Friday, January 14, 2011

What is Pep listening to; January 14, 2011

Several years ago I saw a movie entitled Half Nelson. It starred Ryan Gosling. If you've never seen it, then do your self a favor and check it out. I'm including a clip of my FAVORITE scene and the song that turned me on to a an awesome group that is not very well known: Broken Social Scene.




(SPOILER ALERT) In this scene, 13 year old Drey has become a drug runner in order to make ends meet. She unwittingly makes a delivery to her favorite teacher. Drey recently discovered that Mr. Dunne was um...heavy into crack--I won't say he's a crackhead...well yeah; he is a crackhead. This scene blows me away as Mr. Dunne is trying to keep her on the straight and narrow, but then his need for his drug forces him to cross the line and pull this girl deeper into the underside.  I was blown away by this scene but the song playing in the background stayed with me. I couldn't get it out of my head. After much research I discovered that it was called Shampoo Suicide and thus...my love of Broken Social Scene was born.

BSS is a Canadian band that doesn't have a set number of members. Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning are the two constants. Wiki describes their music as a combination of all of its members' respective musical projects, and is characterized by a very large number of sounds, grand orchestrations featuring guitars, horns, woodwinds, and violins, unusual song structures, and an experimental, and sometimes chaotic production style.

That means...you can't define them. They have songs that sound like backdrops to movies; their music actually appeared in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs the World. They have songs that are OBSESSIVE; like I'm still your fag (which I've used as an inspiration for a story that I've been working on for a few years by the same title) lyrics being: I swore I drank your piss that night to see if I could live.  Damn...how can you not appreciate a group that can incorporate such imagery into their music?


I'm not done discovering BSS songs that send me into music induced orgasm! I can't even tell you my favorites because I just can't decide. I was at work today with my headphones blasting Time = Cause. I probably played it 20 times alternating between Da Da Da Da.


Enough said! Check out my playlist devoted to my favorite Broken Social Scene music.

9 comments:

  1. Oh wow thanks so much for that. I remember seeing this movie years ago and also wondered about that song playing, but forgot about it over time. Thanks for reintroducing me to that amazing song and band.

    If you're looking for some more music to jam to, you should check out Local Natives if you haven't already. They have an amazing sound, and I never get tired of listening to their songs.

    Take care,

    -Angel

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good music Angel! I'd never heard of Local Natives and the first song I listened to got me hooked. I'm on listening to a third song and each get better than the last. I'll check out some more of their stuff today but they are definitely the type of group that I'm in to. They have that Modest Mouse group sound. I like harmonies with strong guitars. Thanks for the heads up

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey I just wanted to say that I LOVE your work. I also love BSS. I've loved them since 2004. My favorite song by them is Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl. You should listen to it if you haven't. =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Anonymous, thank you! I think Anthem is one of my favorite BSS tunes. I think their live performances are especially awesome. Here is a link to a live performance of Anthem that I am especially fond of.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDf4pJYnCtY&feature=related

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shareeka Epps "Drey" gave an awesome performance as did Ryan Gosling and to make it better - Anthony Mackie, a fellow Louisianian rocks in this film too. I didn't pay much attention to the soundtrack but will have to take a listen.
    These types of movies are why I prefer inde and foregin films. Monsoon Wedding, Tsotsi, Xiu Xiu:The Sent Down Girl and Buffalo 66 are amoung a few of my favs.

    I agree with you Pepper Pace, and while this is not my favorite scene it is one of the best in this film. Thanks for posting the link to Shampoo Suicide.
    --TL

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't watched those movies but since I'm renewing my membership in Netflix I'll definitely catch those.

    I prefer Indie movies as well. One of my favorites is Oldboy. I actually love the entire trilogy because they are revenge stories. I love revenge stories and if I wasn't so caught up in writing erotica right now I'd be delving into that.

    I did write some Gangsta style stories but...they were really hardcore and some people were made uncomfortable by the violence.

    Check out Oldboy if you get the chance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I will see if I can find Oldboy at my local blockbuster or order it online. I'm a girlie girl and I love an alpha male and sappy love stories but dislike predictable movies. You don't always end up with the one you love most. I love the risks that indie film makers take. Of course I grew up watching Annie, The Blue Lagoon, Grease, etc... but when I knew them word for word I started watching my Dad's movies and fell in love with Rambo, Terminator, Forced Vengenance, Commando, Death Wish etc... I had to sneak and watch them of course. Curse of the Golden Flower is a foreign film from like 2006 but it is really good too. You might like since you like stories about revenge.
    I'll let you know when I start the Oldboy trilogy.
    --TL
    by the way, I think you are a great writer and if you ever reconsider, I would personally like to read one of your Gangsta stories.
    When you become famous I'll be able to tell my friends that I was able to comment on your blog - Ha!

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. i love their version of love will tear us apart again by joy divison.

    -charese

    ReplyDelete
  9. charese! I love this song! I just never knew the name of it or who performed it. Thanks for the heads up! Here is the link if someone else wants to hear it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-2i2SR_OsU

    ReplyDelete

Holiday Shopping at Amazon