VWMusic

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By Andrew Daly
andrew@vinylwriter.com

The recent TikTok viral revival of classic indie staple “Teenage Dirtbag” surprised many, but for Wheatus, this latest surge is just another day at the office.

Hailing from Long Island, NY, Wheatus experienced its first taste of commercial success in 2000 when “Teenage Dirtbag” reached No. 7 on the alternative rock charts, featuring in multiple movies to boot, most notably, Loser.

An anthem reflecting on feelings of angst and isolation, “Teenage Dirtbag” has resonated with millions of fans across two generations since its new millennium release via the band’s self-titled debut album released through Columbia Records.

Harshly ignored by its label in the wake of its debut, Wheatus soldiered on, continuing to release quality music, never once feeling uncomfortable in the shadow of the song that made them famous.

In 2009, “Teenage Dirtbag” surfaced again, this time via the series Generation Kill, and yet again in 2012 when teenage boy band One Direction started running through their own rendition of the track during their concerts.

For ten years, “Teenage Dirtbag” laid dormant, populating various mix CDs, iTunes playlists, and nostalgia-steeped Netflix originals until a new viral TikTok trend in 2022 buoyed the track’s fortunes once again.

It seems the lifespan and enduring relevance of “Teenage Dirtbag” is truly evergreen, which speaks to the iconic legacy of the track.

As “Teenage Dirtbag” continues its latest viral ascent, Matthew Milligan and Brendan Brown took the time to share their thoughts on the track’s latest boom and the history of Wheatus.

Andrew:
Starting with “Teenage Dirtbag,” the track has experienced yet another resurgence. To what do you attribute its continued relevance?

Matthew:
Well, we certainly have to give credit to the dozens of amazing artists who have covered/reinterpreted the song over the years. Every time it seems like the song is fading a bit, someone amazing comes along and reintroduces it to a new audience. On top of that, the narrative of being young, feeling misunderstood, and struggling to connect with someone who “gets” them is one that will always resonate with people. We’ll never understand exactly why the song keeps coming back, but that’s our best guess!

Andrew:
What was your initial reaction to the track coming in at number one via Spotify?

Matthew:
To be honest, I initially thought it was a mistake. [Laughs]. Our agent texted it to us, and I just said, “That couldn’t POSSIBLY be correct.” But it turns out it was true, and for a little while there, “Teenage Dirtbag” was the most searched song on Spotify. Surreal is the only way to describe it.  

Andrew:
Going back, how did Wheatus form?

Brendan:
It was just me and a Tascam Portastudio four-track for a while, just playing all the instruments myself. Then around 1997, I started putting the band together. I bumped into Phil Jiminez – who I’d been in a band with around ’93-’93 – in a Guitar Center and played him “Teenage Dirtbag” right there in the store. He offered to combine forces and gear in his studio, so that’s how we started working on the album together. I’d also been in another band with Rich – the original Wheatus bassist – and when I needed a bass player for the self-titled Wheatus album, he was the obvious choice. And then my brother Pete was a drummer, so that was just perfect too.

Andrew:
What was the initial impetus for the track?

Brendan:
I knew I wanted to write a song called “Dirtbag” or “Teenage Dirtbag,” and I had the little acoustic riff from way back in college, and I started putting a melody to it. I wanted to write about what it was like being a child in Northport, Long Island, in the ’80s, but that just wasn’t really working in the song, and that’s when I started incorporating the idea of characters. It went from being autobiographical and not working to being fictionalized and working.

Andrew:
Walk me through the recording of “Teenage Dirtbag.”

Brendan:
We recorded it four times, from ’96-’99, and finally, the last time was at my mother’s house in February/March of 2000. The process was to try and get it right. If I’d have told a producer I wanted the acoustic guitars from “Fire and Rain” and the electric guitars from Ride the Lightning, and the drums to have a floaty hip-hop sound on the kick but with a rock ‘n’ roll snare and hi-hat, it would have been difficult to explain. So instead, I figured out how to make that recipe myself, which took about four years. Then by the time we got round to the 4th one, we knew what to do. 

Andrew:
Its first exposure was through its inclusion in the Loser soundtrack, right?

Brendan:
I’m not sure if Loser actually had a soundtrack. The song is featured in the film, but as far as I know, there isn’t a full soundtrack. There’s a 12-inch single version of it. I think the first exposure was probably when it went to radio and stores in July of 2000.

Andrew:
Despite that, as I understand it, the track’s initial press junket was bumpy. Take me through what happened there.

