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Will Gotye soon be somebody that we used to know?
Friday 25th January 2013 | Suzanne
Everyone has heard it, the heart wrenching yet strongly relatable song from indie rock-artist ‘Gotye’, called ‘Somebody that I used to know’. It has dominated the charts ever since its release in July and no place on earth seemed safe from its airplay .The song has gained Gotye more popularity than he could have ever dreamed of and it has done wonders for his status. However, does the rest of his oeuvre provide anything that the mainstream audience is interested in as well, or was it just this one hit wonder? Will Gotye soon be somebody we once used to know, or does he have the potential to keep his fame and status for a little bit longer? We will find out in the rest of this article.
Anyone who only knows Gotye from his one big hit might wonder if all his videos contain naked people covered in paint. The answer to that question is no. In fact, most of his videos contain animations that relate to the content of the song, sometimes in a more abstract way than others, but overall it is clear that a lot of work has been put into them. It has a similar feel to the music videos made by ‘the Gorillaz’ , ‘Daft Punk’ and others who have used the animation format. The difference between them is, however, that Gotye applies different animation styles to every video and tries to give the viewer a more artistic experience.
What is remarkable about Gotye’s music is that there is a different topic being discussed every time. He goes from discussing a dying relationship to singing about his dying dog and basic consumerism leading us into the end of the world. These examples aren’t supposed to imply Gotye’s depressing view of things, but rather his ability to discuss relevant topics that everyone has been through. We have all been through that difficult break up, that inevitable trip to the vet with our pet and feeling the need to save the world. Furthermore, he composes his music all by himself, using samples he either created from a varied range of instruments or old vinyl records he dug up in a store. He barely has other people around to help him out with his work and gets most of his inspiration out of everyday things.
When taking all this in account, it can be said that Gotye is in fact a good artist who does deserve all the credit he gets. It is obvious from his work that he has worked hard to be where he is today and does make it his priority to send out a message and make genuine heartfelt music. Having that said, we can’t be sure whether Gotye will remain dominant in the charts; however, he does deserve to be somebody that we all used to know.
by Suzanne Alblas
