04x05 - Mama Don't Allow

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow

♪ Butterfly in the sky

♪ I can go twice as high

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can go anywhere

♪ Friends to know

♪ And ways to grow

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can be anything

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ Reading rainbow

Hi. Here we are,
deep in the swamp

Near new orleans,
louisiana.

Swamps have always
had a reputation

For being spooky,

But this one
doesn't seem too dangerous.

In fact, it's
really quite peaceful

And thick with marsh greenery
and wildlife.

This water looks
kind of like root beer.

You can never tell
what's in it.

And look at this.

Spanish moss
hangs from the trees.

It doesn't have
any roots.

It gets food
from the air.

[Scary music]

Whoa!

Hiya, jumper.

There's someone no swamp
would be without--

An alligator.

They look pretty mean
even without scary music.

Alligators can be dangerous

If you don't know
how to deal with them.

Heather burdin, a naturalist
from the new orleans zoo,

Talks about alligators.

Just how dangerous
are these guys?

It all depends
on the situation.

Out in the wild,

They're not
as dangerous

As everybody thinks.

They won't attack
unless provoked.

But in
a c*ptive situation,

They can be
very dangerous.

I've never
been this close

To an alligator before.

I'm really surprised
at how smooth he is.

He's really kind of soft
and cool to the touch,

Almost like a snake.

Right. They're
both reptiles,

And their
body temperature

Is determined by
the environment.

When it's warm,
they're warm.

If it's chilly,
they're chilly.

Alligators are
pretty good swimmers.

They have webbed feet.

To help push them
through that water.

This tail propels them
like a rudder.

Is the tail
the strongest part?

It is strong,

But the jaw is
the most dangerous part

And actually the strongest.

His whole neck is muscle

So that he can
clamp down on his prey.

How many teeth
does an alligator have?

Most alligators have
about teeth.

When they lose
their teeth,

They grow back.

An alligator can go
through , teeth

In a lifetime.

How about
his eyes up here?

When he's
looking for food,

His eyes are on top
of the water
to see it.

How do they
see underwater?

They have
a third eyelid.

It goes over their eye
when they go underwater.

It's transparent,
so he can see through it,

But it protects his eye.

It comes down
over his eyeball.

How big do
these guys get?

A full-grown male

Can get to be
about feet.

About how much
would he weigh?

, Pounds and up.

How long do they live?

Scientists don't
really know.

They think they
can probably live

To be , maybe more.

How old is this guy?

This one's
just years.

Are alligators fast?

Fast over
a short distance,

About or feet.

So you'd be able
to outrun one?

Only if you get past
those feet.

I've always wondered why
people were so fascinated

By alligators
and crocodiles.

The biggest reason
is because

They remind people
of dinosaurs.

People think that's
what dinosaurs

Must have looked like.

They come from
the same family,

The archosaurs.

I better
get back to work.

Take care of him
for a minute.

Oh, well, sure.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

[Scary music]

It's easy to see
why alligators

Are the modern-day cousins
to the dinosaurs,

Especially when we add
that monster-movie music.

Music can really influence
the way we see things.

Watch us bring out
the silly side of jumper.

[Silly music]

Or how about jumper
as a classical ballerina?

[Soft violin music]

Or how about a gator
with the blues?

[Band plays blues]

The magic of music
can charm snakes,

Even put people to sleep.

And in this book,
mama don't allow,

Music turns out to be
a real lifesaver.

Miles got a saxphone
for his birthday.

♪
♪
♪

Miles practiced...

Until his mama and papa
couldn't stand it anymore.

And his mama said--

And so he did,
as loud as could be.

On main street,
he met a drummer named al.

[Plays drums]

He met a guitarist
named bert.

[Plays guitar]

He met a trumpet player
named doc.

[Plays trumpet]

"Hey, let's play some music,"
said miles.

"Loud music," said al.

"Let's be a band,"
said bert.

"A swamp band,"
cried doc.

And they played
as loud as they could.

Soon the whole town
cried out.

But down in the swamp,
at the edge of town,

The sharp-toothed, long-tailed,
yellowed-eyed alligator said,

"We love that
swamp band music."

"You do?"

"We like it loud."

"Really?"

