The Descendents aren’t exactly pop punk as such. This is still too fast and too aggressive for that. The sound is closer to what has been described as “melodic hardcore”, or in other words, hardcore punk that isn’t just angry noise!
Nonetheless, their music was very influential in the california punk scene, which went on to spawn the pop punk genre. For better or worse.
The elements are all here – the song has a simple, catchy guitar riff, boundless energy, lyrics about a girl.
It’s true though, that the lyrics of this song are somewhat darker than you would expect from pop punk. The subject is about a guy who sees the object of his affection with another guy and is railing angrily against it.
Plus, the song is still furiously fast. But for teenage angst and fury, you can’t beat it!
The track was released on Milo Goes To College, an album written as a cheeky reaction to Milo Aukerman, the singer, leaving the band to go to college. The album was their first proper album, and came out in 1982.