Cool to Be You
Cool to Be You | ||||
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Descendents | ||||
Released | March 23, 2004 | |||
Recorded | February and April 2002 | |||
Studio | The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado; Planet of Sound, Wilmington, Delaware | |||
Genre | Hardcore punk[1] | |||
Length | 36:26 | |||
Label | Fat Wreck Chords (FAT-672) | |||
Producer | Bill Stevenson | |||
Descendents chronology | ||||
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Singles from Everything Sucks | ||||
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Cool to Be You is the sixth studio album by the American
Background and recording
In 1987 Descendents singer Milo Aukerman had left the band to pursue a career in biochemistry. The remaining members—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson—changed the band's name to All and released eight albums on Cruz Records and Interscope Records between 1988 and 1995 with singers Dave Smalley, Scott Reynolds, and Chad Price. Aukerman contributed occasional songwriting and backing vocals, and in 1995 decided to return to music. The members decided to operate as two bands, working with Aukerman as the Descendents and with Price as All. Both bands signed to Epitaph Records and the Descendents released Everything Sucks in 1996. Following the album's supporting tours Aukerman had returned to his science career, though he recorded backing vocals for All's 1998 album Mass Nerder. All also released Problematic in 2000 and Live Plus One in 2001, a double live album that included a Descendents disc recorded in 1996.
The recording sessions for Cool to Be You took place with Aukerman in February 2002 at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, with additional recording done in April at Planet of Sound in Wilmington, Delaware, and were produced by Stevenson.[2] The band recorded the music for the songs live in the studio with minimal overdubbing, and Aukerman's vocals were recorded over the instrumental tracks.[3] However, these recordings were not released for another two years. Stevenson explained that the gap of eight years between Descendents albums was due to the band members having children and to his father's death.[3]
Release
For the release of Cool to Be You the Descendents signed to
Themes
The songs on Cool to Be You address topics including love and relationships, sociopolitical commentary, the death of parents, nerdiness, and flatulence.[3][1] "'Merican", their first overtly political song, addresses positive and negative aspects of American history, celebrating cultural figures such as Otis Redding, Duke Ellington, and Walt Whitman while condemning slavery, Joseph McCarthy, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Vietnam War.[6][7] Stevenson wrote "One More Day" about the death of his father, who he had taken in and cared for throughout the last year of his life: "He and I always had a terrible relationship. We spent a good part of my adult life being somewhat estranged from each other. He became ill and I took care of him for a little while. And then he died. That song is just about his and my relationship. Just to get that out of me and not holding it inside anymore, is a huge relief for me [...] Every single time I hear that song, it just freaks me out. I've never, ever written a song that's freaked me out that much."[3]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
IGN | 8/10[8] |
Kerrang! | [9] |
Ox-Fanzine | 10/10[10] |
Pitchfork | 7.1/10[11] |
Punknews.org | [1] |
Rolling Stone | [12] |
Spin | A−[13] |
Cool to Be You became the fourth Descendents release to chart, reaching #143 on the
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Talking" | Milo Aukerman | 2:27 |
2. | "Nothing with You" | Aukerman | 2:29 |
3. | "She Don't Care" | Karl Alvarez | 1:51 |
4. | "'Merican" | Alvarez | 1:51 |
5. | "Dog and Pony Show" | Alvarez | 2:28 |
6. | "Blast Off" | Aukerman | 2:27 |
7. | "Dreams" | Aukerman | 2:56 |
8. | "Cool to Be You" | Alvarez | 2:24 |
9. | "Maddie" | Bill Stevenson | 3:06 |
10. | "Mass Nerder" | Aukerman | 2:47 |
11. | "One More Day" | Stevenson | 3:33 |
12. | "Tack" | Aukerman | 2:21 |
13. | "Anchor Grill" | Stevenson | 3:03 |
14. | "Dry Spell" | Aukerman | 2:43 |
Total length: | 36:26 |
Personnel
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References
- ^ a b c d e Paul, Aubin (March 23, 2004). "Review: Cool to Be You". Punknews.org. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
- ^ a b Cool to Be You (CD liner). Descendents. San Francisco: Fat Wreck Chords. 2004. FAT672-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Interviews". descendentsonline.com. Descendents. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ "F.A.Q." descendentsonline.com. Descendents. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- Allmusic. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Ballard, Ben (April 30, 2004). "Cool To Be You". IGN. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- EMAP. p. 56.
- ^ Hiller, Joachim (March 2004). "Review - Descendents - Cool To Be You LP/CD". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ Ubl, Sam (May 13, 2004). "Descendents: Cool to Be You". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 8, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ Abowitz, Richard (May 13, 2004). "New CDs". Rolling Stone. No. 948. p. 74.
- ^ Richardson, Sean (May 2004). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 5. SPIN Media, LLC. pp. 105, 107.
- Allmusic. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- ^ "Descendents Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard charts. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- ^ "Descendents Album & Song Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard charts. Retrieved January 31, 2010.