Fat was the name of an early
EP by everyone's favourite nerd punks, the
Descendents. Released in 1981 on Greg Ginn's legendary
SST label, a year before their defining debut album,
Milo Goes to College, it was a typical slice of SoCal
hardcore: six minutes of bruising guitar, warped humour and
teen angst.
Tracklisting:
My Dad Sucks (0:36) - Very loud, very angry teenage rant, finishing as quickly as it opens, almost before the listener has time to breathe. Try and guess what the lyrics are about.
Mr. Bass (2:06) - Twisted surf rock with bizarre lyrics about fishing. Contains the memorable line: "They were biting at an alarming rate / Mr. Bass, he was irate."
I Like Food (0:18) - "I like food, food tastes good / I like food, food tastes good / Juicy burgers, greasy fries / Turkey legs and raw fish eyes / Teenage girls with ketchup too / Get out of my way or I'll eat you / I like food, food tastes good / I like food, food tastes good / Gonna turn dining back into eating / I like food, food tastes good / I like food, food tastes good."
(The Descendents were not an overtly political band.)
Hey Hey (1:33) - The foetus of punk-pop. Milo perfects his early, booming vocal style over a brutally simple three-chord punk backing.
Weinerschnitzel (0:13) - More warped, food-based humour: "Welcome to Der Weinerschnitzel, may I take your order please?" "Yeah, I want - TWO LARGE COKES, TWO LARGE FRIES, CHILI-CHEESE DOG, LARGE PEPPER SUPER DELUXE WITH CHEESE AND TOMATO!" "You want bill sperm with that?" "NO!"
Global Probing (1:07) - Classic hyperspeed teen angst singalong. "It takes a long time to get what you want, no matter how hard you try..."
Fat was the band's first release with singer Milo Aukerman, and stands in stark contrast to the much gentler surf-pop of their only previous release, the "Ride the Wild" single. They grew up somewhat before the Milo Goes to College album, so this is definitely the loudest and most "hardcore" of their early records.