Descendents albums was due to the band members having children and to his father's death. Release For the release of Cool to Be You the Descendents signed to Fat Wreck Chords. Label head and musician Fat Mike was a longtime fan of the band, and his enthusiasm for working with them was a major factor in their decision to sign to the label. Stevenson commented that "If you've got the owner of the label saying he wants to put out a record by what is probably his favorite band of all time, that's rad. That's the best possible position for a band to be in." The album was preceded by the 'Merican EP, released February 10, 2004 and featuring the tracks "Nothing with You" and Merican" from the album as well as three B-sides from the album's sessions: "Here with Me", "I Quit", and "Alive". "Nothing with You" was released to radio the same day. Cool to Be You followed on March 23 and was released in both CD and LP formats, with a cover illustration drawn by Chris Shary depicting the band's Milo character drawn on graph paper. Themes The songs on Cool to Be You address topics including love and relationships, sociopolitical commentary, the death of parents, nerdiness, and flatulence. 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. 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." Reception Cool to Be You became the fourth Descendents release to chart, reaching #143 on the Billboard 200 and #6 amongst independent albums. Al Campbell of Allmusic rated it four