W♥M025: Mason Proper

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:17:15 -0500

09/28/2008 16:11:34 ♥ written by vu ()

Arianna Solare - Lift Me Up

Jacky & Strings - Vamonos Paya

Abbotfinney & Jeffrey Alan - Show Me Something Better

You Bet! - It's Love

The Shangri-Las - Simon Says

Gossip - Careless Whisper

Subscribe to our show at podcast.weheartmusic.com, via RSS Feed.

Download this episode (39 min)

Music used/mentioned: Arianna Solare (W♥M), Mason Proper (W♥M), Abbotfinney, The Sugarcubes (W♥M), Sunn O))) (W♥M), Jacky & Strings, You Bet!, The Shangri-Las (W♥M), and Gossip (W♥M).

PART ONE
Jon from Mason Proper was nice enough to stop by and talk about:

the #2 most added album on College radio station this week
The origin of "oly oly oxen free"
"There is a Moth in Your Chest" title and two different versions of their album explained
Moth vs Oxen
The story behind their friendship with Cloud Cult
Upcoming CMJ
Insound.com's exclusive limited DVD and remix contest (ends Sep 30^th).

PART TWO
Alex tells us about his recent Southern Lord purchases...on his BIKE!

PART THREE
Vu ♥ 60s girl pop and soul, so he mentions: You Bet!, The Shangri-Las, and Gossip.

CREDITS: Special thanks goes to Jessi Hector at Sneak Attack, Alex from We Heart Music, Christina from Ariel Publicity, Jacky and Strings, Abbotfinney, and, of course, Jon Visger from Mason Proper.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com

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Simon Says

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:15:50 -0500

I'm sure you've all played Simon Says when you were a kid, right?

The game's simple enough, one person gives instructions and you must obey it (but only if he says "Simon says"). Failing to follow Simon's instructions, you are eliminated from the game.

So, Simon says enjoy these songs:

Discography

[2008] The Outfit

[2008] The Outfit Movement Vol 1

Sounds Like

House of Pain

http://weheartmus...

House of Pain was an Irish-styled American hip-hop group who released three albums in the early t...

Phil Anastasia - Simon Says

I have here The Outfit Movement Vol 1 by Philanastasia (official/myspace), a New York-based underground hip-hop artist that reminds me of House of Pain (in fact, the opening song on this promo album is a reimagined "Who's the Man"). His biography lists him as "a white boy that isn't trying to sound like Eminem", which I think is a good thing.

The Outfit looks like a group of rappers (Lazy K, Neph-E-Neph, The Last American B-Boy, Dyverse The First, King Just, Lounge-Lo, Rahsaan, and Dr. Ama), under Phil Anastasia's umbrella, doing original rap lyrics over existing recorded music.

What impressed me about this album is that it sounds remarkably clear as the whole thing is recorded live, hosted by one of the Outfitters, DJ Lazy K.

When I heard Gorillaz's "Feels Good Inc" as the backing track for PA, King Just & The Last American B-Boy's raps, I had to smile at how different this song suddenly turned out.

Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says

Anyway, the Outfit's mix of "Simon Says" is not that different from the original Pharoahe Monch's version and variants - includes all the rude boobies lyrics.

If you like underground hip-hop, you'll definitely want to check out Philanastasia. If you want a copy of The Outfit Movement Vol 1, it is actually free for a limited time if you purchase their main original album, The Outfit (both CDs can be yours for the low price of $7.99). I don't need to tell you that this is a very good price for a full length.

The Shangri-Las - Simon Says

The Shangri-Las named themselves after a New York restaurant and was together for about six short years. You might have heard of "Leader of the Pack", which is their most well-known song.

If you think two of the girls look alike, that's because they are identical twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser, while the other original members were also sisters: Mary and Betty Weiss (Betty rarely made public appearance, however).

Their very first recording was actually "Simon Says" in December 1963. This was very early in their career and it definitely has that Motown and Northern soul dance vibe. I love it! I just want to dance whenever I hear this song.

They also have an alternate version called "Simon Speaks", which I don't think I liked as much as "Simon Says".

When they had recorded this song, they were all under the age of 18, with Betty being the oldest at 17.

At the height of their popularity, in 1964, they opened up for the Beatles, The Drifters and James Brown.

Unfortunately, the band went into early retirement after disputes with their record label. They were only 21 and 22 :)

The Pipettes - Simon Says

Speaking of pop songs and cute girls, The Pipettes (thepipettes.co.uk) have a b-side called "Simon Says" off their Judy single.

This is pretty standard-Pipettes sound, and since I've already spent far too much time talking about the band early on their career - I would suggest you check out my various articles on them.

They've been pretty quiet lately, their album was released in the US last October with a new cover and I can only assume they are writing new songs in 2008. If I hear any announcements, I'll be sure to let you know.

1910 Fruitgum Company - Simon Says

Finally, 1910 Fruitgum Company (1910fruitgumcompany.com) are actually still around since the 60s.

Their first major hit was actually "Simon Says" in 1968. If you listen to the song, it's very bubblegum pop - which is kind of funny, seeing as the band's named after a candy wrapper that singer Frank Jackell found.

According to their official website, they are now performing with the original band members and recently released brand new albums with old and new hits.

04/02/2008 01:12:08 vu my♥posts www.weheartmusic.com

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