# Broken Social Scene in Toronto last night...



## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

I don't post much in this section, but I need to reach out for opinions on this one...

I have been a fan of BSS for years, lots of cool acts have been associated with them, and although the music can be a bit strange, every once in a while the collaboration yields some real moments of brilliance. I saw them live a couple of years ago at an outdoor show on Toronto Island, and it was a really fantastic experience.

So when I went to see them last night, I was really confused... am I the only person who thought that they sucked? Or have they always sucked, and I just never noticed it till last night? Maybe it was the venue (the Docks)? Maybe it was the fact that none of the "stars" in their group showed up (i.e. Amy Millan, Feist, Emily Haines)? That being said, there should have at least been some good guitar music... but, um, there wasn't.

I hate to harsh on a local band, because I'm a big supporter of Canadian music and our scene generally. But it seemed to me that the show was really not good.... Was I wrong?

--- D


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I have never understood their appeal. I bought one of their discs a couple years ago based on all the critics gushing over it. What a turd. I listened a couple times through hoping I would find something interesting, a song, a riff, a lyric... anything. Nope. Nothing.

So, I'm going to say they have always sucked. 

I can't say I'm a big fan of Fiest either... so maybe it's just me.

Pete


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2008)

I'm with Sneaky: I don't get them. Tried hard. Nope. They always came across as far too full of themselves for me to enjoy it. If you're putting the time signature in your song to advertise that it's not in 4/4 _you're doing it wrong_.

I know it often comes to down to: you're a BSS fan or a New Pornographers fan, and that's kind of sad. But I'm a NP fan, not a BSS fan.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

First time I saw them was on Letterman and they were amazing. It was the same sort "something important is about to happen" feeling I got when I first saw the opening credits roll for Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing". Every bit as huge as George Clinton's appearances on Letterman. They were every bit as good on Conan O'Brian. And many of the produced and concert videos I've seen on youtube have been equally exciting pieces of work. The music itself is not all that deep or complex, and I don't think I've ever made out a single lyric, but it's like a musical buffalo stampede when they get going.

Having said that, I've never seen them live, so maybe the parts I have gotten to see are only the best parts, and the rest sucks big time.


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## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

mhammer said:


> First time I saw them was on Letterman and they were amazing. It was the same sort "something important is about to happen" feeling I got when I first saw the opening credits roll for Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing". Every bit as huge as George Clinton's appearances on Letterman. They were every bit as good on Conan O'Brian. And many of the produced and concert videos I've seen on youtube have been equally exciting pieces of work. The music itself is not all that deep or complex, and I don't think I've ever made out a single lyric, but it's like a musical buffalo stampede when they get going.
> 
> Having said that, I've never seen them live, so maybe the parts I have gotten to see are only the best parts, and the rest sucks big time.


That's about right. The music isn't about the technical proficiency or the "chops". It's more about creating a groove and having something come out of this wild chaotic rambling. Like I said, I've seen them live before, and it was exactly right. I guess part of the experiment is that sometimes you get the stampede, and sometimes it's just a musical buffalo taking a dump.

--- D


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

they're really hot or cold live (like the rheostatics) - i've seen a couple shows that were a bit rough and uninspired and a couple great ones - they were really "on" at the hillside festival in guelph this past summer and it was fantastic!

i haven't loved any of their albums since "feel good lost" (which i did love) - there's too many people in the band and unless the venue sounds really good, it's impossible to find any foreground in the mix and retain any power in the dynamics


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

Duster said:


> am I the only person who thought that they sucked? Or have they always sucked, and I just never noticed it till last night? Maybe it was the venue (the Docks)? Maybe it was the fact that none of the "stars" in their group showed up (i.e. Amy Millan, Feist, Emily Haines)? That being said, there should have at least been some good guitar music... but, um, there wasn't.
> 
> --- D



You are correct......they always suck. Stars or not. 
"good guitar music" is not something you would find in BSS. I was thinking of buying and sending them a tuner so all the guitarists and violinists could get in tune with each other. I know they are "cool", but having four guitarists all off in their own tuning worlds is not cool. It sucks.



