Raucous rockers Cerebral Ballzy are great noisy fun, and no we're not just saying that because the Brooklyn punk band's debut album is out on Williams Street Records right now -- or because we're giving away a free MP3 of "On The Run" because we want you to be hip. But, hey, in an attempt to meet us halfway to mark the occasion, lead singer Honor Titus agreed to chat with us on the phone about some of his all-time favorite cartoons. You're welcome, punks.

Download "On the Run" courtesy of the 2011 Adult Swim Singles Program right here. Right now.

Cutting Class

Beavis And Butt-Head

Everyone knows I'm obsessed with it. That's no surprise. It's just so cool, man, it's so good. It's just like a staple from growing up. It's just such a bad-boy cartoon. [Laughs.] No one's parents liked it growing up. It was so bad, you know? It's not even though good, per se... when you watch it now it's so cruddy. It's just great. It's got it.

What do you think of it coming back with new episodes?

I think that's really interesting. I haven't seen any of it yet, but I'm kinda worried that Mike Judge is gonna blow something brilliant. It usually doesn't work out when things try to come back, but we'll see.

“It usually doesn't work out when things try to come back, but we'll see.”

It's been gone, like, 15 years at this point.

Exactly. Is it gonna make modern-day social commentary? Are they gonna have cell phones? It's gonna be really strange.

Vaya Con Cornholio

Are you still watching the episodes on DVD to this day?

Yeah, man. I've gotten to the point where I've seen every one a bajillion times. I have like 10 Beavis And Butt-Head shirts and posters. I have one from the pilot episode, "Frog Baseball," where they're both screaming. Pretty f***ing punk.

That show got in trouble for supposedly inspiring kids to start fires. Did it have a negative impact on you, you think?

Uh, yeah, of course man. Even down to the music, it just ruled. It was so good. I burned down the schoolhouse.

The Simpsons

I've been watching that since forever.

Are you still sticking with it?

Yeah, somewhat, somewhat. Not as much. It used to be an everyday kinda thing growing up. Now it's here or there. I watched a couple of the recent episodes the other day; they're really good, no surprise. I think the new episodes stand up, but season 5 is golden -- the barbershop quartet episode. There are so many good ones in that season.

My circle just appreciates it all around. Cartoons are entertainment and positive things. [Laughs.]

“Cartoons are entertainment and positive things.”

How has The Simpsons been a positive influence on your life?

They have entertained me for countless hours, also intelligently. It's a very intelligent cartoon. Sometimes I'll watch it and be surprised at how tongue-in-cheek it is. They make great social commentaries at points.

I don't even know where to start with small examples. But Apu's situation at the Kwik-E-Mart? Where he's getting robbed and working so hard? So many things. There's just a lot of commentary in that show.

Man Getting Hit By Football

Do you use references from the show in your day-to-day life? In a lot of circles it's sort of become its own language.

Not so much. Somewhat, somewhat, but not so much. I'm not like, "Aye caramba." [Laughs.] Or "D'oh." You know? That wouldn't be a good look. I don't think people really do that.

That's funny because this is another show that spawned a movie. What'd you think of the Simpsons movie?

Not that good. Whatever. I feel like when movies of cartoons come out they try to have the most grandiose plotlines. It's totally absurd. "We really did it this time, Homer's in space," or some s***. Whatever, man. I think it'd be interesting if they did a romantic-comedy cartoon, or something really mellow. Marge and Homer are about to break up, something mellow. [Laughs.] Homer's staying his dad's place or Dr. Hibbert's.

We talked about Beavis And Butt-Head inspiring you to do things growing up. Did The Simpsons inspire you at all to do something?

I mean, Bart skates, maybe that did something for me. But I was always super cool. I dunno. I know I didn't want to be like Milhouse. Milhouse sucks, dude. [Laughs.] I just didn't want to be a pushover, you know? I also didn't want to be like Nelson. I don't think people should be looking to cartoons for role models.

“I know I didn't want to be like Milhouse. Milhouse sucks, dude.”

Daria

Another big one. Underrated, man. Daria rules. Season 1's out, and I watched it all the way through. It was a great cartoon. Daria was hot, dude. Daria was totally hot. That's my type, dude.

I felt like it was so hokey in a way, really high school-y, geeky, corny, but it was so good. The nuances of that show were so interesting. Sick Sad World. You could just tell that Daria listens to The Misfits and Christian Death tapes on the way to school. She's cool, man.

Daria Opening Theme

Do you hope Daria's gonna come back in the new Beavis And Butt-Head episodes?

Maybe, diarrhea, maybe. I dunno. I don't want them to ruin stuff, man. That'd be a real drag. Yeah.

Doug

That's a role model, man. Doug Funnie. He's a hopeless romantic with Patti Mayonnaise and all.

He always wrote in his journal.

Yeah, totally. He's the Morrissey of the cartoon scene, man. Very insightful. [Laughs.] It had all the school staples. Roger Klotz, the idiot bully. The Beets. Remember The Beets, man? "Give me more allowance." It was just cool.

Doug Needs Mo' Allowance

What episodes stand out to you as particularly memorable?

There's one where you notice that Patti's dad is in a wheelchair. It's strange. [Laughs.] It's kinda funny but we shouldn't be laughing.

That show always went out of its way to seem extra multicultural. Why do you think they introduced so many weird skin tones? There were blue people, green people, and so on.

[Laughs.] Patti's dad was really tan, that's just so strange. It's kinda avoiding an issue in a really bad way. Like, Skeeter's black. But why is he blue? [Laughs.] So funny. But Doug's white. I dunno.

Mr. Dink deserved his own spinoff, don't you think? He was kinda the Daria of that world, a weird outcast nobody really understood.

Nah, man. He's a strange dude next door. Daria listens to, like, Slayer, while Dink gives kids techno-candy.

So he'd probably listen to Kraftwerk or something?

[Laughs.] Totally. He just lives to give kids techno-candy.

The Ren & Stimpy Show

I was a big fan when I was younger. I guess I just kinda fell off, but I used to be obsessed with it. Looking back, it was quite funny. Powdered Toast Man and s***? It was disgusting. It was vile.

What was it doing on Nickelodeon at all, much less Nickelodeon's programming block for kids? SNICK?

It was on younger-kid TV, man. And some of the content was so gnarly for younger children. I watched an episode not too long ago, and they robbed a bank and had a getaway car, really gnarly. And guns and s***. I was like, "Whoah. This is really heavy."

Insomniac Ren

Like how Peanuts is heavy. Peanuts is the heaviest cartoon, then. It's so heavy. He was always like, "Why do none of the girls want to talk to me? I feel so isolated." Oh my God, Charlie Brown.

He was emo before emo.

Yeah, man. Listening to Slowdive in no time.

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