and inspired me to play punk and pop punk on my bass. If I hadn't come across them at a young age, I have no idea what my taste in music would be, but surely it wouldn't be what it is now

[@astrogallotron]

Honorable mention to Minutemen, Mike Watt made incredible 'pop-punk' basslines.

[@lexidarling]

Love the Descendents. Whatever bands predate them still never had that perfect storm of all the exact elements that the 90s/2000s scene would be influenced by. Like if you take the term “pop punk” completely at face value then yeah the Ramones were doing poppy punk in the 70s, but if we’re talking about the Blink/Green Day/NFG/Sum 41 era that the term most commonly refers to, that all came very directly from the Descendents. I remember the first song of theirs I heard was “Clean Sheets”, and it blew my mind that it came out in 1987, that sound and attitude were such a big thing in the late 90s when I grew up that I had no idea anyone was doing all those classic pop punk tropes so much earlier.

[@commanderchair]

I would love to see like a 45 minute video by you explaining the fundamental differences between all the rock genres and sub genres because I get lost sometimes when names of types of rock get thrown around lol.

[@lpphillyfan]

I would love to see this, too.

[@angelsandairwavesforever1483]

Me 3

[@Thatgamerpunk]

My take: Ramones would be a pop-punk band by today's standards, but they are credited with being the first punk band. Descendants ABSOLUTELY laid the foundation for what would become pop-punk, but today are more along the lines of melodic hardcore. I've heard many testimonies crediting Green Day for solidifying pop-punk as it's own genre. Blink built on what Green Day created and perfected it. That's my two-cents.

[@planceau]

the ramones sounds nothing like modern pop punk while many modern pop punk bands sound like the descendants and sing about the same things

[@Thatgamerpunk]

Pierre-Louis Anceau MODERN, no. Classic, yes. Descendents are basically ramones 2.0. They both have the simplistic, upbeat, power chord-driven sound and sing about "sweet" stuff. Hardcore also descended from the Ramones but ramones are much more lax in contrast, which aligns them closer to the pop-punk subgenre. However, a vast number of testimonies solidify the simple fact that the ramones we're the first punk band so they can't be placed in a subgenre.

[@recklessjunkie]

I love the dead milkmen those guys need more love. Just listen to surfing cow. Or any of their songs really..

[@assrake]

Ben Pyle I am 100% with you!!!

[@eevee5jdm483]

Me be like: my day will come and i will be the only one

[@ASSEATSFOOT]

Yusssss I was waiting for a descendents video!! A lot of people forget how essential this band was for modern pop punk. Thank you for giving them some love on here 😊😊

[@TheGarageRecordingSC]

Love me some Hüsker Du !! And even more so, Bob Mould’s solo stuff and Sugar !!

[@ryanmontgomery5988]

Dont listen to this bird...husker were pioneers...mould & Hart were the best

[@CorvinRayne]

This video gets really humorous when, at the right angle, you can pretend Finn’s hat is actually him with an old school afro hi-flattop 🤣

[@dustinlotus2297]

Great Vid! I just realized Shut Up by Blink 182 is basically Parents by The Descendants. This video has made me want to listen to the Descendants! I totally missed out on this band. I also realized that Blink, Saves the Day & The Ataris were really influenced by the Descendants. I also liked the comparison to why old Punk was poppy but wasn't poppy in comparison to what was around at the time. Like how Black Sabbath is the grandfather of metal but they don't sound like Metal in todays standards.

[@uoislame]

I swear the way you describe the Descendants is how I always felt growing up poor and couldn't place it. Damn, I am so glad I found this channel. I don't even like most of the meta core stuff, but I always respect music and what you do is so important to understanding how music has evolved. I grew up loving crossover and eventually fell in love with rap, but the just listening to this channel really speaks to my coming of age music. 100%, I subscribed to pateon because of this video.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Thanks man, appreciate it!

