It never dawned on me until well into my adult years how great those in-betweener cartoons on Sesame Street were. Long before my first viewing of Koyaanisqatsi and the resulting obsession with 20th century minimalism, this little number snuck its way into my subconscious (and probably yours too, if you grew up in the 80’s). Looking back, it’s perhaps one of the most effective examples of audiovisual education I’ve ever known.

Philip Glass gets a lot of shit for his repetitious arpeggios in the ‘adult’ music world. But in a short musical cartoon about circles, I can’t honestly imagine a better backdrop. Without words or explanation, you didn’t just know what a circle looked like after watching this as a kid — you legitimately understood the very nature and function of them.

Seriously, Dora the Explorer or whatever doesn’t have squat on this. Watch and listen and learn.

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