Many miles have I traveled since I first knowingly encountered the music of Isaac Hayes, so I hope you’ll forgive me if my memory is a bit hazy, but I’ve got it narrowed down to one of two moments: either it was when I received a sampler for Rhino Records’ awesome Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn’t It Blow Your Mind! series, or it was when I watched the classic “Simpsons” episode, “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish.”

Whichever of these methods served as the introduction, however, the song remained the same.

“Theme from Shaft.”

That song was a bad mother…

(Pause for appropriate response from PopDose readership)

But I’m talking ’bout “Theme from Shaft”!

(Pause for appropriate response from PopDose readership)

Of course you can dig it. It’s one of the greatest songs in motion picture soundtrack history, and it affected me so profoundly that I owned a “Shaft” t-shirt before I ever saw the movie. Damn, I loved that song…and, damn, I’m gonna miss Isaac Hayes.

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Our regular featured test will appear next week. Peace and farewell, Black Moses…

A number of months ago, Darren Robbins posted a column discussing how brazen arrogance seemed to be the most valuable asset in a playboy’s pickup arsenal. If this is true, then how come neither Beavis nor Butt-Head has ever scored?

I don’t want to sound pretentious here, but the seduction approaches of this dramaturgical diad are actually diametrically opposed. Butt-Head takes the proactive approach of the alpha male, making demands under the expectation that his (imagined) status and audacity will ensure their fulfillment. Beavis, on the other hand, creates a totally outrageous paradigm by adopting the more relaxed stance of the beta, trusting that his good nature and casual self-deprecation will win sympathy, and thus boobs. Neither has ever worked, and in a magnificent outpouring of angst at the end of the film, after they had traveled “a hundred miles” across the country in a desperate attempt to score, Beavis insists that both of them are “just gonna get old,” but that “it’s just not gonna happen.”

Butt-Head epitomizes the arrogance envisioned by Darren, that severe narcissism bordering on the delusional. Of course, as is summarized brilliantly in Beavis’ final speech, neither of them is ever going to score, or else one of the major driving forces of the show would be destroyed. But how would things work out for Butt-Head if he existed within the real world? Would his supreme arrogance trump his braces, and lisp, and slouching posture? My own experience has taught me that absolutely nothing matters more than self-confidence. But self-confidence can’t be feigned - when it is, it becomes that which Butt-Head dispays - bravado. The difference between the two can sometimes boil down to a simple question: do you truly believe your own bullshit?

The Film: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

The Song: “Two Cool Guys”

The Artist: Isaac Hayes

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Download the full mix HERE

“Theme From Shaft,” Isaac Hayes

MGM was behind this film, it made a ton of money at the box office, Isaac Hayes won an Oscar for the theme song, and yet the movie itself looks like crap. Maybe it’s the lousy VHS copies I’ve viewed over the years, but I thought for a “major motion picture” the production values would have been better. After a quick Wiki search, I learned that MGM budgeted the film at a little over $1.1 million, so perhaps they weren’t expecting the film to do much in terms of box office action. Twelve million dollars later, MGM rode the, um, Shaft cash cow home for two film sequels and a few TV movies. Damn right!

“You Should Be Dancing,” Bee Gees

When Saturday Night Fever came out, I’m sure people were drawn to it for the dancing and the music — and didn’t bother to notice the R rating. Paramount Pictures, with a successful soundtrack screaming up the charts, was certainly getting an earful from “the suits” at Gulf & Western, who were probably pushing for a re-edit of the film so younger kids and grandmothers could see it. They got their way with a PG version a year later. (more…)