Pinball Number Count

Pinball Number Count (or Pinball Countdown) is a collective title referring to 11 one-minute animated segments on the popular PBS children's series Sesame Street that teach children to count to 12 by following the journey of a pinball through a rather fanciful pinball machine. These segments are notable for the colorful, imaginative animation as well as the funky "one, two, three, four, five...." soundtrack provided by The Pointer Sisters. Pinball Number Count was originally produced in 1976 by Imagination, Inc. in San Francisco, California for the Children's Television Workshop. It made its debut on Sesame Street in 1977.

Overview

The Pinball Number Count segments contain common beginning and ending sequences showing the launch of the pinball into the machine and the exit of the pinball from play, respectively. Between these two sequences is a number-specific animated narrative showing the pinball in play. This middle segment features a scene in which a number of contraptions moved the pinball about the interior of the machine. Each scene begins with the ball following ramps and hitting some bumpers, then various features belonging to a theme specific to the number. The pinball then exits this area to the end sequence where it leaves play.

Opening sequence

At the beginning of each segment, we see a number with a group of stars circling around it. We hear a voice whispering the current number.

Music

Music for Pinball Number Count was composed by Walt Kraemer and arranged by Ed Bogas. The vocals were provided by the Pointer Sisters. The arrangements in the eleven films reflect musical idioms commonly found in 1970s urban culture, predominantly funk and jazz, though other styles including Caribbean steel drum music are also represented. The number-specific middle sections contain one of three different (presumably) improvised instrumental solos over a basic progression, respectively featuring soprano saxophone, electric guitar, and steel drum. Consistent with an abbreviated jazz structure, a prearranged head and turnaround / coda are played during the common starting and ending animation sequences. The vocals work in similar fashion with improvised shouts of the numbers 2-12 during the middle section and a return to the arranged counting at the end.

The song employs complex rhythms, starting with a 7 beat, then incorporating 3s, 11s and other timings around a rhythmically straightforward but harmonically complex middle improvisation section.

Visuals

Animation for the segments was directed by Jeff Hale and recalls contemporary psychedelic and pop art styles, typified by the ornate pinball bumpers, colorful geometrical motifs and whimsical themes and devices inside the machine. While great liberty is sometimes taken with respect to physics (the pinball moves smoothly over curved ramps lacking guide rails), subtle yet striking efforts toward realism are made by the animators to express the mechanical nature of the objects within. In particular, note that most of the contraptions in the pinball machine have discrete hinges and joints held together by screws and moved by rods or slots in the floor of the playing field.

List of segments

Despite the lyrics' counting from one to twelve, Pinball Number Count did not feature a segment for the number 1. The number 7 is the only segment where the ball doesn't enter a hole at the end of the segment, while the number 8 is the only segment where the ball doesn't enter the scene immediately.

Cover versions and parodies

Pinball Number Count has been covered and remixed by a number of artists. One such version, done with the cooperation of Sesame Workshop,[1] was released under the DJ Food name by Ninja Tune Records on a 12" EP [2] and the Zen TV DVD.[3] Other versions have been performed by Venetian Snares (on the Infolepsy EP), Wicked Hemlocks, The Postmarks and an instrumental version by Big Organ Trio. The refrain was prominently featured in Many Moons by Janelle Monáe. It was covered by Brandon Williams on his 2014 album 'XII' featuring Dames Brown & Nicholas Payton.

The Family Guy episode "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" used a plastic bubble-encased Stewie as the pinball in a close parody of the segment. The Pointer Sisters' distinctive counting style in particular is also referenced near the start of the film Half Nelson, where Ryan Gosling's character Dan Dunne mumbles the numbers in the same fashion.

References

  1. ↑ "Classic Sesame Street Tunes Become Dance Favorites as New 12" Vinyl Hits Market" (Press release). Sesame Workshop. 2003-08-04. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  2. ↑ "Pinball Number Count/C is For Cookie (ZEN12143)". Ninja Tune Records. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  3. ↑ "Ninjatune Releases - Solid Steel Presents Sesame Street". Ninja Tune Records. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
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