"Come play for
the alligator ball."

"Squawk!
When?"

"Saturday night,
after the sun
goes down."

"Meet you at
the riverboat."

"We'll be there."

[Ribbit]

Saturday night
when the sun went down,

The alligators came
from miles around.

"I'm so excited!"

They were dressed
in their finest.

The swamp band played
their favorite song.

♪ "Mama don't allow
no music playin' around here ♪

♪ "Oh, mama don't allow
no music playin' around here ♪

♪ "Now we don't care
what mama don't allow ♪

♪ "Gonna play
that music anyhow ♪

♪ Mama don't allow no
music playin' around here" ♪♪

"This one's for mama!"

[Saxophone plays]

"They're playing
our song."

"Oh, real
tail-tapping music.

Oh, yeah."

"That music is
good enough to eat."

The swamp band played
far into the night.

When the music was over,
the band was hungry,

But so were the alligators.

The alligators
snapped their jaws

And smacked their lips.

"Oh, no!"

"Squawk!
What are you doing?"

"Wait.

How about one more song
before dinner?"

"Ok, but
make it short."

"Make it sweet."

"Yeah, yeah."

And so the band sang
a lullaby of swampland.

♪ "When the moon
is rising ♪

♪ "And the waters
move slow ♪

♪ "That's the time
to sing softly ♪

♪ "And lay your head

♪ Awfully far down
in the gooey damp mud..." ♪♪

"Oh, how sweet!"

The alligators
fell fast asleep.

Miles piloted the riverboat
back to swampville.

"Just a little closer."

The swamp band
tiptoed home,

Playing that lullaby
as quiet as could be.

And mama said--

The swamp band
had a great sound,

But so does
the swamp itself.

[Moan]

There's an alligator's
love song.

[Chirp chirp]

That's a cricket.

[Ribbit]

Someone is catching flies
on a lily pad nearby.

Actually, all of the sounds
you've just heard

Were made by fred newman.

[Ribbit ribbit ribbit]

[Buzz]

[Slurp]

In fact, all of
the swamp band music,

Sound effects, and voices
in today's book

Were done by fred.

Let's go behind the scenes
and see how he did it.

Why don't we start
with page .

That's miles strolling
down main street.

Al comes on
as a drummer.

[Drums]

All right.

Let's see.
A guitarist named bert.

I grew up in the south.

There were wonderful
storytellers there.

The way they told stories
was with sounds.

Trumpet, like...

[Trumpet]

As a semiadult,

I've learned to use those sounds
for storytelling.

Why don't we
try recording it?

Roll tape!

"On main street, miles met
a drummer named al."

[Drums]

"He met
a guitarist named bert."

[Guitar]

"He met a trumpet player--"

The story is more than
just the words on the page.

You can add to it.

That's improvisation.

"Let's be a band,
said bert.

"A swamp band,
cried doc.

"And they played
as loud as they could.

"Soon the whole town
cried out.

"Swamp bands
play in the swamp.

Swamp bands
play in the swamp!"

Is that--

Oh, that's
marvelous.

You pretend.
You make up.

You can add
all sorts of things

Outside of just the words

To make these things
come alive.

[Saxophone]

Perfect.
That's it.

What do you want
to do first?

When we do something
like mama don't allow,

It takes a lot of people
to do that.

Allúof us collaborate
and put this together.

[Drums]

[Saxophone]

[Trumpet]

[Guitar]

The secret to all
the sound-making is listening.

You ask what makes
that instrument distinctive.

Then you just pretend.

[Trombone]

What you can do
with the magic of electronics!

It's like having

A whole orchestra
with just my own voice.

♪ ♪♪
♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪
♪♪
♪ ♪♪

♪ "Mama don't allow
no music playin' around here ♪

♪ "Oh, mama don't allow
no music playin' around here ♪

♪ "Now, we don't care
what mama don't allow ♪

♪ "Gonna play
that music anyhow ♪

♪ Mama don't allow
no music playin' around here" ♪♪

"This one's for mama!"

I've been called weird
for making these sounds.

But I found
that people liked that.

It was not a curse,
but a gift.

That's what I do
for a living.

[Mama possum]
oh, how nice.

