Song of the Day 1/10: Wheatus, “Teenage Dirtbag”

Wheatus is a one-hit wonder whose big hit is more than 20 years old, but it’s become a classic because it’s been revived so many times over the years.

Brendan Brown formed the band in his hometown of Northport, Long Island, which became famous when he was a child for a Satanic murder by a teenager wearing an AC/DC t-shirt. “Here I was, 10 years old, walking around with a case full of AC/DC and Iron Maiden and Metallica – and all the parents and the teachers and the cops thought I was some kind of Satan worshipper.”

Brown wrote the song in 1995, but it got its release in 2000 with the band’s eponymous debut LP. It had some quick success when it was picked up for the teen movie “Loser,” reaching No. 7 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks in summer 2000, but it did better in Australia, where it went to No. 1 in their summer that December, then No. 2 in the UK.

It got a big boost in 2012 when One Direction, best known for launching the career of Harry Styles, included it in their concert film. The obvious problem is that nobody is going to mistake Harry Styles for a dirtbag.

Phoebe Bridgers gave the song a sensitive acoustic reading a few years ago that Brown said he liked a lot. So do I.

The band is still active. Here they are performing “Teenage Dirtbag” last summer at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach.