| "Binky's Music Madness" | |
| Season/Series: | 17 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 10a |
| Original Airdate: |  May 14, 2014[1] November 18, 2013[2] May 2, 2013[3] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | David Steven Cohen |
| Storyboard by: | Ken Cunningham |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Framed!" |
Next "Brain Freeze" |
| Read transcript |
"Binky's Music Madness" is the first half of the tenth episode in the seventeenth season of Arthur.
Julia Wolfe makes a special appearance as herself, alongside Evan Ziporyn, as himself, and other members of Bang on a Can All-Stars.
Summary[]
Everyone loves the Bang on a Can All-Stars, a funky experimental music group that's touring around Elwood City. Everyone that is, except Binky. A musical purist, Binky thinks their nontraditional sound is just a bunch of noise and sets out to prove it. Will Binky succeed, or is he headed for treble?[4]
Plot[]
In the introduction, Arthur remarks that Binky knows music better than any other kid. Flashbacks show Binky playing classical music, jazz and klezmer. When Arthur wants to play a CD for the audience, Binky stops him. He says that the music is great, but it takes over people's brains. Arthur plays it anyway.
Francine attends a concert by the Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Crosswires. After the show, Muffy is disappointed, but Francine loved the music because it was so unpredictable and unlike anything she ever heard before. Two band members, Julia Wolfe and Evan Ziporyn, overhear them. Francine asks them to play at Lakewood Elementary, to which they agree.
At school, Arthur listens to the All-Stars on an MP3 player and likes the music, which he compares to being Buster. Binky listens to it and imagines himself floating among fractals. He does not like it, but Francine encourages him to listen to it more.
Binky listens in the playground, and still does not like the music. On the way home, he is suddenly very sensitive to all kinds of sounds like engines, birds and Mr. Lundgren's sawing. His mom checks his ears, but cannot find anything wrong.
Binky returns the MP3 player to Francine, who is having ice cream with Muffy and Buster. Despite Binky's warning, Buster listens to the All-Stars and likes their music. Muffy also begins to like it, while Binky claims that it is not even music.
That evening, Binky wants to play Beethoven, but he is distracted by a branch and a car alarm. He dreams that his friends have been turned into zombies by the music. He wakes up and thinks that everyone has been brainwashed, and he intends to prove it.
Over the next three days, Binky records various sounds like barking, a toilet flushing and his stomach rumbling. He uses software to create a sound collage.
The next day, Binky plays the collage for his friends, claiming that it is from a group called Gesundheit. When his friends like it, he claims that it is awful, because he just threw sounds together. He admits, however, that it took him three days and nights, because he wanted to get the sounds just right. The All-Stars arrive, and Julia Wolfe tells Binky that what he did is composing, and that he has talent. The episode finishes with kids and All-Stars jamming together, with Binky finally liking the music.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
- Julia Wolfe
- Evan Ziporyn
- Mrs. Barnes
- Mr. Haney (does not speak)
Cameo[]
- The other Bang on a Can All-Stars members
- Mr. Marco
- Ed Crosswire
- Millicent Crosswire
- Mrs. Wood
- Mrs. Tibble
- Mrs. Leduc
- Harry Mills
- Bailey
- George Lundgren
- Neal Lundgren
- Oliver Frensky
- Killer
- Mr. Ratburn
- Mrs. MacGrady
Trivia[]
Cultural references[]
- Klezmer is a kind of music that originated among Ashkenazi Jews. "A shenym dank" means "Thank you very much" in Yiddish.
- The Bang on a Can All Stars are a real-world musical ensemble founded in 1992. Composer Julia Wolfe and clarinetist Evan Ziporyn voice themselves in this episode. The other musicians are also based on actual members from the 2013 lineup.
- When Binky listens to Francine's MP3 player, various fractals appear in the background. Fractals are never-ending patterns that repeat the more they are zoomed into.
- In his room, Binky plays "Für Elise" by Beethoven on his clarinet.
- Gesundheit is German for "good health" and is also used in the sense "bless you." Using a German name may have been inspired by experimental German groups like Kraftwerk ("power plant").
Episode connections[]
- "D.W. Beats All" is another episode that focuses on making music in unexpected ways.
Errors[]
- When Arthur puts on the headphones to listen to the music, the headphones are on the side of his ear rather than where his ears are. This means that Arthur would not have been able to listen to the music.
Gallery[]
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References[]