[@dookieeater]

Fun fact listen to the guitar solo in “Circles” by Dag Nasty and the main guitar line in “Learn To Fly” by Foo Fighters. Ummm...it’s practically the same.

[@_fabio1978]

Yes! Now someone please help me with the specimen for "Big Me" by the Foo Fighters... I can't remember the title without the album in my hands... It's from the "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" album!!!

[@maxonmendel5757]

It’s weird cause circles is the name of a sunny day song and sunny day went on to become the foo fighters

[@joeyrogerson83]

@@maxonmendel5757 sunny days didn't become foo, the bassist from sunny day just went on to be in foo.

[@MrMmnngghh]

@@joeyrogerson83 Wasn't it the rhythm section duo of SDRE that was in the first Foo Fighters lineup?

[@amov1escriptending]

A bit like the analogy about Gen-X and the Ramones i guess along with the Buzzcocks, but from a UK perspective i feel like the Undertones had a small part to play in creating the pop-punk/powerpop sound.

[@piotrb8434]

More than small part.

[@Major_Lexx]

Thanks as always mate. Your analysis is great, your critical thought and evidenced based conclusions are spot on. Can't believe the amount of work you put into your vids. Appreciate being schooled on my favourite genre and music in general.

[@lilstjimmy]

What reinforces this is that Tom DeLonge, a definitive pop-punk guitarist talks about how influential Descendents and ALL were in his catchy, riffy playing style, in his "Pursuit of Tone" documentary

[@therealfodder]

3:12 can’t lie, thought you were going to play “Want you bad” by The Offspring

[@cyberbeat11]

pix8175 its pretty similar yes

[@2lostbikes]

Yeah, that's dead on

[@RichieWilliams97]

SAME lol

[@maxonmendel5757]

That cadence is pretty common

[@justinwearn620]

Agent Orange is another good band that i think helped start the pop punk scene, but i agree the descendents were a big influence on the scene

[@MERCHIODOS]

I was doing some digging and I read that Buzzcocks (UK) actually popularized the term pop punk. Buzzcock was created in 1976 while Descendents was created in 1977. Buzzcocks make their sound pop punk because Tony Barber (bassist) joined the band after his old group broke up which was an electronic grouo. the 2 members of Buzzock needed a bassist, he said that his style of bass was more upbeat then traditional rock which made Buzzcock fused rock and electronic together

[@ryanm573]

I think they paved the way for the genre but I think a large foundation was set when Phil Spector worked with Ramones on “end of the century” because it clearly was a punk band going more radio friendly mainstream, which was something Joey was enthusiastic about doing. He made a conscious effort to make it more “pop” along with Spector. There is no doubt decendents helped push the envelope though.

[@Garebear21]

Descendents are one of my favorites, never clicked so fast

[@dakotawint]

I love your videos!! Thanks

[@jeremybaird509]

I grew up in the grunge era and got into punk, specifically straight edge because of some of the things you mentioned like abuse and addiction. I didn’t get into it all the way because I too just wanted a normal life that didn’t involve fights or drug use. Thanks for a great video. Many good points specifically about the continued influence today.

[@ashleynoname3580]

I always get a little taken aback when I realize the Descendants came out of the 80's, because yeah, it was a somewhat violent time for punk and here come the Descendents, looking like they stepped out of story-time suburbia to make their version of a punk band. And dammit, it worked!

[@rickyhunt4075]

The Undertones were the godfathers of pop punk they also did songs mostly centered around teenage topics.

[@superunknown2812]

Descendants had such a unique style then any of the pop punk bands of the late 90s early 2000s they were and are one of the raddest and underated punk bands.

[@emanuelbostan5737]

A lot of people will say it was the Ramones, but it was a different story for them cuz the whole punk sound was still getting discovered. The Descendants and Bad Religion were the first to actually take what was set in stone and add pop into it.

