The Iranian/American singer of three songs (Say Hello, Flashdance, Awake Enough) on the album George is on, is Anousheh Khalili.
Each year, an album is released that demands a place in any music fan's CD collection. Washington, DC- based Grammy Award winning duo Deep Dish's latest effort George Is On, is one such record. For those tired of the same old formula in either rock, dance or beyond, this is the album that will break down doors and force you to look at music from a different perspective. Fresh off 2004's international hit lead single "Flashdance," and a follow-up single, "Say Hello," that's currently tipped for a repeat performance, the duo of Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi have delivered an album that could prove to be the defining work of their careers.
George Is On exemplifies Deep Dish's uncanny ability to mix genres, as the Iranian-American duo brilliantly marries classic 70's/80's era rock & pop sounds with their signature deep and sexy dancefloor production and knack for creating subtly big songs. The record features a tight knit group of DC-bred guest vocalists, including long time Deep Dish collaborator Richard Morel on "No Stopping For Nicotine," "Sacramento," and "Everybody's Wearing My Head" and newly discovered female vocalist Anousheh on "Flashdance," "Say Hello," and "Awake Enough." Dubfire himself also debuts his vocal talents on the melancholic yet beautiful ballad "In Love With A Friend."
"Flashdance," was the first new release by the duo in six years as well as being the debut single from George Is On. With vocalist Anousheh's sultry, nonchalant vocals accompanied by a slick guitar riff inspired by a song from the 80's cult classic film "Flashdance," the song quickly grew into an international crossover phenomenon that would come to define the "guitar-house" sound. After conquering dancefloors worldwide on promo over the spring of 2004, the song debuted in the USA in late summer of 2004 and went on to become the No. 1 top-selling dance track on Apple's I-Tunes for the year. In September of 2004, the single debuted at the No. 3 spot on the U.K.?s pop charts. "Flashdance" went on to be released in over 30 territories, went Gold in Australia, and won the duo the award for "Best Underground Dance Track" at this year's International Dance Music Awards in Miami. In helping to continue the "Flashdance" phenomenon, Canadian producer Sultan went on to update the song with his bombastic mash-up remix that seamlessly crosses the Deep Dish original with Dire Straits' guitar rock classic "Money For Nothing." In what is one of the world?s first ever legally cleared "mash up" remixes, this instant classic has been included on the US version of the album as a special bonus track.
Deep Dish goes on to further bridge the gap between past and present via their re-work Fleetwood Mac's seminal "Dreams" (the third single). And in a major coup for the album, the song features newly recorded vocals from Steve Nicks herself! The song was originally set to be an instrumental, however the duo soon noticed that the vocals for "Dreams" were in near perfect key with their instrumental track. The duo sent the song to Stevie Nicks' camp to see if there was any interest and, lo and behold, Dubfire and Sharam soon after found themselves at the legendary Village Studios in West LA (coincidentally, a studio where Fleetwood Mac had once recorded) laying down the new vocals with the legendary Fleetwood Mac vocalist.
It's been 14 years since the duo first met in DC, and it's been seven years since they released their critically acclaimed debut artist album Junk Science. During the time between Junk Science and George Is On, Deep Dish's Dubfire and Sharam have been extremely prolific. They've released a number of genre-defining mixed CDs including Yoshiesque (1999), Renaissance Ibiza (2000), Yoshiesque Two (2001), Deep Dish "Global Underground: Moscow (2001) and Global Underground: Toronto (2003). In addition, they have become two of the most in demand remixers in the business, and their credits include Madonna, Beth Orton, Depeche Mode, Dido, Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones, 'N Sync, Justin Timberlake, Brother Brown, Morel, and Danny Teneglia. Their remixing prowess earned them a Grammy nomination in 2001 in the "Remixer Of The Year" category and in 2002 they were nominated and won a Grammy in the "Best Remixed Recording" category for their mix of Dido's hit single "Thank You." The group later went on to collaborate with P.Diddy on the track "Let?s Get Ill."
On top of all this, these two talented and driven artists tour throughout the year with 100-plus DJ gigs worldwide, leading Rolling Stone to declare, "there may be no other live DJ act better than Deep Dish."
