Jazzy and the Pussycats
Encyclopedia
"Jazzy and the Pussycats" is the second episode of The Simpsons
' eighteenth season
and first aired on September 17, 2006. When Bart turns a quiet funeral into a chaotic mess, Homer and Marge are faced with angry Springfielders who've had enough of Bart's mischievousness. But when a psychiatrist assists Bart by channelling Bart's anger through drums, Lisa feels Bart may have stolen the one thing she held strong: music. For this, Lisa begins collecting animals to subdue her misery. It was written by Daniel Chun
and directed by Steven Dean Moore
. Meg White
and Jack White
of the White Stripes
guest star as themselves. In its original run, the episode received 8.94 million viewers.
"Vegas
wife" from "Viva Ned Flanders
", dies of a drug overdose, so the Simpson family attends her funeral. Bart
, bored and looking to go home early, plays a game of paddle ball. The game, however, goes awry when the ball flies into several people's mouths, causing mayhem. Homer and Marge
are faced with the angry churchgoers, who have had enough of Bart's antics. As a result, he is forced to see a competent psychiatrist (from "Brake My Wife, Please
") who suggests Bart get a drum set in order to harness his anger and the energy he has and find the focus and discipline that he needs. Bart gets a kit and instantly becomes a natural at it, imagining that every drum and cymbal is Homer's face. He practices non-stop, even while asleep, and literally runs into The White Stripes
on the street (apparently earning Bart an enmity with them). Eventually, his drumming drives Homer and Marge mad and Lisa
suggests to her parents that she can take Bart to a jazz
brunch
.
Lisa asks Bart to jazz along with her quintet, which he does. Bart easily overshadows everyone, including Lisa, and a legendary jazz group asks him to play with them, much to Lisa's anger, especially as she is the more experienced of the two. Lisa then tries to overtake Bart in his passion of skateboarding, which ends in failure. Marge, who does not want Lisa to compete against Bart, decides to let her adopt a puppy in order to make her happy. At the animal shelter, Lisa picks the cutest puppy over a very sick dog that would otherwise die. But at night, the sick dog comes in a ghost-like form to tell her that his fate is doomed because she chose the other dog over him. Lisa decides to go back and adopt the sick puppy, but after seeing how sick many of them are, she decides to adopt them all in order to save their lives. On her way home, many other animals join her, including a horde of circus animals. Having nowhere to put them, Lisa puts them in the attic. After dinner that night, Lisa goes into the attic and finds Bart with the animals she rescued. A tiger
bites Bart's arm, causing extensive nerve damage that leaves him unable to play.
In order to raise money for the operation he needs, Bart organizes a benefit concert. Meanwhile, Lisa is informed that her animals will be taken to a pound and killed if she cannot find a suitable home for them. The benefit is a success, and Bart feels empathy for Lisa and decides to use the money to build a home for the animals. The other musicians begin to discuss the idea of holding another benefit to repair Bart's arm.
quotes that like the previous episode, it was decent, and praised the strength of the eighteenth season so far. He called the White Stripes' cameo funny, and called the episode entirely random, starting off with the death of Homer's Vegas wife Amber. He gives the episode a final rating of 7/10, similar to the previous episode. In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
listed The White Stripes' performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named The White Stripes
his seventh favorite musical guests on The Simpsons out of a list of ten.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 18)
The Simpsons 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season....
and first aired on September 17, 2006. When Bart turns a quiet funeral into a chaotic mess, Homer and Marge are faced with angry Springfielders who've had enough of Bart's mischievousness. But when a psychiatrist assists Bart by channelling Bart's anger through drums, Lisa feels Bart may have stolen the one thing she held strong: music. For this, Lisa begins collecting animals to subdue her misery. It was written by Daniel Chun
Daniel Chun
Daniel Chun is an American comedy writer. He has written for The Office and The Simpsons. He received a Writers Guild Award nomination and an Annie Award for his work on The Simpsons. He is now Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer of The Office...
and directed by Steven Dean Moore
Steven Dean Moore
Steven Dean Moore is an animation director who has directed 35 episodes of The Simpsons, in addition to several episodes of the long running Nicktoon programme Rugrats...
. Meg White
Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
and Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
of the White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
guest star as themselves. In its original run, the episode received 8.94 million viewers.
Plot
Amber, Homer'sHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
"Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
wife" from "Viva Ned Flanders
Viva Ned Flanders
"Viva Ned Flanders" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 10, 1999. In the episode, Ned Flanders, who is revealed to be 60 years old, feels that he has not lived his life to the fullest...
", dies of a drug overdose, so the Simpson family attends her funeral. Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, bored and looking to go home early, plays a game of paddle ball. The game, however, goes awry when the ball flies into several people's mouths, causing mayhem. Homer and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
are faced with the angry churchgoers, who have had enough of Bart's antics. As a result, he is forced to see a competent psychiatrist (from "Brake My Wife, Please
Brake My Wife, Please
"Brake My Wife, Please" is the twentieth episode of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on May 11, 2003.-Plot:On a school field trip to the Springfield Aquarium, Principal Skinner pronounces two giant "yellow pearls" in a clam, only to find that it is actually Bart mooning...
") who suggests Bart get a drum set in order to harness his anger and the energy he has and find the focus and discipline that he needs. Bart gets a kit and instantly becomes a natural at it, imagining that every drum and cymbal is Homer's face. He practices non-stop, even while asleep, and literally runs into The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
on the street (apparently earning Bart an enmity with them). Eventually, his drumming drives Homer and Marge mad and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
suggests to her parents that she can take Bart to a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
brunch
Brunch
Brunch is a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.-Origin of the word:The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night...
