2012-03-01

What makes that Gotye song better than other breakup songs

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I first heard "Somebody that I Used to Know" because someone liked the visuals of the video and linked to it. I was too busy to really watch it and if it hadn't become a major radio hit here in the Bay, I may never have heard it again.



First though, still, after hearing it a hundred times, I cannot hear it without thinking of Rubin and Ed. That I can still hear the song and take it seriously as a chronicle of heartbreak is impressive.

But what makes this song better than other breakup songs? Because it is better. But what makes it better? I know this will shock you because we're talking about popular music here, but what makes "Somebody that I Used to Know" better is its LYRICS.

Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough

No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know


But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough

And you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Reading the lyrics closely won't explain to you why they're better. Because, fact is, they're not particularly incredible lyrics. What makes this so much better than other breakup songs is the bolded section.

Just watch the video.

The first thing that impressed me about the video as I watched it now was what a great actor Gotye is. What, did he rub his eyes with onions?

But you see how broken up he is?

And that's what breakup songs are about! The suffering of one person at the hands of that bitch/bastard (pmf). But that's rarely the complete story. To have a second character, the other half of this relationship, show up and give her version of events is remarkable. (Perhaps it shouldn't be, but it is---pop songs don't generally get this complex.) But then that her version of events does not match his version---that the listener then needs to parse the difference---that's what takes this song so far beyond other breakup songs.

So while the song is nice enough, fun musically, decently lyricked and all, it is the addition of this second point of view that really elevates the entire work and gets me wrapped up in it every time it shows up on one of a dozen radio stations.

Just. Brilliant stuff.

I haven't listened to the rest of the album enough yet to comment on how it compares to this single, but I have observed that it's quite eclectic musically. So it won't be twelve tracks of Crispin Glover's waterskiing cat, at least.

Note: For the record, I love Rubin and Ed. You should buy your own copy.

12 comments:

  1. Great song! Thanks for the recommendation.

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  2. When I saw the post title, I hoped you would mention the female lyrics, as that's the reason I bothered with the song myself.

    Also, the video visuals remind me of these:
    http://youtu.be/YQ1LI-NTa2s?t=1m32s

    sidenote: her live performances are better: http://youtu.be/EIp2a3Vuzso (not for impressionable youth)

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  3. .

    Thanks for reaching out to both halves of my blog's readership, Brink.

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  4. I don't think it is two sides of the same break up.. If you listen to Kimbra's verse it sounds much more like her side of another breakup, the breakup of Gotye's relationship after the breakup he's singin about.
    It's like she's singing how he may have been reated badly, but in being hung up over that, he treated her badly.

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  5. .

    Interesting argument. I like that. And that the song holds the weight of both interpretations is more proof of its worth.

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  6. .

    I like Anon's suggestion a lot, but I do have one big hurdle to accepting it, viz. the male character does not switch to third person when he (apparently) responds to the female character. Now sure, we could explain our way around this, but I still find it problematic.

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  7. You see it's hard with the lyrics, because lyrics online or even in the album booklet are not reliable and when he sings in response I find - especially in the video - that he could be saying 'but SHE didn't have to cut me off' rather than you. And then when it comes to 'I don't even need your love' for the sake of the song he's back to addressing the first ex, rather than Kimbra's character.

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  8. So glad I am not the only one who thinks of Rubin and Ed everytime I hear that song! Definitely my favorite Crispin Glover movie!

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  9. This was an interesting read, since I too have read it differently so far, I'm kind of on the same lines as Anon. that Kimbra's words are a third party, the next girlfriend. So you have the I of the song talking to/about the woman (Somebody 'I' used to know) and then you have the woman who is now in the relationship with 'I', and she complains how he is still hung up on the first woman and neglects her as a result. But the leveling works really interestingly: At the beginning of the song he seems justified in being a little incensed by the way "Somebody" is treating him, but then even after Kimbra's lyrics point out that "even though you keep saying you're glad it's over and that you're over it - you're not, you're still hung up on her and you are hurting me with it" - so he in turn is treating Kimbra's character badly. But that's how it often goes isn't it, we take it out on the person near us who doesn't deserve it.

    PS, I'm sort of following you around now. Don't be alarmed. :3

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  10. .

    According to the NPR interview with Gotye, he purposefully left it ambiguous. So I guess we can all be right.

    Actually, he almost seemed like he has no idea what the heck he's doing . . . .

    And, Inari, happy to have you around.

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