[@MrJoshDrums0490]

That Lil’ Tracy shoutout!!! I think his songs are pretty awesome!! Definitely thought “this is straight up Pop Punk in a trap setting”

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Yeah! He’s so good at that style

[@MrJoshDrums0490]

Pop Punk will always be a style that I find much comfort in, I am happy that young bands are making Pop Punk, even on my local Scene in Puerto Rico

[@l30S3UX]

Hey their movie FILMAGE is one of the best rock documentaries out there

[@lodoublet]

I know some of the people who sudmitted footage for that movie. Rev norb even gets called by name as the camera man in one scene. Check out boris the sprinkler if u havent.

[@lofer9138]

Leo I wanna watch it but idk where I can

[@lodoublet]

@@lofer9138 right now on the tubi app thats on most devices has it free. As well as the fat wreck. And salad days docs. And a bunch of other cool stuff related to punk and metal. The hr from bad brains doc is nuts.

[@craigpatrick1]

I went to the premiere in Fort Collins got to see ALL with Chad & Scott

[@dillchives]

@@lodoublet Cool, thanks! I didn't even realize that film existed, let alone that it's available to watch *right now* . I'm a Boris the Sprinkler fan, too, so it's cool that Rev norb is a small part of it.

[@jdh21403]

My friend refers to I’m The One as “incel punk”

[@comicog3]

That's gold 😂

[@rubberlover666]

"Hope" is somehow even worse!

[@kriskenard]

Can't argue with the truth

[@dookieeater]

That’s funny hahah

[@dave011679]

It's all "friend zone" music.

[@Olly__Zines-By-Blade]

I really love this video, you made everything sound so clear, simple and obvious - I feel like I understand a lot more about earlier music that kinda sounds like pop-punk as well as the actual origins of pop punk :)

[@cirjames2540]

The Descendents included Hardcore Speed Cheesey Punk Positive Pop all wrapped into one with a splash of 80's hair metal and progressive rock. One of my favorite bands of all time. Thank you Bill, Stephan, Milo for years of lifting me up when I felt down. ALL!

[@BDSbowling]

Which of their songs have more a splash of hair metal? I love that kind of sound 😅

[@cirjames2540]

@@BDSbowling Hurtin Crue & Cameage are a couple that have that flair. Stephan Egerton used Chavel guitars and Mesa amps if i remember correctly and was a very under-rated guitarist.

[@reklis666]

The original "I love a girl that loves someone else" emo band. But Jesus I love them!

[@TheSuburban15]

Imma guess that there have been "I want his girlfriend to be my girlfriend" songs for thousands of years.

[@chrissatoshige2730]

Descendents are like my favorite band! I agree they are the full on progenitors of pop punk. They started it and did it the best. I agree with someone who said what about the Dickies. And yes the Ramones. But Descendents encapsulated everything about pop punk. Regular guys, no schtick or costumes, just t shirts and jeans or shorts, kinda nerdy, singing about girls, heartbreak, farts, food and fun. Didnt do drugs, only drank bonus cups! No politics, not too serious, but they did some songs like M16 and Bikeage which were more serious. BTW, Green Day another band hugely influenced by them. And NoFX another band that influenced the pop punk scene.

[@limeeyed]

Love your content man. I'm glad there is someone in the culture who has been through each era of punk with a keen eye for specific obervations and who actually puts the effort into piecing together these documentary / essay styled videos!!!!

[@MontroseThe3rd]

I absolutely loved this video. Cool personal retrospective on a band that helped shape a love of pop punk. Always interesting to see what helped shape someone's love of the genre.

[@hannahelisabeth9323]

I'm off to listen to Zen Arcade.... what an album that is. Never look back.

[@drewolfy]

Im more partial to New Day Rising cuz the songwriting gets switched off between the members and it sounds like a proto 90s college rock Queen to me

[@awm6598]

Just listened to it yesterday. Also The Replacements, Let it Be.

[@vadermasktruth]

HUSKER DU is too underrated. "It's Not Funny Anymore" was one of the first hardcore/punk songs I ever heard back on 1985.

