Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

January 21, 2012 Critic Jonni 3 Comments


Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus |

This song has to go down in history as one of the rock greats. This is the band's only hit so far, and it's definitely their signature song. It was released in 2000 and it was Wheatus' first single. Their other singles that they released didn't perform as well on the chart, and soon enough they were unheard of... Apparently, they are still going and the line-up has changed, but I very much doubt they'll ever release another song as good as this one!

The music video is very interesting, it contains a narrative and a performance. The song was written by Brendan B. Brown (AKA BBB). And the music video has Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, both of which appear in American Pie, which is where people get the misconception that this song is a soundtrack to the films, but the song doesn't even appear on the soundtrack.

I like the storyline although I do think it looks more dreamlike than anything else. I like the fact that the band is a part of the music video as performance wise and plays a small part in the narrative, which is quite clever.

I am a little surprised that the music video blanks out some words but doesn't blank out others, especially since young people could be watching a video like this. I like the fact that actors star in this music video, and it is pretty similar to American Pie so I can understand why people get the misconception. The backdrop film is actually "Loser" which both the actors appeared in.

There really isn't a lot going on, I can't say I like this bit because there isn't a bit that clearly stands out. Apart from when she sings the bridge bit "I got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby". I like the references to Iron Maiden, but there's not much else to comment on.

Overall I like this song, and it'll still be with us for ages and ages, but its music video is neither good nor bad, and so it's difficult to comment on and there doesn't seem to be a lot going on compared to many other music videos.
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3 comments:

  1. Dude, this wasn't for American Pie, and Mena Suvari wasn't in American Pie... so I'm not sure what you were talking about earlier. Though both did star in Loser, and this song was featured on the Soundtrack and used to hype the movie. For some reason though, even years later I still have to find some enjoyment out of the song and the video.

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    1. Quote from blog:

      "Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, both of which appear in American Pie, which is where people get the misconception that this song is a soundtrack to the films"

      &

      "The backdrop film is actually "Loser" which both the actors appeared in."

      Mena Suvari did appear in American Pie, she played Heather, she returned in American Pie 2, and she will be in the new film American Pie Reunion. Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002546/

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  2. Does anybody know what school the video is filmed in by any chance???

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