.
Lisa asks Bart to jazz along with her quintet, which he does. Bart easily overshadows everyone, including Lisa, and a legendary jazz group asks him to play with them, much to Lisa's anger, especially as she is the more experienced of the two. Lisa then tries to overtake Bart in his passion of skateboarding, which ends in failure. Marge, who does not want Lisa to compete against Bart, decides to let her adopt a puppy in order to make her happy. At the animal shelter, Lisa picks the cutest puppy over a very sick dog that would otherwise die. But at night, the sick dog comes in a ghost-like form to tell her that his fate is doomed because she chose the other dog over him. Lisa decides to go back and adopt the sick puppy, but after seeing how sick many of them are, she decides to adopt them all in order to save their lives. On her way home, many other animals join her, including a horde of circus animals. Having nowhere to put them, Lisa puts them in the attic. After dinner that night, Lisa goes into the attic and finds Bart with the animals she rescued. A tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
bites Bart's arm, causing extensive nerve damage that leaves him unable to play.
In order to raise money for the operation he needs, Bart organizes a benefit concert. Meanwhile, Lisa is informed that her animals will be taken to a pound and killed if she cannot find a suitable home for them. The benefit is a success, and Bart feels empathy for Lisa and decides to use the money to build a home for the animals. The other musicians begin to discuss the idea of holding another benefit to repair Bart's arm.
Cultural references
- The title is a play on the fictitious rock band Josie and the PussycatsJosie and the Pussycats (TV series)Josie and the Pussycats is an American animated television series, based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo....
. - The jazz venue's logo is similar to the letters in the House of BluesHouse of BluesHouse of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
logo. - The White Stripes' sequence is identical in style to their music video for "The Hardest Button to ButtonThe Hardest Button to Button"The Hardest Button to Button" is a 7" single by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It is the third single from their album Elephant...
". The two are also wearing the same outfits they wore in the video. The guitar Jack is playing in the episode is his famous JB Hutto Montgomery AirlineJB Hutto Montgomery AirlineAirline Guitars were a brand of electric and acoustic guitars made in the United States from 1958-68 by the Valco Manufacturing Company, and sold through the Montgomery Ward mail-order retail company...
. - The Blue Man GroupBlue Man GroupBlue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
are seen at the funeral; when someone gives a choking member the heimlich maneuver, a multitude number of balls start falling out, and the member's face becomes a "regular" color. - Gunter and Ernst are also seen at Amber's funeral. Amber and Ginger are seen with them at the end of "Viva Ned Flanders", saying they "know how to treat a woman."
- The scene where Lisa accumulates animals while strolling down the street is a nod to the opening credits from Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's 1992 film Reservoir DogsReservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
and the song "Little Green BagLittle Green Bag"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians, Jan Visser and George Baker , and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The 7" single debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label Negram. The B-side was "Pretty Little Dreamer"...
" by George Baker can be heard. - When Bart sits in with the professional jazz musicians, the song they play is "Big Noise From WinnetkaBig Noise From WinnetkaBig Noise from Winnetka is a jazz composition co-written by composer and bass player Bob Haggart. It was first recorded in 1938 and featured Haggart and drummer Ray Bauduc, both members of a sub-group of the Bob Crosby Orchestra called The Bobcats....
" by Bob HaggartBob HaggartRobert Sherwood Haggart was a dixieland jazz double bass player, composer and arranger...
. - Other songs heard include "Take FiveTake Five"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
", by Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
and "Killer Joe", by Benny GolsonBenny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
. - At Jazzy Goodtimes, Ralph WiggumRalph WiggumRalph Wiggum is a recurring fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show's resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior...
plays a Fisher-PriceFisher-PriceFisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
Corn PopperCorn PopperThe Corn Popper is a toy manufactured by Fisher-Price since 1957. Aimed at pre-schoolers, when the Corn Popper is pushed or pulled, colored balls inside a plastic dome bounce and create a popping, bouncing noise....
. - The Jazzy Goodtimes club is a facsimile of the House of Blues nightclub on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, Ca.
- Moe calls the 1997 film TitanicTitanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
"unsinkable at the box office." - The couch gag references the King Homer segment from Treehouse of Horror IIITreehouse of Horror III"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1992. In the third annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer buys Bart an evil talking Krusty doll, King Homer is captured by Mr. Burns, and Bart...
which in turn spoofs King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
. - A mentioned jazz musician shares the name CSI: MiamiCSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
. - At the beginning of the jazz benefit they play "Caravan"Caravan (song)"Caravan" is a jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol and first performed by Duke Ellington in 1937. Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, but he sometimes is not credited on the many instrumental versions. Its exotic sound interested exotica musicians; Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman both covered it. Woody...
by Duke Ellington. - Richard Sakai, a real-life Simpsons Producer, is listed amongst the jazz singers with 'funny names'; Sakai was first seen in an earlier Simpsons episode, One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue FishOne Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 24, 1991. In the episode, Homer consumes a poisonous fugu fish at a sushi restaurant, and is told that he has only twenty-two hours...
, in which he sang karaoke at the sushi bar where some of the episode takes place.
Reception
In its original run, the episode received 8.94 million viewers. Dan Iverson of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
quotes that like the previous episode, it was decent, and praised the strength of the eighteenth season so far. He called the White Stripes' cameo funny, and called the episode entirely random, starting off with the death of Homer's Vegas wife Amber. He gives the episode a final rating of 7/10, similar to the previous episode. In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
listed The White Stripes' performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
his seventh favorite musical guests on The Simpsons out of a list of ten.