Sneaky said:


> I have never understood their appeal. I bought one of their discs a couple years ago based on all the critics gushing over it. What a turd. I listened a couple times through hoping I would find something interesting, a song, a riff, a lyric... anything. Nope. Nothing.
> 
> So, I'm going to say they have always sucked.
> 
> Pete


Got to agree there Pete. Nothin' goin' on that is attractive to me. 
Critics........bah humbug !!!!


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

It's kinda cool if you are selling a basement full of Jaguars and Jazzmasters that you bought for $225ea....... The problem with the indie pitchfork crowd is that mediocrity is placed on a pedestal, to survive you gotta lower the strap, lose the PRS and wear glasses even if you don't need them. 

The "indie scene" is no less conformist than the worst glam hair bands of the 80's in their heyday.

But like all fashion trends and genres, within, there are a few real artists that manage to bring their musical genius to a far larger audience and that in my book is a great thing. No need for a flame suit, it's just my opinion.....

Andy


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

sysexguy said:


> .... a basement full of Jaguars and Jazzmasters that you bought for $225ea......


Where can I get that deal !!!!! I wear glasses !!!! Oh wait, but I'm old and fat and attempt to play in tune. Guess that deal is not extended to guys like me.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> That's the kind of insightful analysis I expect to find at Harmony Central.


Hmmm ......no more than the usual here.
I usually give my reasons. But BSS really rub me the wrong way. Hence my short answer in agreement with the OP.
Okay Janssen here is my analyizize of why I don't like them AND think they suck.
I have played and worked shows with them in the past 3-4 years. So their highminded attitude is always offputting. Any artist that has to tell you at any opportunity that they are making art and if you don't like it you somehow are beneath them pisses me off. 
They have two drummers that will speed up or slow down. Sometimes they do the opposite thing at the same time. FANTASTIC !!! No groove.
The last time I worked with them they had 4 guitarists and they all had their own special tuning, slightly out of tune with each other. A cachophany of guitar shit. 
There seems to be no "arrangement" to their tunes and they go on and on and on. Often with terrible, long guitar solos that do nothing. 
You can have all the above and as long as the song is good something will shine through. In their case never does.
So that is a more detailed answer for you. They SUCK !!!! (IMHO of course :smile


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> I'm not saying you should like them or thier music. Saying that any musician "sucks" just strikes me as fairly juvenile, though. I wouldn't have expected it coming from someone such as yourself.


I'm saying that as a band...they suck. There are many reasons to be in a band. They have none of the ones that I hold as valid to be in a band. Their values are obviously different than mine. I have given you the reasons why and I think the umbrella of "suck" applies here. Whether you think that is a juvenile term is up to you. I am not above that. While I may not have said that in a review of them that I would have started, since OP used that term, I feel it is the apt description here. And....one I happen to concur with.


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## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

Come on, let's not take ourselves too seriously here... or else we run the same risk as the BSS. This wasn't supposed to be a thread for serious music critique, it was more of an informal survey of people's opinions about a band. To say a band "sucks", juvenile as it is, is still valid. Giving reasons as to why you think they suck is a bonus.

My OP was a bit tongue-in-cheek. It was more of a cry of disappointment, that a much-loved band of mine put on a sub-standard performance. Sometimes, there's a fine line between something being a work of genius, and being total gibberish. This is true in various forms of art.  People will have wildly differing opinions on the same thing. Sometimes, even the same person will have different opinions on the same work, depending on the context...

In the end, I'd probably rather discuss something that polarizes people than something that everyone unanimously thinks is "pretty good". 

--- D


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## 4321 (Nov 25, 2008)

Nah, never really got into BSS, not my "Scene".....wooooo... I Kill Me :banana:


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> To make music?


"Good musicians execute their music, bad one's murder it."


Listen....you obviously like them and don't care for my critique. We have both expressed our opinions, we beg to differ....'Nuff said......okay?.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

sysexguy said:


> The "indie scene" is no less conformist than the worst glam hair bands of the 80's in their heyday.


hehe.. You nailed it there.

BTW, did anyone happen to catch "TV on the Radio" on SNL on the weekend. Once again, I give them a huge *WTF*. Seemed like a bunch of reasonably talented musicians with a bunch of great gear meandering aimlessly looking for a groove that they never found. And someone, please find them a vocalist. (there, I didn't say they sucked)


:smile:


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