MOVE goes camping with Broken Social Scene (sort of)
Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning exorcises demons, without getting too personal or "namin' names," on Something for All of Us.
Published Oct. 14, 2008
When Brendan Canning first picks up the phone, he's stuck in traffic in Toronto. On his way home after picking out some new touring equipment, the soft-spoken half of Broken Social Scene's core suggests we postpone our interview two hours.
The second time I dial his number, he's at home, but I'm sitting on a rock face in Three Creeks Conservation Area 20 minutes into my first-ever camping trip.
"You can always wait until Monday if you want," Canning offers after I explain the possibility of a dropped call. He speaks with a gentle Canadian accent - complete with those elongated "o"s - in a manner that suggests he's constantly reflecting.
It's an unlikely position in which to conduct an interview - in the middle of the woods armed with a BlackBerry, laptop and digital recorder - but I'm ready to go, and I ask about his afternoon activities.
"I haven't bought myself a bass amp since the '90s," he says. "I wanna get specific vintage gear, and sometimes it doesn't always make itself available. So today I just happened to have some good fortune. There are lots of cool music stores in the city, you just gotta drive a little bit to get to them."
This last statement seems to point to a recurring pattern in his life. It'd be easy for Canning, one of the two co-founders of BSS, to fall back on the same routines and people and to approach songwriting in the same manner time after time. And yet he has taken the longer route more often than not in the past year.
In July, Canning released Something for All of Us, the second in the "Broken Social Scene Presents" series. For what is essentially his "solo record" (never mind the BSS regulars who appear throughout), Canning stepped to the forefront of the band, singing lead, something he has done only three times in BSS history, on almost all the tracks and directing the entire project.
Not unsurprisingly, the end product doesn't stray too far from past releases under the BSS name. Something is a collection with somber overtones and droning melodies, whitewashed in fuzz and capped by visceral lyrics, its songs ranging from the indie funk ("Love Is New") to the guitar-driven ("Hit the Wall").
"I think (Something) is just really observational, like any lyric should be, I guess," Canning says. When the BSS multi-instrumentalist answers a question directed at him, he has the peculiar habit of turning the question on itself, expanding it to include the crew of musicians he has collaborated with for almost 10 years now.
"I think a lot of exorcising my demons as far as what's gone on in the band, because it's such a massive part of my life and the whole scene," he says. "It's all semi-cryptic excursions into my life's journey. Try not to be too autobiographical about it, you know? Try to veer away from the Alanis Morissette territory. Don't want us namin' names."
Where things do get a little more personal is the documentary director Bruce McDonald made about Canning. Part of a music documentary series that has featured artists including Born Ruffians and his occasional collaborators Metric, the film briefly glimpses into Canning's life and the final stages of recording Something for All of Us.
"He (McDonald) was wanting to do something with Broken Social Scene," Canning says. "My girlfriend kind of suggested, 'Well, Broken Social Scene is not totally active as a band right now,' but I'm in the midst of finishing a record, so maybe that would be something of interest. Just a little snapshot of my life."
Working on films is by now another favorite project of Canning's. In addition to its three acclaimed albums, BSS has recorded film scores for movies including "Half Nelson" and, most recently, McDonald's "The Tracey Fragments."
The chance to score films concentrates Broken Social Scene's songwriting to its purest form, and the usually reserved Canning grows excited as he discusses his scoring experience. This makes sense considering the type of music BSS plays, particularly the band's debut instrumental album, Feel Good Lost. Simultaneously chaotic and romantic, the band's music seeps into the crevices of life and draws out the lesser-seen details and the very joy of living.
"That's one of our strong suits - making that atmospheric, film-score type of music," Canning says. "I think we're all sensitive enough musicians and individuals. I hope we continue to do that sort of work, because I really enjoy it. It's nice to get sidetracked without worrying about what will make a good song and will people like a song. It's more, 'Is this the right mood and is this what it ought to be?'"
When it comes to naming his favorite film scores, Canning takes his time. "Less Than Zero" stands out for music placement, while "Paris, Texas," with its "lazy guitar kind of score" was the first to show Canning that film scoring was something he could do.
As he recalls the existential "Taxi Driver," an ironic gunshot resonates through the steep hillside trail I am sitting on. It's doe season, and I might get shot while speaking to Brendan Canning about mood music and celebrity BSS fans.
It's probably worth it.
Even the occasional Korean-American comedian appears to share my sentiment. In a strange turn of events Canning still doesn't fully understand, Margaret Cho expressed her desire to join Broken Social Scene on the Canadian talk show "The Hour" last April and has since fueled rumors about a collaboration.
"I don't know how it came up," Canning says. "I'm not even that familiar with Margaret Cho."
That said, Canning jokes about the nature of BSS and the unforeseeable possibilities that come with a band that boasts a roster the size of a small country.
"You never know what's around the corner with this band, right?" he says with a dry, relaxed sense of humor. "Maybe in Columbia, Margaret Cho will just magically show up. I don't know what the hell she'd do. Maybe a little stand-up routine, maybe a little emceeing before the show, I don't know. It's a long life. Margaret Cho may still cross our path in some professional manner."
Canning's laid-back attitude speaks volumes about his general approach to musicmaking. He seems more than content to work with his family of friends, trying new techniques, taking different routes and drawing inspiration from "film or music or good food or good soccer games."
"I don't know what people think about our band," Canning says. "Maybe that we're hippies from Canada. That's not exactly true, not that there's anything wrong with being a hippie. Some of us are too interested in fashion to really be a hippie."
I propose that the biggest misconception about BSS these days might be Margaret Cho's status in the band. Canning presents an alternative.
"Or maybe the misconception that we'll let anyone join the band," he says. "We're nice guys, but we're not that nice."
With that, we're back at Three Creeks and Canning kindly offers what advice he can.
"Have a good weekend camping," he says. "Don't stand under a tree if it starts lightning."