Solution to Cacophony
We are presented with a video made up of three second clips. The majority of the clips have Yakety Sax playing, but a few do not. Notably, these clips are the first and last clips, and a number of clips that are simply of a stump with a sign that says "I'm John".
The John Stump clips clue, well, John Stump, a satirical composer. In particular, this puzzle refers to his work Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz, as indicated by the first and last clips.
Once we have identified the work that this video is referring to, we find the clips match with the strange and amusing markings of the piece. Tracing a path from marking to marking in the order of the clips in the video spells a letter, with letter breaks indicated by the John Stump clip.
| Music? | Description of Clip | Marking |
|---|---|---|
| No | Faeries playing music. | Faerie's Aire |
| Yes | A bowl of rigatoni pasta. | Rigatoni |
| Yes | A man sitting in a chair balanced on a tightrope on two legs before he falls off of it. | balance your chair on 2 legs |
| Yes | Mute Punk Key for sale on eBay. | sell mute |
| Yes | A woman daydreaming of an armrest. | rests are imaginary |
| Yes | Oil being poured on a gift bow. | oil bow here |
| No | A tree stump with a sign that says "I'm John". | John Stump |
| Yes | A pair of feet being taped together. | Keep both feet together |
| Yes | NBA team Lakers celebrating. | Lakers in 6. |
| Yes | Jon Stewart kicking off the Late Show with "Play ball!" | Play ball! |
| Yes | Someone slapping their thigh. | slap thigh |
| Yes | Someone drops a deck of cards and is excited to see that the diamonds are sorted. | Arranged by Accident |
| Yes | Nighttime driving on a road. | Drive it! |
| No | A tree stump with a sign that says "I'm John". | John Stump |
| Yes | Doctors Without Borders/Medicins Sans Frontieres logo | msf |
| Yes | A couple are walking, then suddenly they duck to avoid a duck. | duck |
| Yes | A timpani with "deal with it" sunglasses and a fan. | Cool Timpani with small fan |
| Yes | A couple are walking, then suddenly they duck to avoid a duck. | duck |
| Yes | Some people release penguins from an enclosure. | release the penguins |
| No | A tree stump with a sign that says "I'm John". | John Stump |
| Yes | Bicycles get added to a pot. | add bicycle |
| Yes | Peanuts are dumped into a slow cooker. | insert peanuts |
| Yes | Someone stares at his phone and becomes frustrated. | gradually become agitated |
| Yes | A man runs quickly across the screen. | Go fast |
| Yes | A cow walks off of a stage. | remove cattle from stage |
| No | A tree stump with a sign that says "I'm John". | John Stump |
| Yes | A cornet casts an Ice spell. | Cornet use ice |
| Yes | A valve is removed from a tank. | remove valve |
| Yes | A mouse cursor clicks a plus icon next to "The Sopranos" logo. | add Sopranos |
| Yes | A string unties from in front of the Slipknot logo. | untie slip knot |
| Yes | A mouse cursor clicks a plus icon next to "The Sopranos" logo. | add Sopranos |
| Yes | Someone does the moonwalk. | Moon-walk |
| Yes | A swimmer does a butterfly stroke. | continue "swimming" motion |
| No | Death, the character from SMITE, appears in a circle of people waltzing. | Death Waltz |
The answer to this puzzle is WHY ME.