“Broken In”
(Theme from “The Unwinding”)
Written and Performed by Brendan Davis
Now available on all platforms worldwide
ABOUT:
“Broken In” was first written back in 1995, at a time when I was healing after heartbreak and finding hope again. It captures the feeling of a love that’s been through its share of ups and downs but still feels comfortable and genuine—like a favorite pair of jeans, well-worn and “broken in.”
The song has its origins in the era of Minority Rules, an Atlanta hard rock-soul band I founded, where I served as the main songwriter and lead guitarist. Active from 1991 to 1997, we had a diverse lineup: Phillip Madison Jones (aka “Blue”), our Black-Latino lead singer; Tammy Hurt, our powerhouse female drummer who would later become Chair of the Board of the Grammys; Rich, our Filipino bassist; and me, the average white guy on guitar. We were proud of our diversity and our sound, which earned us some incredible opportunities, including appearances on “Ed McMahon’s Star Search” with original MTV VJ Martha Quinn. We were championed by judges like Ahmet and Dweezil Zappa and Soleil Moon Frye, TV’s “Punky Brewster.” Although “Broken In” didn’t fit our usual repertoire back then, it remained close to my heart even after our band’s peak had passed.
Flash forward to 2023. After three years apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was finally reunited with my girlfriend from Beijing, Susie, in Paris. I had left China, where I’d been living since 2016, and returned to Los Angeles, where I had moved in 2002 to pursue my main career as a filmmaker. But in January 2023, we reconnected in Paris. From there, we traveled to Copenhagen, got married, and then spent two months in France and two months in the UK on an extended reunion and honeymoon. Before we headed back to what is now our shared home in Beijing, we spent a week in London, where I directed a short film I wrote called “The Unwinding”—a story about a despondent widower who finds hope again through an unexpected friendship with a young Chinese delivery girl. You can watch it for free on YouTube here.
While editing and scoring “The Unwinding,” I knew I wanted to record a proper version of “Broken In” to use under the final scene and end credits. So, that’s exactly what I did. I recorded the entire piece myself—acoustic guitar, electric bass, and ukulele—in our Beijing apartment, bringing new life to a song that had been waiting for the right moment to be heard. We completed these projects while also preparing for our move back to Paris, where we now live permanently.
The film has since had a successful festival run and has been posted on YouTube, where it received amazing and heartwarming feedback. Among the many things viewers have appreciated is “that last song”—“Broken In”—with several people encouraging me to release it as a single. And so, here it is, brought to life again nearly three decades later—a testament to love, resilience, and the comfort of something “broken in.”