Nominee: Grammy Award 2005 "Best Dance Recording" for Deep Dish's "Say Hello"
Winner: Grammy Award 2002 "Best Remixed Recording" for Dido's "Thank You"
Nominee: Grammy Award 2001 "Remixer of The Year" (Non-Classical)
Winner: International Dance Music Awards 2005 for Best Underground Dance Track for "Flashdance"
Winner: DanceStar USA Award 2004 for Best Compilation (US Releases) for Deep Dish GU#025:Toronto (Global Underground) and Best DJ
Nominee: DanceStar USA Award 2004 for Best Remix (Worldwide DJ's) for P Diddy's "Let's Get Ill" (Deep Dish Remix) (Bad Boy)
Winner: Ibiza DJ Award 2004 for Best Set of the Season
Winner: DanceStar USA Award 2002 Best Compilation for Deep Dish - GU 021 Moscow' (Global Underground)
Nominee: DanceStar USA Award 2003 Party 93.1 FM Award for Best Remix for Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" (Deep Dish remix) (Jive)
"Hot Duo", Rolling Stone, August 2001
Winner: Muzik Magazine SAS Award 1998 "Best International DJ"
Deep Dish also ranked:
Winner: 2006 DJ Meeting Awards (Germany) Best International DJ
#2 in the "Best Dance/DJ Artist" category by the critics of Rolling Stone for their music awards of 2001
#8 in DJ Magazine's World's Top 100 DJ's reader's poll for 2005, #10 for 2004, #9 for 2003, #16 in 2002, and # 10 in 2001
#5 out of 50 of "America's Favorite DJ's" in BPM in 2005, #12 in 2004 and #9 in 2003 and 2002
Stranded
Deep Dish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of Salamasond
Yertle the turtle
Was king of the pond
A nice little pond
It was clean it was neat
The water was warm
There was plenty to eat
The king of them all
Decided the kingdom
He ruled was too small
I'm a ruler of all that I see
But I don't see enough
And that's the trouble with me
With this stone for a throne
I am too low down
I cannot look down
Upon the places beyond
So Yertle the turtle king
Lifted his hand
And Yertle the turtle king
Lifted his hand
He ordered all the turtles
Onto one another's back
He piled them high
Into a ten turtle stack
I'm Yertle the turtle
The things I now rule
I'm king of a cow
I'm king of a mule
Then down from below
In the great turtle stack
Came a burp from a plain
Little turtle named Mack
Just part of the throne
This burpin' little turtle
Looked up and said "I beg
Your pardon king Yertle"
I've pains in my back
My shoulders and my knees
How long must we stand
Here your majesty
"Silence!" the king of the
Turtles barked back
To the bad burpin'
Little turtle named Mack
I'm Yertle the turtle
Oh marvelous me for
I am ruler of all that I see
Yertle, Yertle the turtle
Yertle, Yertle the turtle
The lyrics to Deep Dish's song "Stranded" tell the story of a turtle named Yertle who rules over a pond on the island of Salamasond. Despite having a neat and clean kingdom and plenty to eat, Yertle becomes discontent with his rule and desires more. He decides to stack all the turtles on top of each other in order to increase his sight and rule over more things. However, a plain little turtle named Mack decides to speak up and express his discomfort with being used as a means to elevate Yertle's rule. Yertle responds by barking back and asserting his supreme rule.
The song is a musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss's beloved children's book "Yertle the Turtle," which was written in 1958. The book uses the story of Yertle's escalating ego and tyranny to teach children about the dangers of becoming too consumed with power and the importance of treating others with respect. Deep Dish's song serves as an updated and modern take on a classic tale that is still relevant today.
Line by Line Meaning
On a far away island
The story begins on an island far away.
Of Salamasond
The name of the island was Salamasond.
Yertle the turtle
Yertle was the name of the turtle.
Was king of the pond
Yertle was the king of a pond on the island.
A nice little pond
The pond was described as nice and small.
It was clean it was neat
The pond was clean and tidy.
The water was warm
The water in the pond was warm.
There was plenty to eat
There was an abundance of food in the pond.
Until one day
One day, something changed.
The king of them all
Yertle was considered the king of all the other turtles in the pond.
Decided the kingdom
Yertle made the decision to expand his kingdom.
He ruled was too small
Yertle felt that the pond he ruled was too small for his desires.
I'm a ruler of all that I see
Despite being the king of the pond, Yertle felt limited by what he could see.
