Breezy Listening Blues

Summary
Brain gets the lowest grade he's ever had on a test (a B-) and wonders whether the new "breezy listening" background music at the Ice Cream Shop is sapping his intelligence.

Plot
Mr. Ratburn is handing back test papers. He questions if Alan was feeling okay when he took the test. Brain is shocked to see that his grade is a B-, and immediately asks if this is correct. Mr. Ratburn tells him it is, and tells him not to take it too hard. Arthur and Buster try to tell him that a B is a good grade, with Buster wishing he had gotten one (he got a C). Brain freaks out because that is only one grade above a C+ and he hasn't ever gotten a B- before. Arthur shrugs and tells him that he will do better next time. Brain again freaks out saying that he might not do better and instead will do worse and worse, until he becomes like Buster. He proceeds to fantasize himself as Buster, confusing a dirigible with a UFO and eating a cupcake out of the garbage. Back in the classroom, he says that this could be the start of something very bad.

Breezy Listening Blues

As Buster and Arthur are getting their milkshakes at Brain's Ice Cream Parlor, Arthur inquires what Brain did the day before the test. Brain goes through the events of the day and realizes the music in the ice cream shop has changed. Arthur says that the music sounds familiar (and is in fact an easy listening remix of the Arthur theme song). The Brain then discovers that the Breezy Listening CD is the problem and tests this on the Tibbles with horrible results. He later listens to it while having a dream about a mall. He later reports to his parents that the Breezy Listening CD is affecting his brain, so they put Brain in charge of the music. First he tries Koko Taylor, but it made Buster lose his appetite. Molly suggests Mutakrude, but it does not work. Muffy then tries Carmen, but Molly turns it off. Francine then puts on U Stink to Muffy's frustration. Arthur and Buster then sing the We Stink song while Muffy replays Carmen, but Brains turns it off saying that it is an ice cream shop, not a jukebox, and declares silence, leading to everyone going to the Sugar Bowl. The next day, Brain dreads what the grade on his next test will be, due to having played the Breezy Listening CD again yesterday, but he gets an A+. Later, he made a CD of the customers' favorite songs called the Sundae Hits, finishing the episode.

Major

 * Brain
 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Nigel Ratburn

Minor

 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Francine Frensky
 * Mr. Powers
 * Mrs. Powers
 * Paige Turner

Cameo

 * Binky Barnes
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Mr. Morris
 * George Lundgren
 * Fern Walters
 * Mrs. Armstrong
 * Bitzi Baxter
 * Mrs. Wood
 * Unknown Male Adult Poodle
 * Wanda Deegan
 * Flossie
 * Billy
 * Alex
 * Maria Pappas
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 4)
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
 * Mike
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 2)
 * Ethel
 * Kenny
 * Helen
 * Nancy
 * Jenna Morgan

Episode connections

 * During Brain's dream in a giant mall, he stops by a Chickin' Lickin' - a restaurant chain first featured in "Sue Ellen Chickens Out."
 * Several singers and bands are featured when the Brain changes music at the ice cream shop:
 * Koko Taylor from "Big Horns George" has her song "Tired of That" played. Brain also mentions her songs "Bills, Bills, Bills, and More Bills," "Evil," and "I Cried Like a Baby."
 * Mütakrüde from "The Law of the Jungle Gym" has an unreleased album, Shinsplits, played.
 * Rodney Gilfry from "Lights, Camera... Opera!"
 * U Stink and We Stink from Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll are mentioned. U Stink's Nothing But the Music is played, and Arthur and Buster sing the We Stink Song.

Cultural references

 * In the Chickin' Lickin' in Brain's dream, the clerk asks "Would you like to megasize that for only ten cents more?". This refers to McDonald's controversial |supersize option between 1992 and 2004.
 * During Brain's dream, he finds a library where Miss Turner shows him that books have been replaced with simpler versions called "bookazines." An Arthur doll is seen reading Call of the Mild, a spoof of ' by . Paige Turner is seen reading Peace, a spoof of ' by.
 * The Breezy Listening music Brain plays in the shop is a muzak version of the Arthur theme song. Arthur mentions that he "knows that tune from somewhere."

Errors

 * During the 2019 Arthur Marathon voting, this episode's title was misspelled as "Breezy's Listening Blues."
 * When Brain looks at his paper with a B-, he has Mr. Ratburn's sleeve.
 * Possible: In the opening, Mr. Ratburn corrects Muffy by telling her that Congo is a country, not a dance. But when he hands the paper to her, it's graded A. However, that could've been the only question she got wrong, so all it did was bump her down from an A+ to an A.

Production notes

 * This is Alex Hood's final episode as Brain.

Home video
DVD:
 * Binky Goes Nuts (DVD)