Wheatus Release Christmas-Themed Remake Of “Teenage Dirtbag”
If you know the name Wheatus, chances are you’ve only heard it attached to “Teenage Dirtbag,” the Long Island alt-rock band’s hit 2000 single. The track is a classic — just ask pre-fame Phoebe Bridgers — and we respect that main Wheatus dude Brendan B. Brown used to lurk in the Stereogum comments section. Now the band has delivered a new holiday version of their signature song.
In fact, Wheatus have a whole Christmas EP out today. Just A Dirtbag Christmas begins with “Christmas Dirtbag,” a new yuletide remake of “Teenage Dirtbag” in which Brown longs for the attention of Santa Claus, not a girl. There are four more tracks after that, about which Brown explains:
We’ve talked about doing a Christmas song for many years, and this seemed like the perfect year to make it happen. But after much discussion we couldn’t settle on just one idea, and we wound up with five! So, we figured – why not make it an EP? There’s a big pop rock song, a vintage 1950s number, a dark & heavy one, a classy instrumental, and of course we couldn’t resist a Christmas Dirtbag…we wanted there to be something for everyone!
Stream “Christmas Dirtbag” and the full Just A Dirtbag Christmas EP below.
Just A Dirtbag Christmas is out now on Sony/Montauk Mantis.