It's great to make
your own sounds effectsl

And fred wrote a book
that can help you.

It's called mouthsounds.

It shows how to make
over different noises.

[Horn blows]

There's a sound I love.

The horn blast
of the creole queen,

One of the spunkiest riverboats
on the mississippi.

The riverboats were
the showcases of the river.

They brought folks
along the mississippi

The best of everything
in music, dancing,

Theater, food, and parties.

What made them run
was a big red paddle wheel

Like this one,
which weighs tons,

About as much
as big trucks.

There were once
over , paddle-wheelers

On the mississippi.

Lots of dos and don'ts
for safety's sake.

Mr. And mrs. Possum
wouldn't allow miles

To play his music
in the house.

What won't yourmama
and papa allow?

They won't let me
ride a motorbike.

They think it's scary.

Stay up real late.

I can't
leave my room dirty.

I'm not allowed to cook
when I'm home by myself.

I can't eat salad
with my fingers.

They don't let us
stomp on the floor.

We couldn't get through.

My mama always allowed me
to read good books.

If you want to set
your imagination sailing,

Here are some great books
you might want to take note of.

Hi. My name's megan edmonds.

I just read a great book
called miranda.

It's about a young girl
who plays the piano.

Miranda plays
classical music.

One day, she meets
a one-man band

Playing boogie-woogie.

She starts playing
her own boogie-woogie.

Mr. Theodore said,
"you are wasting your time."

Mrs. Tillie bean quigley said,
"stop that nonsense, miranda."

My favorite picture
was miranda

Standing upside-down
on her piano

Playing boogie-woogie.

This book taught me
that it's important

To share my talent
with other people,

But it's also important
to do my own thing.

So boogie-woogie down
to your nearest library

And pick this book up.

Hi, boys and girls.
My name is joseph.

Have you ever seen
an alligator

In a shoe store?

Alligator shoes
is about just that.

Alvin the alligator
goes to the city

And notices that people
wear shoes.

So he goes to the shoe store,
but he gets locked in.

He tries on
all kinds of shoes.

He tries on dancing shoes,
running shoes, sandals.

He even tries on
cowboy boots.

Then alvin falls asleep
in a pile of shoes.

In the morning,
there's a big surprise

For alvin
and the customers.

Even if you
don't like alligators,

You should read this book

'Cause it's funny
and really weird.

My name
is edwin moldonado, jr.

Did you ever hear music
in your apartment building?

I read this book
about two brothers.

They found where
a beautiful music came from.

It's apt. ,
By ezra jack keats.

Two brothers, sam and ben,
go around their building,

Searching
for a missing sound.

A real good part

Is when they find
where the music came from.

In apt. , A blind man
plays the harmonica.

In the end, the blind man
plays some sweet music.

You should read this book
'cause it's a great story.

It shows that you can
express feelings without words.

Use music.

Go to your nearest library
and get this book.

The name of this book

Is apt. ,
By ezra jack keats.

The sound of the saxophone
on the creole queen

Led me to an old friend,
earl turbinton,

A famous
new orleans jazz musician.

I didn't know
you were here!

We're playing
a big party
here tonight.

So you were
practicing?

Working on a little
improvisation.

How long have
you been playing?

I started
when I was .

Was it difficult
for your parents

To make you
practice?

They couldn't stop me
from practicing.

You liked it
that much?

I practiced for
hours and hours.

Sometimes when I'm happy,
I'll play something like--

♪♪ ♪ ♪♪
♪ ♪
♪♪ ♪

If I'm sad,
I'll play something--

♪ ♪ ♪

If I'm really angry,
I'll say--

♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪!

You really do
express yourself
through your music.

Do musicians
ever communicate
with themselves?

Oh, yeah.

Sometimes we'll
exchange ideas.

In fact,

Jamil, come over here.

Let's show levar
something.

That's wonderful.
That's great.

You really do put
all of your emotion

Into the sound
that comes out.

Is there one
specific kind

Of new orleans
jazz sound?

Sure.
Check this out.

Well, miles
and his swamp band

Learned that music
is pretty powerful stuff.

And there's so much of it
for you to explore!

There's classical, jazz,
rock, blues, and more.

So keep your ears open
and discover the joy of music.

See you next time.