Molly is working on a musical about trees that live in cities. But she can’t finish her rhymes! So she enlists Ruby and Anna G to help. Molly gives them some of her unfinished lyrics and it’s up to them to help her turn a single sentence into a fact-filled musical couplet!
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AUDIO TRACK: Now entering Brains On Headquarters.
[ELECTRONIC SOUNDS]
MOLLY BLOOM: The stage lights up. The curtains open on a bustling city street. People dressed in gray are rushing every which way. No one notices a little green tree sprouting out of the sidewalk. No one except our hero, Molly Bloom. That's me. Spotlight on Molly. The music swells, and--
(SINGING) Oh, beautiful tree absorbing CO2
I love your leaves and something, something shoe
No, trees don't have shoes. How about--
(SINGING) What a wonderful plant that cleans the air
It's green and it's leafy, and it isn't a bear
Oh jeez. I really need some help writing these rhymes.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Did somebody say help with chainsaw ice sculpting?
[WHIRRING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna Goldfield busting the door down?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Did someone say help shaving a llama?
[BUZZING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Ruby Guthrie smashing through the window?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Well, don't worry. I love chainsawing swans from blocks of ice.
RUBY GUTHRIE: And I can shave six llamas in under six minutes.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is very impressive, both of you. But actually, I said I need help writing some rhymes for this new musical I'm working on. It's all about how amazing trees are and how they help make cities better.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh. That's very different.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, yeah. It's almost like we weren't listening to you at all. But we still can help.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, great. OK. So here's the plan. I'll sing you the first half of one of my amazing lyrical lines, and you help me finish it by singing the second half. But the lines have to rhyme. So if we were singing about fish, I'd say--
(SINGING) Fish live under water and don't breathe air
Then you'd sing--
(SINGING) They breathe with their gills and swim everywhere
Make sense?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, that makes sense.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. OK, perfect. This first one is for you, Ruby.
(SINGING) If I were a tree, I'd photosynthesize light
Into oxygen and green pigment so bright
Oh. Very good, Ruby. OK, here's another one I need help with, Anna. This one's for you.
(SINGING) Trees help us survive when it's bright and it's hot
Because it's nice to cool off where the sunshine is not
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh. Another good one. You guys are great at rhyming. OK, how about this one, Anna?
(SINGING) Roots, roots, underground roots
Deep in the dirt they grow
They slurp up water and nutrients
And send them where they need to go
Ooh.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh. I love it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow. This rhyming, incredible.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, one more for you, Ruby.
(SINGING) I'm so in disbelief at a lovely little leaf
It grows and grows and don't you know
That this plant is actually made of beef
[LAUGHS]
ANNA GOLDFIELD: You're right, I didn't know that. Also, I think the plant made of beef is a cow.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah. I just wanted to keep you on your toes, you know?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: It's a mooflower.
MOLLY BLOOM: I appreciate that. Those are some very creative rhymes. I know the musical-theatergoing public is going to love 'em. This tree musical could be the next Elm Side Story.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You mean the famous musical West Side Story?
MOLLY BLOOM: Never heard of it.
[WALL BURSTS]
MARC SANCHEZ: Help. Help. Help.
MOLLY BLOOM: Marc clobbering through the wall?
MARC SANCHEZ: Sanden and I were throwing a llama pajama party, but the air conditioning has broken and it's so hot in our party room. I ordered huge blocks of ice to cool us off, but they're too big to fit through the door. And the llamas are sweating in their PJs because their fur is too thick. If only someone could carve those ice blocks into smaller shapes and also help get some of that hair off those llamas.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh my gosh. My moment has arrived.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I think you mean our moment has arrived.
MARC SANCHEZ: Perfect. Let's go.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: And that's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie, edited by Sanden Totten, and produced by Lauren Humbert. Our executive producer is Beth Perlman, and the APM Studios executives-in-charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thank you, Smarty Pass friends for your support.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Have a good one.
MOLLY BLOOM: Bye.
RUBY GUTHRIE: See ya.
