Dirty Heads brings “Rage” to new best-of compilation

For many bands, a best-of compilation marks a retrospective look at a career that’s at or close to the end. That’s why Dirty Heads vocalist Jared “Dirty J” Watson didn’t want to release one.

Watson admits to ABC Audio thathe was “so against” the idea of a Dirty Heads best-of when it was suggested by the band’s label.

“We’re not old,” Watson says. “They wanted to call it Greatest Hits, which is, like, ‘What?'”

“I think of, like, Led Zeppelin or Creedence Clearwater [Revival],” he adds. “It was just, like, ‘What are you talking about?'”

Watson eventually softened his stance when the label explained a best-of could be a “starter album” for new fans who’ve just heard Dirty Heads’ resurgent single, “Vacation” — which has gone viral in 2021 due to a TikTok trend — as well as a collector’s item for older fans.

Watson was still hesitant, though, especially since Dirty Heads is sitting on a brand-new, recently-completed album. So, he struck a deal.

“I said, ‘If you guys wanna do a best-of album — which I think is super weird, but I get it — you have to put on two or three of these brand-new songs,'” Watson recalls.

The result is The Best of Dirty Heads, which is out today. Along with past singles including “Vacation” and “Lay Me Down,” the compilation also features several new recordings, including “Rage” featuring Blink-182‘s Travis Barker and Aimee Interrupter of The Interrupters.

“There’s acoustic guitars, and there are these reggae verses, but it is more aggressive and uptempo,” Watson says of “Rage.” “There is like a ska feel to it, but then there’s also a punk feel to it. So there’s enough of each person it it to where the features are perfect.”