I Don't Want to Grow Up
Encyclopedia
I Don't Want to Grow Up is the second album by the Manhattan Beach, California
-based punk rock
band the Descendents
, released in 1985 through New Alliance Records
. It marked the end of a two-year hiatus for the band, during which singer Milo Aukerman
had attended college and drummer Bill Stevenson had joined Black Flag
.
was departing the band to study biology
at the University of California, San Diego
. The band continued performing for a time with Ray Cooper on vocals, who then switched to rhythm guitar
, and occasionally with Aukerman when he would make return visits to Los Angeles. At the same time, drummer Bill Stevenson had also joined Black Flag
, intending to be in both bands at once but soon finding it too difficult due to Black Flag's touring and recording schedule:
With Aukerman in college and Stevenson in Black Flag, the Descendents went on hiatus from 1983 to 1985. During this time lead guitar
ist Frank Navetta
burned all of his equipment and moved to Oregon
, while Cooper and bassist Tony Lombardo
performed as the Ascendants. In 1985 Stevenson left Black Flag and he, Aukerman, Cooper, and Lombardo reconvened as the Descendents for I Don't Want to Grow Up, recorded that April at Music Lab studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
with producer
and engineer David Tarling and published by New Alliance Records
. Lombardo was unable to tour with the band due to his job with the United States Postal Service
, and was replaced by Doug Carrion
, who performed on their three tours in support of I Don't Want to Grow Up as well as on the subsequent album Enjoy!
In 1987 New Alliance was sold to SST Records
, who re-released I Don't Want to Grow Up on cassette
and compact disc
.
commented that the album "featured the most singable tunes the band had ever written. 'Good Good Things,' 'In Love This Way,' and 'Can't Go Back' were positively sunny by Descendents standards; the Beach Boys-gone-punk vibe was an obvious precursor to Weezer
. The real advance was their ability to give strong melodies to thrash songs: 'My World' and 'Silly Girl' border on heavy metal but leave out the goofy excess and include way more self-pity."
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band the Descendents
Descendents
The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...
, released in 1985 through New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records was the record label founded by The Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich after the example of Black Flag's SST Records...
. It marked the end of a two-year hiatus for the band, during which singer Milo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman is an American singer, songwriter and research biochemist. Aukerman is perhaps most widely known for being the lead singer of the early Los Angeles area punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to be pioneers of modern "pop punk"...
had attended college and drummer Bill Stevenson had joined Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
.
Background
The Descendents' 1982 album Milo Goes to College had been so named because singer Milo AukermanMilo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman is an American singer, songwriter and research biochemist. Aukerman is perhaps most widely known for being the lead singer of the early Los Angeles area punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to be pioneers of modern "pop punk"...
was departing the band to study biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. The band continued performing for a time with Ray Cooper on vocals, who then switched to rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, and occasionally with Aukerman when he would make return visits to Los Angeles. At the same time, drummer Bill Stevenson had also joined Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, intending to be in both bands at once but soon finding it too difficult due to Black Flag's touring and recording schedule:
The band had time off so I spent like two years with Black Flag. I got in over my head. When I joined Flag I had every intention of doing both bands but it was physically impossible. Flag had all this stuff in progress, so I put Descendents on hold.
With Aukerman in college and Stevenson in Black Flag, the Descendents went on hiatus from 1983 to 1985. During this time lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist Frank Navetta
Frank Navetta
Frank Navetta was a guitarist for the Southern California punk rock band Descendents. He was part of the band's original lineup and played with the band for six years. He formed the Descendents with Tony Lombardo and Bill Stevenson in 1979 and released the single "Ride the Wild"/"It's a Hectic...
burned all of his equipment and moved to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, while Cooper and bassist Tony Lombardo
Tony Lombardo
Tony Lombardo was the bassist with the pioneering punk rock band Descendents between 1978 and 1985. Lombardo was part of the original Descendents lineup with guitarist Frank Navetta and drummer Bill Stevenson.-Early years with Descendents:...
performed as the Ascendants. In 1985 Stevenson left Black Flag and he, Aukerman, Cooper, and Lombardo reconvened as the Descendents for I Don't Want to Grow Up, recorded that April at Music Lab studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and engineer David Tarling and published by New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records
New Alliance Records was the record label founded by The Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich after the example of Black Flag's SST Records...
. Lombardo was unable to tour with the band due to his job with the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, and was replaced by Doug Carrion
Doug Carrion
From the moment Doug Carrions mom took him to the legendary Light House in Hermosa Beach, California to see Jazz for the first time at the age of 9, his passion became music. He taught himself to play guitar and began his career in music as a musician - playing in underground favorites such as...
, who performed on their three tours in support of I Don't Want to Grow Up as well as on the subsequent album Enjoy!
In 1987 New Alliance was sold to SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
, who re-released I Don't Want to Grow Up on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
Reception
Ned Raggett of Allmusic gave I Don't Want to Grow Up four stars out of five, saying that "When the four want to be straight up and perfectly poppy, they can and do with smashing success, with surprisingly mature, emotional lyrics and playing that doesn't rely on all-speed all the time." In a 2004 biography of the band, Jenny Eliscu of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
commented that the album "featured the most singable tunes the band had ever written. 'Good Good Things,' 'In Love This Way,' and 'Can't Go Back' were positively sunny by Descendents standards; the Beach Boys-gone-punk vibe was an obvious precursor to Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
. The real advance was their ability to give strong melodies to thrash songs: 'My World' and 'Silly Girl' border on heavy metal but leave out the goofy excess and include way more self-pity."
Track listing
Band
- Milo AukermanMilo AukermanMilo Aukerman is an American singer, songwriter and research biochemist. Aukerman is perhaps most widely known for being the lead singer of the early Los Angeles area punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to be pioneers of modern "pop punk"...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Tony LombardoTony LombardoTony Lombardo was the bassist with the pioneering punk rock band Descendents between 1978 and 1985. Lombardo was part of the original Descendents lineup with guitarist Frank Navetta and drummer Bill Stevenson.-Early years with Descendents:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ray Cooper – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Bill Stevenson – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Production
- David Tarling – producer, engineer
- John Golden – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...