So those boys and girls from Broken Social Scene are back with a new self titled album, with the number of band memebers standing at 12 strong. I saw them play live twice, two years ago with Metric in Philly, and last December at the Bowery, and both times I was pretty much taken aback by a very rocking live show, but then it hit me, what makes this band any different than the bloated rock acts of the 70’s? The Journey’s? The Bostons? Does the fact of me standing here in this audience totally compromise any of the punk rock roots I so strongly(and probably wrongly) base my musical elitism upon? As I watched 5 members of the band strum the same chord all on acoustic guitars, I think “Do they not have a law of diminishing returns in Canada?” I try to look at it as being the subject matter of the two bands are completely different, Broken Social Scene have potty mouths, and like to sing about swallowing someone elses spit, drinking piss, fellatio, etc. Hardly “hooked on a feeling” material, but couldn’t “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old” have totally fit in an American Eagle commercial, of young lusty girl pearing from a second story window, and having her beau standing in the front yard longingly looking up at her. Seems like angst anyway you slice it to me. What would Joey Ramone think?

I know I totally enjoy Broken Social Scene, and I’m sort of scared to think if I would like Boston, the feel good happy sunshine bloated rock acts of the 70’s, I never really gave them a try. I know im not going to run out and get their catalog, just becuase someone is goin to write an article (on Pitchfork no doubt) about how Boston got a bad wrap from the punks, and really were a great and highly influential band. I do know that Broken Social Scene needs to be 12 members, because after listening to Jason Collett’s solo cd, which to put it plainly sucked bullets, right down to the cover art of him waxing nostalgic in a distant stare, looking like Nick Drake the best he can. So can I say that Broken Social Scene are better than the sum of their parts, as all rock bands should be I guess, but when your adding 12 parts to begin with? Anyway I’m posting “Superconnected” from the new self titled album, and it’s much better than that “Shorelines” song that has been floating around everywhere.

Broken Social Scene - Superconnected

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 31st, 2005 at 11:09 am and is filed under Music, Indie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.