[@punkrocknik]

The Ramones were the progenators of pop punk and punk in general

[@rockinbobokkin7831]

The roots of punk existed long before the Ramones.

[@3stattoo]

Luke Robinett was right and it was mentioned in the video if you were paying attention to it ...

[@Whiteboifrumdaeast]

Luke Robinett kick out the jams by mc5 1969

[@6AM_YT]

I consider the Ramones to be the first pop-punk band, too. They thought their music wasn't any different than the Bay City Rollers or whatever. They were clearly wrong. But they were for sure trying to be a pop band. They also inspired the whole Screeching Weasel vein of pop punk, which also inspired Blink 182, etc.

[@punkrocknik]

@@6AM_YT absolutly ive seen them say in interviews they tried to be like he beach boys or somthing. dont quote me but i believe i heard that in a documentary

[@dunkinking]

Bro I love your channel. Been listening to punk for 20 years now and every time I watch one of your videos I always discover a new favorite band.

[@gustavmarie]

Surprised The Undertones werent mentioned: super poppy and catchy, a skilled melodic singer who became a mainstream pop star for a while, lyrics about girls and chocolate bars, decidely nonpunk image

[@DJCRCKDOWN]

Hey Finn, I remembered that you mentioned that you'll make a crunkcore vid. When you do I felt compelled to tell (or maybe remind?) You about that weird sect of that scene that was like electronic, punk/pop rock? Think like old Cash Cash, Breathe Carolina, Palisades, Blood on the Dance Floor, Ghost Town and so on. Would be super interesting to learn more about that weird sect that gets so little coverage.

[@quentinbringthenumetalchil5125]

Every time I hear about this band, I sometimes hear that “AMOEBA” lyric playing somewhere in my head. Edit: It was Adolescents that I was thinking about, not Descendents. Their names threw me off.

[@samrjhouston]

you not thinking of adolescents nah?

[@quentinbringthenumetalchil5125]

Sam Houston Oh, I got mixed up. Their names threw me in a loop.

[@Jimmykarnage]

Glad to know im not the only one that makes that mistake lol

[@alejandroramirez4470]

funny thing I actually got to see the adolescents at a festival but they weren't on the bill originally. sad I couldn't be there both days to catch descendents too

[@ryanahr2267]

That got stuck in my head all the time due the copious amount of Tony Hawk I played back in the day and now it's gonna be stuck in my head for the next week or so, so thanks for that :P

[@bradmohr8098]

The Queers and Screeching Weasel were the bands that got me into this genre

[@ashleydawley4680]

( not just because of this video, but all of them) i wanted to thank you Finn! you’re videos are educational and nostalgic, people recognize that im “too young” to be a part or the ‘ hardcore scene ‘ but fail to notice my influence was a brother 10 years older than me. i get to relive and better understand the best parts of my life through these videos. thank you so much for you insight and words. i find new bands through you and remember some i may have forgotten, my all time favorite channel. 🤘🏼🤗

[@ashleydawley4680]

*your.. i always make an error. how punk of me... bahahha

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Thank you, much appreciated!

[@Joyceages]

Love me some Descendents. And you threw Dag Nasty in there! Still really want you to go down the rabbit hole in a video for melodic hardcore :)

[@superunknown2812]

Yes like down by law,face to face,ten foot pole just too mention a few

[@InkAndPoet]

With the photo in the thumbnail, I could tell it was going to be Descendants. They also popularized singers wearing glasses. 😋 My first Descendants song was "Nothing With You" btw.

[@scyther2835]

Besides the Fat Music for Fat People and Punk-o-Rama samplers my first actual punk band CD was All and Descendants double disk. Was hooked and went on to get Milo Goes to College after hearing that cd.

[@timward150]

This is a really great video! Always love watching everything you put out, man! I feel like half the bands that I now listen to incessantly I’ve heard of from your videos. I feel like you need to be enshrined in the National Archives with how much of this history and evolution of music you know. Keep it up, my dude!

