Somebody That I Used To Know - A Music Review
Click to viewBB: Hello, everyone. We're going to do things a little different in this post today - this is part of a new section where SOS_Sporkers and I review, criticise, and (more than likely) make fun of songs. We'll be giving an in-depth analysis on the music video, the artists, the lyrics, the music itself, the meaning behind it, and give you our humble opinions on it.
SOS: Well, I'm here mostly for him to bounce ideas off of. I freely admit I kind of suck at analysing music. I can tell if I like or dislike a song, but I'm bad at identifying why. The only level on which I can analyse music is by treating it like a slightly repetitive poem.
BB: She's also here to make sure I don't rant about something insignificant - like the make up the artists are wearing. (I'll probably discuss it at some point, but it won't be a huge ramble.) So! -Smiles- Shall we begin?
SOS: Yup! Onwards!
BB: Well, as you can see by the music video above, this first post will be Somebody That I Used To Know, by Australian Indie Rocker, Gotye (Goh-Tee-Yay if you want a phonetic way to say that), featuring Kimbra, an Indie Pop Rocker.
SOS: 8D Australia!
BB: Yes, Australia. And New Zealand.
SOS: 8DD Excellent. I am in my element here.
BB: Yes, you are. -Smiles- Well, let's see...I suppose we should start with a small introduction into our two artists.
Gotye, as said before, is a Flemish-Australian singer who's apparently making it big Down Under - he's a member of an indie-pop trio known as The Basics, he's independently released three studio albums, and he's won three Grammys for Somebody.
He's also got a pretty good thing going on with this song - it's made him the fifth Australian-based artist and the second Belgian-based artist to reach number one on the Billboard Top 100 list.
And he's bilingual - he speaks Dutch, English, and a bit of Japanese.
SOS: O_o Ooooh, I already kinda like him.
BB: -Smiles- Good. Now, our second singer, Kimbra, hasn't been around as long as Gotye (who's been recording since 2001) - she's actually only two years old in the music biz, having gotten her start on August 29th, 2011.
However, in that short amount of time, she's done pretty good - her debut album, Vows, reached number fourteen on the Billboard charts, and she's also the third New Zealander to EVER win a Grammy award (again, for Somebody That I Used To Know).
SOS: And, of course, the first Middle-Earth resident to win a Grammy award.
BB: -Chuckles- I don't know if they count that, SOS.
SOS: Well, they SHOULD count it.
BB: -Pats-
SOS: So shall we take a look at the song?
BB: Oh, let's.
SOS: You should probably start. As I said, I'm kinda awful at analysing actual music.
BB: Doesn't take too much. Well, let me get something out of the way first - I actually like this song. To me, it's got a good beat, the lyrics are easy to recall and work with, and it's not a total earworm - it's one of those songs you can listen to almost all day and still say, "Hey, I want to listen to this when I get home."
SOS: I like it as well. I agree, the melody is definitely very pleasant, and the song is definitely NOT bland. It really captures your attention from the beginning with how different it sounds to the pop songs you're used to, and it stands out in your memory. And I'm biased towards music that has a soft, slow start, so that helps.
BB: -Smiles- Good, we got that out of the way. Now, I'm going to start by saying that the music? Is nice. As SOS said, it starts out slow, with a good rhythm, and it's easy to remember. It's a song that stands out in the beginning and it doesn't lose that on the way through.
In fact, the music gains a bit as we go on, becoming more and more powerful before dropping back down a bit - unlike in other songs that do this, however, Somebody That I Used To Know never loses the original beat. We can still tell it's there, no matter what, and that helps keep us grounded when some of the synthetic sounds (the "oooooooohs" in particular, which sound like wailing, I'll admit) cover up some of the instruments.
SOS: Indeed, there's soft bits, but there's never a real lull in the music. There's no boring moment, if you know what I mean. And I kinda like the structure of the song. The soft bit from Kimbra contrasts with the loud chorus before it, and does the job of jarring us out of the persona's story and show us how full of shit he is. It's a moment where the tone of the song completely shifts, and the music reflects that.
BB: Precisely! I'm glad you mentioned Kimbra's bit, by the way, because I really enjoyed how they switched the music ever so slightly when it was her turn to "speak," in a way.
\With Gotye, they made the music slow, to take time to build up. Kimbra started off with a slightly faster beat, with more power behind it.
It was a metaphorical "Fuck You" in the music, rather than just the lyrics.
