For a long time, Broken Social Scene was just a band name I heard tossed around. I figured they were some average punk band I didn't have to hear. Even with their spot within Pitchfork's 25 best albums of the 2000s, I set it aside since it was right next to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I listened to "Cause = Time" once and didn't even get it. I eventually studied up and learned that artists like Feist and Stars were BSS side-projects. So I immediately assumed they were a band making corny relationship music with folk and brass instrumentation. Considering what music I've been into for the last 4 years, this gave me even less reason to listen.
These days, I love a good mature artist. It's pretty rare when I listen to music that sounds young and immature (Destroyer > M83). But I remember being 17 and listening to 103.1 KSKI, where I was introduced to Stars' "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" as well as some older Feist and Death Cab tracks. I loved that stuff my junior year of high school. This died off in about a year. I figured BSS was simply more of the same stuff I enjoyed from my hormonal 17-year-old days. And, well, I was right.
Fact is, this album could have been made any time in the last 12 years, only this was the one that was made 12 years ago.
Yes, this album is corny at times. Sometimes the production is kinda syrupy. Sometimes I listen to this album and I depict images from Rent or some kinda super cheesy "runaway-to-New-York-and-live-off-alcohol-and-sex-while-you're-still-young" film. I hate films like that (ex: when people think they're artistic but they're not). Then you take a step back from what stupid messages that have accompanied this album's music in the last 10 years. You start thinking about what it meant then. You Forgot It In People was sonic, epic and innovative. It's messages are actually quite vague. ("Looks Just Like The Sun"- What the heck does that mean?) Even though these are mostly love songs, there is a strong lyrical personality on this album (let's just say "it looks just like the sun" 10 times and call it good). The music on here covers a surprisingly broad range of genres. The production on the acoustic guitars are particularly enjoyable.
It's most popular tracks are "Lover's Spit" and "Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl," which are definitely some emo-indie song titles, but their attitude was something new for 2002. My favorite track (like all albums) is the one that sounds like Dinosaur Jr. ("Cause = Time"). This album has some epic, theatrical moments as well as some temporary smooth jazz moments and cutesy-pie tracks. It reminds me what it's like to be young and emotionally unstable. Unlike anything else, it takes me back to being 17 and doodling in my basement bedroom. Which is weird, because I never knew any of these songs when I was actually 17.
So this album explains Candian indie for the last 12 years, as well as the new culture of toque-wearing, alcohol-doused, depressingly-freewheelin', annoyingly-hipster young adults. Much like Nirvana's Nevermind, you gotta love the original and scorn at the after-products. As a music critic myself, I'm not sure where You Forgot ranks among the Truly Great albums of the 2000s, but quickly learning to love this album just this past month taught me that it doesn't freaking matter.
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