Broken Social Scene Drop New Videos, Soundtrack A Bunch Of Films

Posted: 06 August, 2010

Communal indie-rockers Broken Social Scene have been busy: when they're not touring the world –– they hit Australia last week –– they're releasing new videos, appearing in films or recording scores to them.

Right now, in their native Canada, This Movie Is Broken has hit cinemas. The movie, directed by Bruce McDonald, follows the romance of two Toronto natives, and culminates a triumphant open-air BSS performance. But that isn't all BSS have been up to, celluloid-wise.

Already veterans of soundtracks to flicks like The Time Traveler's Wife and The Wicker Man, the group recently holed up with renowned producer and Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich to lay down some tracks for the outsized comic book nerd revenge fantasy Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, which debuted at the Melbourne International Film Festival this week, and opens nationally on 12 August.

In the movie, which centres on the attempts of the title character (played by Michael Cera) to kill the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his current squeeze, the hero must take on Crash and the Boys, a fearsome band of punks. Which is where BSS come in: they were tasked to create the music for Crash and the Boys, which Brendan Canning recently told Pitchfork ranged from four second bursts -- 'Napalm Death territory', Canning called it -- to more extended 42-second workouts.

'We're all fans of that type of thrashy music -- Charles [Spearin] and Ohad [Benchetrit] played in a metal band growing up,' Canning said. 'I definitely bought Suicidal Tendencies' first record when it came out.'

The group also laid down some more ambient 'Feel Good Lost-type stuff' for the film, Canning said, and will also contribute their sounds to two upcoming indie flicks, It's Kind of a Funny Story (starring unhinged funnyman Zach Galifianakis) and Daydream Nation (which isn't about the legendary Sonic Youth album of the same name, but does feature a character named Thurston).

The busy Canucks have also have a couple of new videos for tracks off their acclaimed latest lp, Forgiveness Rock Record. The first clip, for the rousing Meet Me In The Basement, wasn't made by the band itself; it was put together by anonymous fan, and features a remarkable succession of images from the recent Toronto G20 riots interspersed with various emblems of 21^st century consumer madness.  Check it out below.

BSS's latest video, for the single Forced To Love, dropped this week. In it, the band is turned into morphing holographs whose music destroys a museum. Check it out:

The band's mammoth tour in support of Forgiveness Rock Record continues, with the band hitting our Kiwi cousins today and tomorrow before heading off to America and Europe, returning to Canada for their last shows just before Christmas. Makes you tired just thinking about it. For dates, head on over to the BSS site.

Pete : 06 August, 2010

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