You Forgot It In People (The Meadowlands)

Ian Mathers, an excellent writer and podcaster for Stylus, pondered how he had never seen the video for Broken Social Scene's "Anthem For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl". And I thank him for pondering, because I don't know how I hadn't seen it before either:



I bought You Forgot It In People during the death throes of bad relationship(though it would recover, only to die again...but that's a story for another time). Up late one night, eyes red from tears and the piercing glow of my computer monitor, I searched Amazon for something that would sound different, profound, and beautiful. This obscure band from Canada was in everyones "must have indie rock" list, so I read a little about BSS and ...In People. It seemed a likely pot of musical gold, so a click and UPS trip later, I had the CD in my hands.

Others have celebrated the album far better than I could, so instead of telling you how great the music is, I'll just give it a more personal praise: it got me through tough times. I listened to it constantly, in the morning, at work, but most importantly, at night. I can't sleep when my relationship has gone to shit. I tossed and turned, I took deep breaths, and I counted backwards from a hundred. Nothing worked, until I popped in the beautiful, soothing sounds of ...In People.

The intro was mysterious, the way it rose from a flat line to a split-second of cacophony before instantly melting into the second track, the rollicking "KC Accidental". "Almost Crimes", track four, was a shot of pure joy and optimistic energy(exactly what you need at four in the morning after spending the entire night dreading the rest of your life). "Anthem", at track seven, is the perfect song to fall asleep too. The video above is the perfect companion for it: ethereal, intangible, and beautiful.

After that, I bought The Wrens' The Meadowlands, and I had a soundtrack for the breakup. I sang along with "Happy", screaming "Are you happy?/You got what you want/I'm over it now". I nodded along to the opener, "The House That Guilt Built" : "and I’m nowhere near/what I dreamed I’d be/i can’t believe/what life has done to me". The album was therapy; the only closure I could get.

My nightly ritual for weeks was Meadowlands followed by ...In People; they became my tried and true "bad love" albums. One for cathartic mourning, the other for remembering there's still a big, beautiful world outside your door.