Brendan:
The way it was delivered to radio was a little bit difficult for us. It was doing well in alternative radio, then made it up to no. 7 on the alternative rock chart, but then when it started doing well in the pop chart, the alternative stations weren’t as interested anymore. In the end, it just became something the label wasn’t interested in pushing, and it seemed that by November, they weren’t interested in us at all.

Andrew:
To that end, what sort of label support did your debut record receive? 

Brendan:
In some places very good support, but at home in America, it was kind of a botched campaign. I don’t think anyone who was servicing it really understood the song. Our A&R guy Kevin [Patrick] was into it, but that’s about as far as it went. It was Australian, U.K., and European offices who did it right; they were really on top of it.

Andrew:
What sort of struggles did Wheatus face in the ensuing years?

Brendan:
Not being successful at home was weird. We never really got used to being successful musically. We saw what could be but never really lived it. So, that was basically what those next years were like. We had some great tours overseas, which we were – and still are – super grateful for, but it was hard. That’s how we learned to be self-sufficient.

Andrew:
How did that experience ultimately lead Wheatus down a path of being an indie again?

Brendan:
We always functioned a little bit like an independent band, except for a short time that we had management. We only ever did one tour that was financially supported by the label, and it was only one month long. We stopped taking tours like that afterward because it felt like a mistake; it felt like a way for us to be subjected to an agenda that wasn’t ours, an agenda that wasn’t healthy for us. We were functionally independent before we signed to Columbia, so when we ended up independent again, it almost felt like going back to normal.

Andrew:
Were you expecting “Teenage Dirtbag” to pop up again in 2009 via Generation Kill?

Matthew:
They first asked for our permission, and we authorized it, so we weren’t totally surprised. But we had NO idea how it would be used/performed in the context of the show, and that part absolutely blew us away. It still might be the most emotional and powerful usage of the song that we’ve ever seen. 

Andrew:
Again, in 2012, it popped up with One Direction. What happened there?

Matthew:
That one we had no idea about! We found out via Twitter the first night they played it, and we were stunned. And then we only became more stunned when it became a staple of their live show for over a year. We got to meet them and their band and are still friendly with some of them. They reintroduced the song to a whole new generation at that time. We’ll be forever grateful to them for that.

Andrew:
While they played it live, they didn’t record it. Any idea why they chose to forgo that step?

Matthew:
Not really! But they did make it a huge feature of their concert film/documentary, so that was pretty rad.

Andrew:
Of course, “Teenage Dirtbag” has become synonymous with pro wrestling. Did you see that coming?

Brendan:
Nope. [Laughs]. But we have Spyder Nate Webb to thank for that. He’s the reason the wrestling community knows about the song. He’s been walking out to “Dirtbag” for his whole wrestling career; it’s super cool. And he’s become one of our dearest friends. And the wrestling community is a bunch of weirdos like us; we feel very at home among them.

Andrew:
While “Teenage Dirtbag” and the first record are your most well-known, you’ve got four other albums. Which is the most meaningful?

Brendan:
Probably The Valentine LP; that’s my favorite one to play songs from. That one makes me really happy.

Andrew:
How would you describe your songwriting evolution on The Valentine LP?

Brendan:
It got more progressive and experimental, but it’s still always about melody and the hook; that’s always been the most important thing. I think I evolved a little bit on orchestration and arrangement and make better decisions on what the instrument is doing.

Andrew:
It’s been nine years since that record, Brendan. Will we see another Wheatus album?

Brendan:
It’s been a long time since a full record, but we have put out plenty of music! We released two new-ish standalone tracks, “Tipsy” and “Lullaby,” plus a live album recorded during our 2019 tour, M: Live in America. Since then, we’ve been releasing pairs of singles: a re-recorded version of a song from our debut album, partnered with what we’re calling “Lost Songs,” which are songs from throughout our career that sort of feel like they belonged on album number one. Re-recording our first album and the regeneration of those masters to own ourselves has taken a long time, but we’re finishing that up soon.

Andrew:
Many observers will ultimately boil Wheatus down to a “one-hit wonder.” Regardless of if that’s true or not, does that distinction make you feel relegated?

Brendan:
Absolutely not! I’m quite happy that people know our song. It’s our song, and I wrote it. It wasn’t written by a songwriting/production committee or pondered over by svengalis in an ivory tower in a record label office. There were no outside influences on that song. It came together like I wanted it to, and I’m happy to be known for it. 

– Andrew Daly (@vwmusicrocks) is the Editor-in-Chief for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at andrew@vinylwriter.com