[@retrojunkie8434]

11 seconds into this video I instantly went oh he’s gonna talk about the descendents 😂

[@VIXXIIMCMLXXXVII]

This literally just made me wanna listen to New Found Glory so badly and I never thought I'd say that again. Hmm...

[@rmsegura7125]

I also got hooked on punk and the Descendents watching skate videos. I got fully into punk, but didnt like to dress like a full-on punk. When I went to college these bands thought me to stay in school and still have a punk attitude: The descendents (Milo got a PHD in micro biology), bad religion (Gregg got a PHD in human envolution), Goldfinger (John is a big time music producer) all of these thought me to go to school and still love punk. Now I am a senior designer for a engineering firm and still love me some punk.

[@Darkestbefourdawn]

Thanks for this video! As a pop punk and emo kid, I've always wanted to get into the Descendants, but I never knew how. I've listened to Milo Goes to College, but it felt a little inaccessible to me. Maybe the songs were all too fast, maybe I found parts of it too cringe-y, maybe hearing them for the first time at 27 turned me off. But knowing where to start is very helpful. I found myself bobbing my head along to almost every song you featured in this video. Thanks a lot!

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

Interesting that they would choose to call themselves The Descendants, when really they're The Ancestors, and every pop-punk band to come after is a descendant of them.

[@davidhannah7691]

I think the Dickies are being overlooked. They precede the Descendents.

[@Backlashed]

buzzcocks

[@iroquoisplisskin1516]

@@Backlashed bingooo

[@nickkemp2334]

Absolutely Buzzcocks!

[@kickonthejams]

Agreed about the Dickies!

[@ironsleet73]

The Damned

[@ChaseMountains]

Nailed it. Definitely... I can't think of anyone else who would take the spot

[@MrKoyuk]

This was a great vid. I first picked up on the Descendents as a Freshmen in HS back in 85 w Milo goes to College. I was sorta riding the hiphop wave that was kicking off, but their music just resonated. They were kids when lots of that early stuff was done and it was like they were talking to me. Whether it was Girl drama in my life, or I needed to let off steam there was always something in their discography I could toss on and get out whatever I needed to. I never stopped listening to them all throughout my life...and now at 51 still crank up their songs both old and new. I introduced my daughter ( now 17 ) to them in her early teens when she was mad at me. I played parents for her...and now they are one of her favorites. They are my ride or die for music!

[@Jideku]

Did you create a spotify playlist for this video??

[@Al-ks2ym]

“How lil Tracy changed pop punk”

[@GregKhar-NU-Metalhead2000]

*ruined

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Tracy is 🔥

[@PigBosley]

@Danny Dircio Don't be a dinosaur

[@daytonasayswhat9333]

I think he’s cool.

[@ThisisStephennn]

Im glad im not the only one that likes lil tracy. And im 37 lol

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

The second Stiff Little Fingers album is really overlooked as for pioneering pop punk.

[@guitarcleveland]

The Descendents, without a doubt, started pop punk. They were so ahead of their time. They're not even close to being one of my favorite punk bands but they deserve the credit.

[@oceansclub]

Always thought about Cheap Trick, as pre-Pop Punk vibe :)

[@sonikku956]

The pop in pop punk is arguably from power pop, so you're spot on

[@xjadit7826]

Dude I’m constantly arguing with people about this the amount of elitists I’ve argued with that say these guys aren’t pop punk is mad I guess technically they’re not but their with out a doubt one of its biggest pioneers

[@trashleyxvx1359]

The dead milkmen definitely come to mind a bit too!! Grateful for your thoughtful content 🖤

[@joshphillips1526]

One of my favorite bands ever 40 yrs old and I'm not a loser still makes me wanna mosh while cheer will always remind me of being a love sick teenager

[@manuelmendez6022]

As far as pop punk is concerned I'd recommend Descendents to a casual fan of punk and to those who appreciate more raw vocals, Screeching Weasel.