But I don't see enough
Yertle wanted to rule over more than just the pond.
And that's the trouble with me
Yertle realized that his ambition was causing him trouble.
With this stone for a throne
Yertle sat on a throne made of stone.
I am too low down
Yertle felt too low on his throne to see the world beyond the pond.
I cannot look down
Yertle was unable to see what lay beyond his pond from his current position.
Upon the places beyond
Yertle wished to see what was beyond his current view.
So Yertle the turtle king
Yertle was still the king of the pond and in a position of power.
Lifted his hand
Yertle issued commands by lifting his hand.
And Yertle the turtle king
The song emphasizes Yertle's position as king.
Ordered all the turtles
Yertle instructed the other turtles in his pond to do as he wished.
Onto one another's back
Yertle commanded the other turtles to stack atop one another.
He piled them high
Yertle stacked the other turtles high on top of one another.
Into a ten turtle stack
10 turtles were stacked on top of each other.
I'm Yertle the turtle
Yertle continued to assert his position as king.
The things I now rule
With his new elevated position, Yertle felt he now ruled more than just the pond.
I'm king of a cow
Yertle proclaimed himself king of a creature besides turtles.
I'm king of a mule
Yertle declared another creature, a mule, under his rule.
Then down from below
Something happened unexpectedly from the bottom of the turtle stack.
In the great turtle stack
The location of the disturbance was in the enormous stack of turtles.
Came a burp from a plain
A plain and unremarkable turtle named Mack let out a burp.
Little turtle named Mack
Yertle referred to the burping turtle specifically and by name.
Just part of the throne
Mack was not seen as an individual turtle but rather a part of Yertle's throne.
This burpin' little turtle
The song reminded listeners of Mack's burping habits again.
Looked up and said "I beg
Mack asked for something from Yertle in a polite way.
Your pardon king Yertle"
Mack showed respect towards Yertle despite his lower position.
I've pains in my back
Mack complained of physical pain in his back.
My shoulders and my knees
Mack listed specific areas where he ached.
How long must we stand
Mack questioned how long the turtles were going to stay stacked up.
Here your majesty
Mack directed his question to Yertle, the king of the turtles.
"Silence!" the king of the
Yertle quickly silenced Mack's complaints.
Turtles barked back
The song uses the verb 'barked' to make Yertle sound harsh and authoritarian.
To the bad burpin'
Yertle was upset with Mack for burping during his reign as king.
Little turtle named Mack
The song reminds listeners of the identity of the offending turtle, Mack.
I'm Yertle the turtle
Yertle once more insinuates his authority by repeating his name.
Oh marvelous me for
Yertle was pleased with himself and his accomplishments.
I am ruler of all that I see
Yertle still wished to expand his rule as far as he could see.
Yertle, Yertle the turtle
The song ends with one final repetition of Yertle's name and his position as king of the turtles.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICHARD MOREL, SHIRAZINIA ALI, TAYEBI SHARAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ger M
The years that have past and this diamond that had meant so much to me was lost in time... Sooooo glad i found it again.Two words TIMELESS and CLASSIC!
Mark Moore
A classic from the late 90's. Used to play this constantly, and still sounds fresh today.
N B
This song has two tones, and I love how exactly at midpoint it changes the direction. Looking at that picture, that midpoint falls right in between Sharam and Dubfire. It almost feels like symbolism that the first part was done by Sharam while the second part was done by Dubfire.
MARTA CORO
A pesar de los años sigue teniendo su encanto esta canción para mí.
Andy Moore
Easily one of my fave Deep Dish tunes of all time. I'll never forget their closing a rave in Austin, Tx circa 97 with the Hubble Dub of this gorgeous track. Good times!
ZarjaDawn
one of my evergreens,too, just listening, again
Paulie
Just found this again after about 25 years.. could never remember who did it or the lyrics - just a bit of the tune.This morning Dubfire's name popped into my head..now I can die happy, as I dance off into the sunset ✌️
Chris Horn
So atmospheric...so dark...so mysterious...so well produced....so...oh just listen to it!!! And enjoy!!!!!!!!
Jay Mansbridge
Wicked tune 1997 great memories from that year 🙌🙌🙌
Cyrus Stewart
Oh my thanks for posting this even though I'm just hearing it in 2021 I've been away from the scene for a long time this is awesome