Long Island's Wheatus drops new Christmas version of 'Teenage Dirtbag'
LI's Wheatus is in the holiday spirit. Credit: Jane Greenwood
The legend of Wheatus’ hit single, “Teenage Dirtbag” from 2000 continues to grow as the band from Northport has now released a holiday version called, “Christmas Dirtbag.” The song’s catchy structure remains intact with new lyrics and some sleigh bells peppered in for effect.
“We’ve talked about doing a Christmas song for many years, and this seemed like the perfect year to make it happen,” said Wheatus founder, frontman and songwriter Brendan B. Brown in a released statement. “It’s kind of like a version for the kids — ‘A Christmas Story’ meets the ‘Dirtbag vibe.’ It was a lot of fun to make.”
The original “Teenage Dirtbag” focuses on a young man secretly in love with a girl named Noel who he believes doesn’t acknowledge his existence. In “Christmas Dirtbag,” the main character feels ignored by Santa Claus.
The new holiday version starts out, “First night of Noel, asleep with the fire burning. Jingling bells and sugarplum fairies turning. But I don't see any presents for me. Does Santa Claus know who I am? Does Santa Claus even care about me?”
Toward the end of the tune, instead of Noel asking Brown (BB in the song) to go see Iron Maiden, Santa arrives with a special surprise singing, “I’ve got two tickets to AC/DC, BB. Aftershow party at CBGB’s. I’m just a Christmas Dirtbag, BB like you. Ho Ho Ho Ho-Ho!”
The song is part of a five-song EP called, “Just a Dirtbag Christmas,” which features three other holiday originals (“You Made Me Believe in Christmas,” “Feels Like Christmas,” “Mean Christmas”) and an instrumental string quartet version of “Teenage Dirtbag,” arranged by Andrew Livingston and performed by the Rhythm Method.
“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?” added Brown. “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!”
The band is currently touring overseas but will return to play Spotlight at The Paramount in Huntington on Nov. 24 and 25.
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
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