[@comicog3]

I remember when the "tr00" pop punk bands were popping up in 2013-2015 defend pop punk Era a lot of the same kids getting into real friends, knuckle puck and the like started repping the get up kids pretty hard. I could always be wrong, but I feel like those bands were getting the shoutey vocals from Midwest emo rather than husker du.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Yeah probably so - but i am certain GUK were into husker du

[@briankerrigan3529]

The Punk Rock MBA , is it possible you could do a video about how prog took over after metalcore as the next big thing?

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

@@briankerrigan3529 But did it? None of the djent bands have been nearly as commercially successful - metalcore bands just started playing generic djent riffs

[@briankerrigan3529]

The Punk Rock MBA , true. But I mean like BTBAM, Opeth, Gojira, Tesseract, Teramaze, Believer, etc. Hoping I am onto something there.

[@ThePunkRockMBA]

Maybe! Those bands are like 20 years old tho

[@HermieMunster]

Cracking video Finn bought back loads of memories I can remember when I first heard the descendants back in the mid eighties and I 100% get where your coming from. It’s videos like these why I subscribed to the channel keep up the good work! If off to dust down the vinyl and listen to the original pop punk.

[@VictorRochaGaming]

Never saw The Descendants live but I saw All. Holy shit, were they great. Killer players.

[@FyrFytr998]

TIL- Travis Barker's Can I Say tattoo was a Dag Nasty Album. Thanks Finn.

[@MrEnviousMonster]

in my opinion, The Ramones had a big part in making pop punk sound.

[@SconnerStudios]

I'd say the Beach Boys honestly. They kind of set up that funky guitar sounds in pop punk, which the Ramones picked up and hit it out of the park. Then the Descendants and Joan Jett brought a bridge to the mainstream pop punk like Green Day and Blink.

[@Infntpaccout1100.3x]

"I wanna rock out, I want to be a punk rock guy... but i also have a strong vision of becoming a scientist." milo is honestly a fucking badass

[@coryrobert7305]

I actually got into the whole street punk thing first when I go into the punk scene and unfortunately I was really snobby about my bands so I totally hated pop-punk. There's something about going from GBH, the Casualties, Blitz, The Exploited and then I'd hear Screeching Weasel, the descendants, the adolescents and stuff and be like, okay this is way to slow, the guy is singing about his girlfriend not screaming about anarchy and shit so I didn't want anything to do with it. My snobby self missed out on a lot of good music back then. I found a lot of good pop-punk bands in my 20s, but I wish I would have been more open minded in my teenage years. You're also totally right about the way people dressed. All the dudes who were into pop punk at my school were like popular guys who played baseball and actually attended school and got good grades. I'd walk past these dudes who were talking about how they liked punk, but were kind preppy in how they dressed and I was wearing my ripped jeans, bullet belt, the leather jacket with spikes all over it and a bunch of bands I had spray painted on it and a mohawk. I was like, these dudes know nothing about punk haha. Oh to be young.

[@lodoublet]

Same early i was into the meat men type punk. When i got a ramones cd my sophmore year i was like wtf is this soft ass shit!? Not punk.... Like 20 some years later ramones r in my top 5. I can understand why now.

[@67pearse]

Check out the Trash theory 2-part series on the history of pop punk. Lots of interesting stuff and great music in that!

[@taikiruk4193]

The thing that you said in 12:06 resonates with me a lot. Back in 2003-2005 I was one of the kids in high school who loved all these sub-culture stuffs but at the same time loved going to school. I just hated the notion “you’re not a punk if you don’t skip school”. Guess what? I thought if that doesn’t make me a punk, then I’ll let me be myself. I am forever grateful with the choice I made that time. Thank you for all the content and keep on going Finn! Love from Sabah, Malaysia!

[@christiannovia893]

Thanks for the history, I did wonder who kicked it off. I'm a fan of The Wonder Years and I know they were inspired by bands like New Found Glory, but I didn't know the lineage beyond that.