[ELECTRONIC SOUNDS]
MOLLY BLOOM: The stage lights up. The curtains open on a bustling city street. People dressed in gray are rushing every which way. No one notices a little green tree sprouting out of the sidewalk. No one except our hero, Molly Bloom. That's me. Spotlight on Molly. The music swells, and--
(SINGING) Oh, beautiful tree absorbing CO2
I love your leaves and something, something shoe
No, trees don't have shoes. How about--
(SINGING) What a wonderful plant that cleans the air
It's green and it's leafy, and it isn't a bear
Oh jeez. I really need some help writing these rhymes.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Did somebody say help with chainsaw ice sculpting?
[WHIRRING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Anna Goldfield busting the door down?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Did someone say help shaving a llama?
[BUZZING]
MOLLY BLOOM: Ruby Guthrie smashing through the window?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Well, don't worry. I love chainsawing swans from blocks of ice.
RUBY GUTHRIE: And I can shave six llamas in under six minutes.
MOLLY BLOOM: That is very impressive, both of you. But actually, I said I need help writing some rhymes for this new musical I'm working on. It's all about how amazing trees are and how they help make cities better.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh. That's very different.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, yeah. It's almost like we weren't listening to you at all. But we still can help.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, great. OK. So here's the plan. I'll sing you the first half of one of my amazing lyrical lines, and you help me finish it by singing the second half. But the lines have to rhyme. So if we were singing about fish, I'd say--
(SINGING) Fish live under water and don't breathe air
Then you'd sing--
(SINGING) They breathe with their gills and swim everywhere
Make sense?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, that makes sense.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Totally.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. OK, perfect. This first one is for you, Ruby.
(SINGING) If I were a tree, I'd photosynthesize light
Into oxygen and green pigment so bright
Oh. Very good, Ruby. OK, here's another one I need help with, Anna. This one's for you.
(SINGING) Trees help us survive when it's bright and it's hot
Because it's nice to cool off where the sunshine is not
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh. Another good one. You guys are great at rhyming. OK, how about this one, Anna?
(SINGING) Roots, roots, underground roots
Deep in the dirt they grow
They slurp up water and nutrients
And send them where they need to go
Ooh.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh. I love it.
MOLLY BLOOM: Wow. This rhyming, incredible.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Thank you.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, one more for you, Ruby.
(SINGING) I'm so in disbelief at a lovely little leaf
It grows and grows and don't you know
That this plant is actually made of beef
[LAUGHS]
ANNA GOLDFIELD: You're right, I didn't know that. Also, I think the plant made of beef is a cow.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah. I just wanted to keep you on your toes, you know?
ANNA GOLDFIELD: It's a mooflower.
MOLLY BLOOM: I appreciate that. Those are some very creative rhymes. I know the musical-theatergoing public is going to love 'em. This tree musical could be the next Elm Side Story.
RUBY GUTHRIE: You mean the famous musical West Side Story?
MOLLY BLOOM: Never heard of it.
[WALL BURSTS]
MARC SANCHEZ: Help. Help. Help.
MOLLY BLOOM: Marc clobbering through the wall?
MARC SANCHEZ: Sanden and I were throwing a llama pajama party, but the air conditioning has broken and it's so hot in our party room. I ordered huge blocks of ice to cool us off, but they're too big to fit through the door. And the llamas are sweating in their PJs because their fur is too thick. If only someone could carve those ice blocks into smaller shapes and also help get some of that hair off those llamas.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh my gosh. My moment has arrived.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I think you mean our moment has arrived.
MARC SANCHEZ: Perfect. Let's go.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MOLLY BLOOM: And that's it for this Smarty Pass episode. It was made by Aron Woldeslassie, edited by Sanden Totten, and produced by Lauren Humbert. Our executive producer is Beth Perlman, and the APM Studios executives-in-charge are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. Thank you, Smarty Pass friends for your support.
ANNA GOLDFIELD: Have a good one.
MOLLY BLOOM: Bye.
RUBY GUTHRIE: See ya.
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