Wheatus’ playlist

Teenage Dirtbag and Wheatus frontman Brendan Brown all grown up.

“Teenage Dirtbag,” the most outstanding adolescent underdog anthem to ever be, is turning 15.

A decade and a half has gone by and time still can’t beat on the champion tune.

The song that sings the words of an ageless diary entry of a schoolkid loser who finally wins the it-girl and two tickets to an Iron Maiden concert remains as relevant and youthful as it was upon its release.

“Teenage Dirtbag” gained more muscle and extra longevity when acts like One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer and “Same Love” advocate Mary Lambert covered the global hit and shoved it head on into the present and onto a new generation.

Right now, Wheatus, the little rock band from New York responsible for “Teenage Dirtbag,” is celebrating the milestone and success of their self-titled multi-million selling debut album with their Wheatus 15th Anniversary Tour.

To mark the event and just how timeless “Teenage Dirtbag” is, I called up frontman Brendan Brown and had him make a playlist of his favorite ageless tracks.

.

True Dreams of Wichita – Soul Coughing

“‘True Dreams of Wichita’ and ‘Lazy Bones.’ I’m cheating by squeezing two songs into one choice here. I am super attracted to songs that feel like New York City, which is my hometown. I need NYC energy when I’m out on tour and before I go on stage. These songs bring it to me. Soul Coughing are responsible for some of the most important rewrites of rock, hip hop and pop arrangements. They had a heavy influence on millennial music. I know they had a heavy influence on me.”

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

“The sound of the entire Highway to Hell record represents a pinnacle for analog recording. A few years before CD’s tried to ruin our ears this masterpiece came. Go get it on good vinyl and let it rip your ears off. It rules. The song is just too good.”

All In Your Mind – Beck

“From my favorite Beck record, Sea Change. If you need to relax, let yourself off the hook for failing at life and start on a new path this is the song.”

Dilate – Ani DiFranco

“Ani is one of my heroes and this song melts me into a puddle of quivering 14-year-oldness.”

The Mission – Rush

“I’ve been a very serious Rush fan since I was about 13. There is no Rush song that I cannot play on guitar, although I was better at it when I was 16. I’ve seen Rush 22 times. This is one of the times they wrapped up all their magic powers into one song. Pop, math, great musicianship and uplifting lyrics. I love it.”

.

Penny Lane – The Beatles

“I should make a playlist of the Beatles on their own, but the big two for me are ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields.’”

Wheatus is on their 15th Anniversary Tour right now. Click here for tour dates and follow the band on twitter and facebook.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jun 10 2015. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.