''Two Things at Once'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

, released in 1988 through

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

. It combines the band's 1982 debut album ''

Milo Goes to College ''Milo Goes to College'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Descendents, released on September 4, 1982 through New Alliance Records. Its title refers to singer Milo Aukerman's decision to leave the band to attend college, a ...

'' with the 1985 release '' Bonus Fat'', itself a compilation of 1981's '' Fat EP'', 1979's "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" single, and the track "Global Probing" from a 1981 compilation titled ''Chunks''. ''Two Things at Once'' has been described by critics as an essential collection of the band's early years.

Background

From 1981–86 the Descendents' releases had been published by

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Cali ...

, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

run by D. Boon and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

of the San Pedro-based punk band the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

, who were contemporaries of the Descendents. Following Boon's death in 1985, New Alliance was sold to

in 1987. SST released the Descendents' 1987 albums ''

All All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...

'' and ''

Liveage! ''Liveage!'' is a live album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1987 through SST Records. It is the band's first live album, it was recorded July 13, 1987 at First Avenue in Minneapolis during their summer 1987 "FinALL" ...

'' and also re-released all of their previous albums. ''Two Things at Once'' was released in 1988, combining all of the band's recorded output from 1979 to 1982 in a single release: Their debut single "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" (1979), the '' Fat EP'' (1981), their first full-length album ''

'' (1982), and the song "Global Probing" from the 1981 New Alliance compilation ''Chunks''.

Reception

Mike DaRonco of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave ''Two Things at Once'' four stars out of five, saying that "All that mischievous teenage skaters could appreciate is here, classics like 'Myage', 'I'm Not a Loser', 'Bikeage', and 'Hope'. But for all those who already own their "best of" ('' Somery'', which features the previously mentioned songs), other less-known hits such as 'Marriage', 'I'm Not a Punk', and 'Catalina' are exclusive to this release."

Jenny Eliscu Jenny Eliscu is a journalist, radio host, podcaster and producer. She has been an on-air host for Sirius XM since 2007. She was previously a contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, penning features and cover stories on artists includi ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called the album "an essential introduction to the group."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *

Milo Aukerman Milo Jay Aukerman (; born January 1, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and former research molecular biologist. Aukerman is most widely known for being the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to be ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Frank Navetta Frank Navetta (March 6, 1962 – October 31, 2008) was an American musician who was the original guitarist of the punk rock band the Descendents, which he co-founded. He formed the band in Manhattan Beach, California with Dave Nolte in the late 1 ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, vocals on "Ride the Wild", ''Bonus Fat'' cover art *

Tony Lombardo Tony Lombardo (born 1945) is an American musician who was the original bassist in the punk rock band the Descendents. He joined the band in 1979 and played on their debut single, the '' Fat EP'' (1981), and the albums '' Milo Goes to College'' ( ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, vocals on "It's a Hectic World" * Bill Stevenson –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Production *

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot Coll ...

– producer and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

of tracks 1–21 *David Nolte – producer and

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

of tracks 22 and 23 *Jeff Atkinson – ''Milo Goes to College'' cover art; Milo character illustration on ''Bonus Fat'' cover art

References

{{Authority control 1988 compilation albums Descendents albums SST Records compilation albums