Next Monday, Beavis and Butt-Head returns to MTV with original episodes for the first time in 14 years. The final episode of the show’s original run aired on November 28, 1997, and marked the closing of a chapter of our lives. Not only were they instrumental in forming our vocabulary – fartknocker, buttmunch, bunghole, stiffy – the show also became somewhat of a way for us to discover new music, even when the boys were trashing the videos.
This time around though the show won’t be showing too many music videos, relying on reality television and YouTube poop for the boys to unload on (huh-huh-huh). When the show debuted in 1993, creator Mike Judge was using music video clips from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, allowing us to see disco, punk, metal, and pop videos by bands we had never heard of.
Just as 120 Minutes and Headbanger’s Ball were each an education, so was B&B in its way.
When the show began we were just 10 years old and extremely impressionable. Seeing a video on B&B was the only way we would more than likely be exposed to more obscure acts like Eleven, Frank Zappa, the Dead Milkmen and others. After we saw their videos we would end up seeking out their music on our own. If something was cool, we could tune out what B&B had said, mostly.
Mike Judge’s Austin ties meant that Texas acts like the Butthole Surfers, Jesus Lizard, Reverend Horton Heat, Pantera and the Texas Tornados got some love too.
A lot of people we have talked to over the years remember first getting into the more cartoonish metal acts like GWAR, White Zombie and Marilyn Manson from the show’s run. They were playing hardcore punk when it was hard to find elsewhere, meaning the Circle Jerks and Sick Of It All were on our radar in junior high. Since Rocks Off was sans older siblings, we were on our own when it came to discovering music.
We’ve also found that if we keep the duo’s same attitude when we see new bands or bands, that it never steers us wrong. Huh-huh-huh, that Lady Gargle shows her butt and there’s blood and fire all the time.
See?
Helmet
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This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.