If you had access to cable in the early 2000s, you might remember the number of TV movies Disney Channel shoved out. They were often accompanied by a single by one of Disney's own manufactured pop stars who either disappeared from the face of the planet or grew up and later complained about how awful working for Disney was. One of these lousy movies, “Get A Clue” came with a music video that was rather odd and worth much more discussion that the movie it was made for. Also titled “Get A Clue” the song was not heralded by a Disney-owned pop star but an animated duo referred to as Simon and Milo. It was actually pretty catchy and the music video was esoteric and quirky. They had this one song and this one music video and then, much like Disney channel stars tend to do, disappeared forever without explanation.
Who were these animated musicians? Where did they go? Where did they come from?
As it turns out, Simon and Milo are a Canadian creation that was never truly brought to the US. Only, in Canada, they're referred to as Prozzäk. So named because their music “makes people feel numb and happy.”
In Canada, Prozzäk had many other music videos, though they weren't as good. All of them were made with cheap animation without the Disney dollar to make it look nice. And they are rather... uh, PG-13. The band goes through adventures that mostly encompass Simon trying to get laid while Milo plays guitar and saves him when he screws up. Each song is about Simon's own frustrations with love, and occasionally Milo has an awkward song of his own.
They didn't last for too long. In 2005, they released their last studio album which featured a more morose tone. Last year they released another song for the first time in 10 years but there's been nothing since.
So what were they doing on the Disney Channel? Apparently, there were plans for a Simon and Milo tv show, helmed by Disney of all people. There was a disagreement as to what is considered child-appropriate, with Prozzäk under the impression that songs like “ Sleep With Myself” is considered appropriate for an eight-year-old. The result was the one music video, which acted as a sort of pilot that never went off.
What many Americans got was a single album made up of songs that were released earlier in Canada. Most of the music is pretty obnoxious, but I had an affinity for weird pseudo Euro-pop from the early 2000's. They were even released an extremely cheesey “don't be racist” song which proves that Canada is always five years ahead of the US socially.
