"Diarrhea, cha cha cha! Diarrhea, cha cha cha!"

...or, "Frogggg! Baaaseballl!"....or, "Are you them kids who've been whackin' it in my camper?"

Back in our earlier Wonder Years, my brother (Wayne Arnold in the flesh) and I (young Kevin, incarnate) meshed like oil and dabs of vinegar. Six years my senior, he played the "insulting, tough guy older brother" role more than well, while I fit the quiet, reserved, insecure younger sibling constantly feeling inferior. It wasn't fun.

But as years went by and the two of us matured, we slowly became closer. Common interests (girls, hip hop) crept into the mix thanks to my becoming a young adult. The fact that I shot up in height and bulk didn't hurt matters either. By age 13, I was taller than he was, the way our stature's have remained to this day.

Looking back on our relationship, though (which is great today, mind you), one of the first equalizers was a certain aniimated MTV program that we both fell in love with: Beavis & Butthead. [Ren & Stimpy was another, but that deserves its own post, which I'll get to at a later date.]



Background about the show isn't necessary here, I'd hope. If you don't know about the once-awesome Beavis & Butthead, I really don't even wanna fucks with you. Even I, a hip hopper since third grade, couldn't help but submit to these two underachieving, disgusting, loser metalheads, who did nothing but watch music videos all day, with occasional trips to school to piss off hippie teacher Van Driessen and gym teacher Buzzcut, or to spit into the french fries at TKTK.

Their out-of-house antics were hilariously-awkward and all, but for my buck, the episodes' main attractions were the video clips, because, similarly to my love of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I'm a fool for fourth-wall-breaking commentary on crappy art.






All week, I've been knee-deep visually in VH1's countdown of the greatest hard rock song ever (even cleverly titled The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Song Ever, I believe). I love me some VH1-programmed countdown/list/pop-culture-nostalgic specials, so it didn't take long for me to lose myself within. Not only has it been great for time-killing entertainment purposes, but the shows have also been free-of-charge educational tools, opening my eyes/ears/mind up to some classic rock 'n' roll I'd only known through either secondhand chatter or Rock Band 2. One of the songs included Winger's "She's Only 17" (title may be wrong, but whatever), a song my brother was a fan of, though he'd probably deny it now (he had it on cassette tape, please believe). And in the Winger segment, they mentioned how the band became an easy joke-target for true hardcore metalheads, a ridicule fest made infamous on the shirt of Beavis and Butthead's nerdy classmate Stewart.



And that's where this Beavis-and-Butthead-riding-shotgun trip down memory lane began. So to show creator Mike Judge, I must say, "Thanks, man." Without Beaver and Butthole (my fellow fans will catch that reference. Or not), who knows.....perhaps my brother and I would've existed under heaps of friction for some time longer. But "ifs," "ands," or "buts" get you nowhere in this world, so fuck 'em each sideways.


Ahh, the amazing "Great Cornholio." That episode snuck up on my brother and I like Danny Ocean and his cohorts would the Bellagio. I've never seen a human being laugh as hard as Scotty B. did while watching that one for the first time. Unforgettable.

In Conclusion: Here's to the oft-forgetten by most, but never lost in my mind, Beavis & Butthead. Instead of wasting our brains away with endless reality show drivel, why not bring back some B&B reruns, MTV? Or, Mr. Judge, a new feature film, at the least. That Beavis & Butthead Do America was a bit of a letdown. My Uncle Harry, who shared the B&B love with my brother and I, took us to see it at the Ridgewood movie theater, and he was fuming with disappointment. Still expresses anger over that movie, over 12 years later. Bittersweet symphonies, he sings.



***Mental Bonus: You know what I also loved? Liquid TV. Where Beavis & Butthead first appeared (fun fact for that ass), playing a controversial game of Frog Baseball. The Tracy Ullman Show to B&B's The Simpsons. Liquid TV is also where sexy-squared Aeon Flux (yes, cartoon characters can be sexy) initially surfaced. Just a headtrip of a show, full of cutting edge animation and mind-fucking creativity. Like Ren & Stimpy, Liquid TV more than deserves its own post. Note to self.