This Book is Broken: A Broken Social Scene Story

by Stuart Berman, Brendan Canning (Foreword by), Kevin Drew (Foreword by)

This Book Is Broken is a lively oral history of Broken Social Scene, the Toronto cult indie-rock band that doubles as a collective, cottage industry, and self-described beautiful mess. Writer Stuart Berman has pieced together the band’s story through interviews with all 18 members, as well as their Toronto peers, international allies, and childhood heroes. Exclusive photos, gig posters, and artwork — most of it provided by band members and associates — expand the text with a composite picture of this influential group of "baroque popsters."

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Canada, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Blair Stretch]

A funny and roundabout telling of our mythologized besties. It didn't make me love BSS and more, but also didn't make me love them any less.

[Jesse]

Pretty cool. The descriptions of the music community in Toronto that birthed BSS was very interesting, as well as explanations of the Canadian music industry. I liked the format, with an essay of sorts followed by quotes. The design was good, very based on the "You Forgot it in People" album cover. My only real complaint was simply that it didn't have anything on the last decades' worth of BSS stuff, as the book came out before any of that. Oh well.

[Amit Rao]

A fascinating look at a band I really like, but it really is the snapshot capture of what the Canadian indie music scene was like back in the day and being able to reflect on what the scene is now is extremely fascinating.

[Jaime]

If you're looking for history about this legendary Canadian supergroup, this is the place.

[Julie]

fun, visually entertaining book about my favorite band forever, Broken Social Scene. in fact, I'm even listening to "Passport Radio" as I type this out, how corny...

there's not much to say about this book other than that This Book is Broken is Broken Social Scene's biography; it's pretty self explanatory. the author set each chapter up with a brief, stylish summary of what happened in x set of years followed by little commentaries by various band members. very clever and representative of the ever shape shifting Broken Social Scene. the book is also filled with various pictures of the band members, most of their early days in the 90s.

a great quote by Leslie Feist ties all that is Broken Social Scene together,

"Broken Social Scene will be a band even when we're old and grey, even if it's just at a potluck, because it was never something that needed to be defined."

\m/

[Mike]

Broken Social Scene may be my favorite band of all time. Mostly, this is due to their great music. Still, the band's "collective" quality makes the cast of characters part of an intriguing draw to learn more about how such a band could exist. The book focuses upon the many talented and dedicated characters that comprise Broken Social Scene. This was exactly what I was looking for in a Broken Social Scene book.

[Leila]

It was an incredible experience reading the story behind the scenes of Broken Social Scene and all of the people involved in the band and this new music scene that was happening in Toronto. The format of the book worked for me, and the interviews were really filled with content.