With Y2K nostalgia at a fever pitch, Wheatus’ (as it turns out) timeless depiction of the universal high school experience as exclusively fantasized by Hollywood turned guaranteed-hit karaoke duet “Teenage Dirtbag” has gotten countless revisions over the past few years courtesy of reverent covers by artists who were either first introduced to the power-pop anthem via the current wave of turn-of-the-millennium nostalgia or by those who loved it the first time around and who’ve been patiently awaiting its critical reevaluation.
Yet the latest reinterpretation comes from Wheatus themselves, who reconstructed the single as a Christmas song for their recent EP Just a Dirtbag Christmas—the band’s first new music in a decade following a Valentine-themed LP from 2013. The rewritten (yet otherwise mostly similar) “Christmas Dirtbag” landed alongside three new recordings—all with “Christmas” in the title—as well as a string quartet version of the original single which, yeah, sure, could conceivably be slipped into any holiday playlist without anyone batting an eye.
Yet for the full Christmas dirtbag experience, we asked Wheatus to craft a holiday playlist for us. In addition to the non-negotiable inclusion of certain animated film soundtrack cuts, certain classical music accompaniments to a certain popular Christmas ballet, and a certain pop jingle written by a certain Beatle, the group came through with some left-field picks to keep things interesting. Check out the full playlist and their writeups below, and stream Just a Dirtbag Christmas here.
Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Linus & Lucy”
Matthew Milligan: Nothing makes me feel more like the holiday season has arrived than hearing the intro to this song come through the speakers. Even as an instrumental, it’s just overflowing with warmth and holiday cheer. If you’ve never trimmed the tree or sat in front of a roaring fire with those you love while this song was playing in the background…you should.
Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
Brendan B. Brown: McCartney created the greatest rock and roll keyboard sound ever. It elevates an otherwise simple song with its complexity, and it’s a sound that would just never work in any other context. He innovated this totally new feeling of modern synthesizer technology in classic Christmas tradition.
The Darkness, “Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)”
Joey Slater: I love The Darkness and I love Christmas. This is both of those things. Justin Hawkins actually said some really nice things about “Teenage Dirtbag” recently—he did a whole video about how it’s one of the best songs of the last 20 years. Just when we thought we couldn’t love him more!
The Beach Boys, “Santa’s Beard”
Brandon Ticer: This song made me just laugh and laugh and laugh as a child and started my love for the whole album. I listen to it year-round, particularly for Christmas in July when you need a mood-boosting respite from the Memphis heat.
Darlene Love, “A Marshmallow World”
Gabrielle Sterbenz: I love the whole Phil Spector Christmas record from start to finish, but “Marshmallow World” stands out for me because it’s so joyful and fun. The lyrics are just so cute. I love singing along to this one.
Tchaikovsky, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies”
BB: This is, simply, the ultimate otherworldly Christmas dream sequence. It almost doesn’t even fit well within The Nutcracker because of how singular it feels. I can still picture myself lying on the floor under mom’s Christmas tree with this on repeat. Totally magical.
Jethro Tull, “Ring Out, Solstice Bells”
JS: Because Christmas music doesn’t have enough prog-rock flute and weird time signatures. I think this might be the song readers are most likely to skip on this playlist, but you know what? I’m fine with that.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, “8 Days (of Hanukkah)”
MM: Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of Christmas content out there—we just made a new EP’s worth ourselves—so I wanted to save a little room in the playlist to show some love to another culture that’s important to me. I grew up in a community with many Jewish families, and I absolutely cherish the memories of the occasional Hanukkah night I’d spend at those friends’ houses. Plus, no matter what you celebrate this December, this is just an absolute funk/soul banger.
BeBe & CeCe Winans, “Give Me a Star”
GS: I imagine this gospel Christmas song will be unfamiliar to many Wheatus listeners, but it fills my soul with joy. It’s a slow burn, and by the middle, it feels like they’ve encapsulated the word “rejoice” in a song. It really puts me in the spirit.
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, “A Christmas to Remember”
BT: This track always brings a smile to any Christmas playlist I encounter it on. Who doesn’t love a toe-tapping, mood-boosting dose of Dolly?
