UK singer-songwriter Cat Burns has released her cover of Wheatus’s 2000 pop-punk anthem Teenage Dirtbag.
The song has enjoyed a resurgence over the past couple of years thanks to TikTok, and Burns has been performing it on her recent UK and European tour.
“Teenage Dirtbag has always felt like a bit of a queer anthem to me, even if it wasn’t meant to be - I love that I didn’t have to change a single lyric,” she says. “Watching this version get so much love on tour has been amazing. It’s a song for all the misfits, and I’ve put my own unapologetic spin on it. Same attitude, but with a vibe that’s true to my story.”
It may often be sung with celebratory gusto, but Teenage Dirtbag’s roots are dark, to say the least. Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, songwriter and Wheatus frontman Brendan B Brown confirmed that it was inspired by “a drug-induced, satanic ritual homicide by some teenagers in my neighbourhood.”
The murderer, it turns out, was wearing an AC/DC t-shirt. Just 10 at the time, Brown was a fan of the band, so was perceived as a “dirtbag” in the local community.
Discussing the making of the song, Brown said: “I have vivid memories of explaining to the producer, Phil [Jimenez], that I wanted Teenage Dirtbag to sound like Metallica, AC/DC, Paul Simon and James Taylor from the waist up. And then, from the waist down, LL Cool J and Public Enemy. Like, hip-hop feet with rock’n’roll hands.
“As a production concept, that’s difficult. But every time it comes on the radio, I’m proud. It’s this weaponised piece of pop culture. When we play it, if the room is full, the crowd sing so loud we can’t hear ourselves.”
Cat Burns released Early Twenties, her debut album, earlier this year, and is set to unveil her next track, Girls, in January 2025.
