Broken Social Scene: To Be You and Me (Bonus EP)

Iím the type who scours sites like The Hype Machine looking
for music from either artists I know, or covers of songs I know. What
the hell is wrong with me? Why was I at KFJC for nine years if Iím only
looking for covers of ìNight Movesî? So when the day came that I
finally said to myself ìPlease, for the love of everything that you
hold dear, find something today, that you have not heard before.î, I
knew I was about to get an earfulÖof what, I did not know, but who
cares, right?

I poked around on Hype for a while; one of the things I love
about the aggregators is when I see six or seven songs from the same
artist. I can make a little mini CD, or split CD of two or three bands,
is that illegal? I saw the latest EP ìTo You and Meî, from Broken Social Scene sitting on there, and figured, why not? Iím pleased that I tuned in.

This is a bonus EP that goes along with their full-length, third,
self-titled release on Arts & Crafts records. I have to say right
off the bat, that I am not familiar with their last album ìYou Forgot
it in Peopleî, which garnered such enthusiastic reviews. With that
said, I truly enjoyed this EP, so much so, that Iíve had it on repeat
for a few days now. Seven tracks, totaling 26 minutes. Yes, it has a
bit of the Wilco sound to it, as well as Pavement, but thatís a good
thing. Many of the tracks are instrumental, a few with some vocalizing
over the music, but no actual lyrics, and one or two with some fine
lyrics added for good measure.

Standouts include, but are not limited to (my many years in radio
seeping out right there): Canada vs. America. Great lyrics here, placed
over drums in the foreground, and horns in the Azalea Snail school of
indi rock. When the mention ìThe big guns are coming outî in the
chorus, Iím reminded of John Candy movie when heís a cop on the
U.S./Canada border, and weíre about to go to war with them to take
attention away of the crap going on here. Candy and Reah Perlman save
the day. If I remember correctly Alan Alda plays the President in that
movie. A real classic, obviously. So is this song.

The entire CD appears to be sounds colliding with each other in one
way or another, but just like the current book Iím reading: ìNo Logoî,
by Naomi Cline, about advertisings pervasive influence in our lives,
every time I think theyíve made a mistake somewhere, I realize, no they
have not. As a matter of fact, what they just did was so brilliant; I
must listen to it once again.

The use of programmed drum and synth tracks works well with the
acoustic/analog instruments they haul along their thick path of musical
frontier discovery. They carry along with them many musicians. I guess
their live show is something to be seen. They are playing at the Grand
Ballroom tonight (11/09/05) in San Francisco. I will not be attending,
but you should go. Really, you donít have a life. Look at you. No,
seriously, look at you.

Other stand out tracks: ìBaroque Socialî, nice use of synth
equipment. ìNo Smiling Darkness/Snake Charmer Associationî, bass and
tambourine for the soul. And I seriously have to say that ìAll My
Friendsî will sadly be a theme song on some show like OP or Laguna
Beach sometime very soon. Awesome song, which you just know will be
picked up by those Hollywood bastards! ìMajor Label Debut (fast)î is a
real rocker. At 3:12 it is sure to be on your local indi radio station
real soon. The lyrics are catchy, and the music is very punchy. And
theyíre right, itís fast. This should be the single, actually. From
what I understand they may be suffering from the sophomore jinx with
their full length release. I certainly donít see that with this EP. Get
it todayÖor on payday.

Ok, Iím going back to finding covers of Styx tunes, or perhaps
another mash-up of Air Supply and Guns and RosesÖthat was a good one

Thanks to Think Tank for these links:

KVRX Radio-Austin Texas 2003
Broken Social Scene – Stars and Sons
Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline)
Broken Social Scene – New Country(?)
Broken Social Scene – Willie Nelson(?)
Broken Social Scene – Cause=Time

Reviewed by the amazing John Hell