SOS: Yup, I feel like it's the most effective moment in the song. The contrast between their versions of the story of the breakup is really nicely mirrored in the music, and the contrast is VERY nice indeed. In fact, it throws Gotye's chorus after that in a completely different light than when he did it the first time.
BB: Yes. It casts much more sympathy on him, and brings the song to a good conclusion as it winds down from the height that the chorus brought it to.
And their lyrics mirror this as well.
SOS: I really love all of the subtle tone shifts in this song. It's something so few pop songs manage to do right...or at all.
BB: Mmhm. -Smiles- This song starts off as what seems like a generic whiny break-up song. "Now and then I think of when we were together, back when you said felt so happy you could die..."
Honestly, the first time I heard this song, I was like, "Oh, great, ANOTHER of these."
SOS: Exactly!
Even though it's clear from the beginning that the persona is whiny, so many singers do that anyway that I, at least, thought it was played straight at the beginning.
BB: Me, too. I was just like, "So, dude, your ex won't talk to you anymore? Get over it."
That's basically what it was for the first half of the song - Gotye whining.
SOS: I like to think it was intentional, him mirroring what so many generic breakup songs are like. Sort of as a fishslap
BB: After I heard the full thing, I knew that what it was. But if you just focus on the first half of the song, it's just him whining about his ex and how bitchy she could be.
SOS: Indeed. Though I like that even at the beginning, little details that something isn't quite right is seeping in. Like how she had her friends come pack her things and changed her number and stuff.
BB: Mmhm. It's a subtle hint that, hey, it wasn't the girl's fault they ended - it was the guy's.
Want to know the best thing about that?
SOS: Indeed, she clearly didn't feel safe around him.
BB: Yes. Also, this song was based on Gotye's own relationships. People, this is a song about a guy admittedly saying "Hey, I was horribly, HORRIBLY WRONG."
SOS: O_o Wow. I didn't know that.
That does make it even better, now that the whole thing has a level of self-awareness to it.
BB: I did. You see why this is so amazing now? He's admitting he's wrong - not apologizing for it, but understanding that he was wrong and that it's his fault it was over.
SOS: And advertising it in a pop song. *impressed*
BB: Gotye has gone up even more in my opinion.
SOS: And in mine. Especially with how he clearly understood his ex-girlfriend's perspective. After all, he wrote her verse too. Right?
BB: Yep. He wrote this entire song.
It's really amazing, to have a pop song with THIS much depth - and you really don't even realise it until Kimbra comes in.
SOS: Yeah, few people are able to look at it from the other side like that in matters as personal as a romantic relationship.
BB: She is what helps make this song so great.
SOS: Nope, that's really the point where the tone of this song completely shifts and you suddenly SEE THE LIGHT.
BB: Mmhm. -Smiles- The contrast is what makes the song an actual song, rather than just generic break-up material.
Kimbra's words - "Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over" compared with Gotye's "Now and then I think of when we were together, back when you felt so happy you could die..." The words honestly make Gotye look like a douche. And he admits this!
SOS: Indeed. And it's not just a personal reflection by Gotye. The song has a pretty good overall message, you know. How two people can have such different interpretations of the same event, and how when you start wallowing in self-pity, you might want to think about how you look from the other person's point of view, and so on.
BB: Mmhm.
SOS: Oooooh, I did forget to mention. I'm not sure how to word this...and I'm pretty sure I can't explain it right, but...there's an odd sort of...genuine-ness to their voices, the way they sing. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they sound...well, human. Human and personal and sincere, which really goes a long way towards making this song good, since it's such a human and personal and sincere song and all.
BB: They've put the emotion in it that's sincerely lacking in most of the pop genre.
I mean, when I hear Gotye singing on the second chorus, I feel so much sympathy for him, and that was done with his voice and Kimbra's over-laying harmony with him in the vocalizations.
SOS: Indeed. There's just something raw and genuine in their voices. I really can't explain it.
BB: They're being emotional.
I know, it's a concept almost completely lost in pop.
SOS: Heh. Though that does make this song kinda hard to hum. Well, for me at least.
BB: Yep. But it makes it sound so lovely.
SOS: Indeed. Their voices and the instruments really blend together.
BB: Mmhm. I really love how they work together. Well, since we've talked about how Awesome they are...sadly, we'll have to talk about what makes this song bad.
And, yes, there are things that make this song bad.
SOS: Well, flawed. Not quite bad.
BB: Don't blame me, I go with critics wording. Anyway, what are your complaints about this first, since I rambled so much about musical analysis?
