Gotye, the Belgian-Australian recording artist who sings "Somebody That I Used to Know," turns 32 today. A few weeks ago, my 14-year-old son introduced me to the fascinating song; he said it was the number one song on iTunes. I was immediately hooked; I quickly learned the rest of the world is crazy about it, too! The song, a slow-building duet with New Zealand singer Kimbra, is achieving phenomenal success.
Richard Smirke of Billboard describes it: "The song, which mixes sparse, shuffling percussion; spooky tremolo sounds; and an earworm melody played on a xylophone, has since topped the charts in more than a dozen countries..."
Michael Martin (@Michael_Kronicle) of @HuffPostEnt interviewed Gotye last month, and among the topics discussed is Gotye's experience in writing the song. A video of their interview (just shy of 24 minutes) appears on @HuffPostEnt.
To date, the video of the song has been viewed more than 218 million times. In Australia, "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been certified 8x Platinum!
Another video gone viral is a cover version of the song, performed by Walk Off The Earth, in which the five band members play one guitar ~ it's super cool!
I'm addicted to it ~ the haunting melody, harmony and the intensity of the singers' emotions ~ as if they truly were scorned lovers. The song certainly has struck a chord with worldwide listeners. What about you? Have you heard this song before? Like it? Love it? Hate it?
I was fully prepared to hate it, but it is in fact quite catchy!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Charlie, I think it's catchy, too. I always turn it up when it comes on the radio.
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