Screeching Weasel is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They wer… Read Full Bio ↴Screeching Weasel is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They were formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel (aka Ben Foster who also used to be a columnist for the punk fanzine Maximum Rocknroll) and John Jughead (aka John Pierson). The band gained prominence in the early 1990s after signing to East Bay punk label, Lookout! Records and are cited to be a major influence over many bands playing that style of punk music.

Through the years, the band went through many line-up changes, with Ben and John being the only constant members since the band's inception. Screeching Weasel officially broke up for (roughly) the third - and allegedly final - time on July 6, 2001.
The band did a few surprise shows between 2001-2009.

Ben Weasel reformed the group in March 2009 with a new line-up, and without John Jughead. Ben had released solo albums that were the same just in his name. John finally settled for T-Shirt money for being an original member of the band and a royalties for a handful songs he co-wrote, and let Ben play as Screeching Weasel with the hundreds of song lyrics and music has written.

Former Members include renowned punk rock record producer Mass Giorgini on bass guitar, Dan Panic (born Dan Sullivan) on drums, and Danny Vapid (born Dan Schafer,on guitar or bass, depending on the band's necessity. Dan is currently fronting The Methadones and formerly of Sludgeworth)

Members of Screeching Weasel have gone on to form bands such as: The Methadones, The Mopes, Even in Blackouts, and Sweet Black And Blue.

Screeching Weasel has also included members of Green Day, Sludgeworth, Common Rider, Squirtgun, and Teen Idols.

During one of the band's many break-ups, Weasel and Vapid also formed the Riverdales. Additionally, Ben Weasel released a solo record in 2002 entitled Fidatevi.

In 2004 Ben Weasel rescinded all of the Screeching Weasel and Riverdales masters from Lookout! Records in the wake of long-running financial and personal conflicts. The masters were subsequently licensed to and reissued by Asian Man Records.

On December 7, 2010, it was announced that Screeching Weasel will release a new album on March 15, 2011, the band's first album in eleven years. The album will be titled First World Manifesto and will be released on Fat Wreck Chords. It will contain 14 new songs and is produced by Mike Kennerty of The All-American Rejects. It was announced that the label will also be releasing the back catalogs of Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales, and Ben Weasel.

On March 18, 2011, during Screeching Weasel's South by Southwest Festival performance at the Scoot Inn in Austin, Texas, Foster reached from the stage and slapped a female audience member who had spit on him several times. This sent off a fire storm web frenzy from all of the self -righteous non Screeching Weasel fans. Ben apologized for his actions, but all of the perfect people who never loose there cool were not satisfied.

Ben and his hired band had a falling out. He found out who his true friends and fans were. After over a year of spending time with his family and raising a new baby, he released Carnival of Schadenfreude EP in 2011 with huge interest and has resumed his music career again full swing.

High School Psychopath
Screeching Weasel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I really hated high school
it was such a drag
everytime I walked the halls
all the kids would call me a fag
I dodn't care for physical ed
and I didn't care for history
I wanted to blow up my high school and take my G.E.D.
I was a high school psychopath

I needed therapy
I was a high school psychopath
with an overload of energy
there was a teenage wasteland in my brain
from staying after school
I didn't want to pledge allegiance
because I thought it was so uncool
each and everybody hated me
they thought I was such a jerk

with my leather jacket my ripped jeans
and my Ramones t-shirt

Overall Meaning

In the Screeching Weasel song "High School Psychopath," the singer reflects on their negative experiences in high school. They express a strong distaste for the environment, and describe feeling like an outcast. The first verse sets the scene, describing high school as a "drag" and the other students as bullies who would call the singer a "fag." The second verse delves deeper into the singer's feelings, revealing that they had no interest in the traditional subjects of gym class and history. They express a desire to "blow up" their high school and take their G.E.D. early, indicating a disdain for the institution overall.

The chorus repeats the refrain "I was a high school psychopath" several times, underscoring the singer's feelings of intense isolation and anger. They recognize that they needed therapy to cope with their negative feelings, but also describe an "overload of energy" that implies a certain freneticism to their experience. The third verse further explores the singer's punk rock aesthetic, with a reference to The Ramones on their t-shirt, and a defiant refusal to pledge allegiance. The final line of the song sums up the singer's perception of their own social status, admitting that "each and everybody hated me."

Overall, "High School Psychopath" paints a vivid portrait of the kind of alienation and anger that many young people feel during their high school years. The song is raw and unsparing in its depiction of the singer's negative experiences, and offers a bleak but powerful look at the darker side of adolescent life.

Line by Line Meaning

I really hated high school
The singer despised high school experience.

it was such a drag
High school was boring.

everytime I walked the halls
The persona was often seen wandering the halls.

all the kids would call me a fag
The persona was derided by fellow students for being homosexual.

I dodn't care for physical ed
The persona wasn't interested in Phys Ed.

and I didn't care for history
The persona didn't like History.

I wanted to blow up my high school and take my G.E.D.
The persona had thoughts of retaliation and dropping out of high school.

I was a high school psychopath
The persona had severe behavioral issues in high school.

I needed therapy
The persona required psychological treatment.

I was a high school psychopath
The persona was a high school psychopath.

with an overload of energy
The persona had a lot of excessive energy.