SOS: Honestly...I don't particularly dislike anything from this song. I can see why people might make some complaints, but personally...I don't really dislike anything.
BB: Huh. I do. I mean, if you don't have this song turned up enough, the beginning of the song is almost impossible to hear - I've complained about that a lot. I can understand that the music CAN be annoying - I've had it stuck in my head before and screamed because it's annoyed me.
SOS: I understand what you mean with the quiet part. I had a lot of trouble hearing Kimbra's first few lines actually, because the thingie in the background was so distracting. Which is kinda sad because that's the turning point of the song.
Though I admit, I've never had a problem with songs stuck in my head. In fact, I can't even recall the melodies of songs most people regard as ear worms. I honestly can't remember how "It's A Small World" goes immediately after listening to it for fiftenn minutes.
BB: "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaa-dadaaaaaaa-da-da-da-da-daaaaaaa-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."
SOS: That means nothing to me.
BB:
SOS: I just don't get songs stuck in my head, for whatever reason. But anyway, back on track. What other complaints did you have?
BB: Kimbra's voice. As you said, it's almost impossible to hear her at the beginning...but it's not just because of the music. Kimbra is simply singing too softly for us to hear. She only gains power as her words become more forceful - which IS good, but it needs to be applied to the beginning of her lines as well.
SOS: Exactly. The first time I heard this, which was on Todd's review of it, I couldn't tell what the hell she was singing about at all. Which is really sad. And even listening to it for this review, I have to really concentrate to make it out.
BB: I had to turn up my computer's volume, YouTube's volume, and grab my other set of speakers.
Eventually, I just said "Fuck it" and downloaded it.
SOS: Well, usually, I just go check out the video with lyrics. But yeah, then you'd lose the pretty Awesome music video
BB: Mhm.
Speaking of the music video....I don't get what's going on in it, really.
SOS: Well...it's visually interesting and, if you really want me to, I can wank up a lot of symbolism into it. But I don't know how much will be actual wanking and how much was intended.
BB: Tell us about the symbolism and I'll see if I can separate the two.
SOS: Well, at the start, while the background is being filled in and Gotye being painted, I thought it symbolised how the picture is slowly coming together for us. Remember, the first time we see the whole picture instead of close-ups of little segments is when Kimbra cuts in.
When she first appears, she's already fully painted and blends in with the background so well that you can't tell where she ends and the background begins at first, until she moves. And she had her back to the camera. So it can kind of symbolise how in Gotye's story, she was just a prop for him to blame everything on, and didn't even have a face (aka, identity). She was just Some Bitch. And it's so easy to overlook her...until she makes a move and shows a different side of herself (aka, when she turns around).
And near the end, the paint retreats off of her body, kind of symbolising how she's revealing herself? Or revealing her side of the story? And now we're seeing the true nature of things, instead of something all dressed-up and painted and artificial. That, and it can symbolise how she's not lying or hiding anything, whereas Gotye remains painted (I think, or my brain is screwing with me), and we can take that to mean he's disgenuine and purposefully distorting things. Maybe.
I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it?
BB: Nope, that sounds right.
SOS: I'm glad. I also like how Gotye starts off just natural, and then slowly gets painted as the song goes on, and that can kinda symbolise how his story is believable and sympathetic at first...but get increasingly buried under misdirection and whininess, until not a single bit of it feels like the truth.
BB: Hee.
SOS: So yeah, that's why I love this music video. The set up is really very simple, and it's not extravagant and epic, but it's so...poignant. If you know what I mean.
BB: I know.
SOS: So...what else did we need to talk about?
BB: ...I honestly can't remember. I think we've covered all the bases.
SOS: Well, if you think of anything else, we can always edit that in later. So...for now...any final thoughts?
BB: My final thoughts on this song are that it isn't bad. It's a very good song that encompasses emotional depth with a great amount of symbolism that's SUBTLE and doesn't smack us across the face.
SOS: Yup. It's definitely an enjoyable listen, if you just want to have fun listening to a song. But if you want to look deeper, there's plenty of substance there too. So, all in all, a very good example of the Awesomeness of Australia. *Nods* *patriotic music*
BB: -Laughs-
SOS: Come to Australia! We have Awesome music (if you don't get eaten by a drop bear).
BB: -Chuckles- Well, everyone, I think that's it for this review. Come back next time, when we'll be doing... -Looks at the list- ....oh no.
SOS: ???
BB: ....Everyone, we'll see you next time for... -Sighs- Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.
SOS: Yay?
BB: