"Somebody That I Used To Know" (Familiar Stranger): A breakup love song by a major artist, an English-language pop song of melancholy and the perfect storm

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Somebody That I Used To Know

  "Somebody That I Used To Know” is a popular song sung by Gotye and Kimbr, and it has also topped many music charts. At the same time, many YouTubers have imitated the song on YouTube.

1 Introduction

1.1 Origin of writing

  At the beginning, I found out that "Somebody That I Used To Know" was not because I heard the original version, but one day when I typed the keyword "guitar" on YouTube to search for related videos, there was a video of five people playing a guitar The whole performance mode is amazing, a small guitar can accommodate five people to play at the same time, and there is also a round singing. To achieve that level, the members must have a very tacit understanding.

  After seeing the video of five people playing the same guitar, I went back to find the music video of the original singer, and found that the video presentation of the original singer is also very special. Both the male lead singer and the female lead singer are semi-naked (because the body is painted paint), the metaphor is integrated into the graphics on the wall, symbolizing the couple’s ignorance of each other as air after breaking up, and the whole picture is very imagery.

  After checking the original version, I went on to find other cover versions, and found that the film has been covered by many people, but the quality is good or bad, and they all have their own characteristics. There are different ways of singing, such as singing in the way of a cappella; there are different instruments played, such as playing with ukulele; there are different forms of presentation, such as the way of drama.

  Since the number of cover versions is still quite large, and the quality is also uneven, I selected a few videos that I personally think are very good and full of characteristics to analyze and share with you.

1.2 Explanation of terms

  Before entering the topic of the introduction video, let’s briefly introduce some proper nouns, so that you can understand the meaning of related words when reading the text, including "YouTube", "Acapella", "Ukulele" " and "Concert".

  • YouTuber

  "YouTuber" means a YouTube user who uploads videos on a "YouTube" channel for viewing by YouTube visitors or subscribers.

  • Acapella

  In the following content of this article, it will be mentioned that two films are presented in the form of a cappella, which are the cover versions of the a cappella group Pentatonix and the British Matthias Harris.

  "A cappella" in Italian is "a cappella", which can be translated as "A cappella" or "A cappella" in Chinese. To simulate the sound of musical instruments, the word "acappella" will be used in the following text to refer to "a cappella".

  • Ukulele

  In the following content of this article, there will be a video that uses ukulele to play, that is, the version of Korean virtuoso Sungha Jung.

  Ukulele's English is "ukulele", other Chinese translations are "Hawaiian guitar", "ukulele", and the transliteration can be "Ukulele", "Yokeli", "Ukulele", A plucked string instrument from Hawaii that is smaller than a guitar and usually has only four strings. The following text uses the most commonly used word "ukulele" to refer to this instrument.

  • Concert

  Recital refers to "performance" as the main part, not "accompaniment" with human voices, and the presentation method is usually pure music. The following text will refer to the performance piece in the ukulele version of the Korean virtuoso Sungha Jung.

2 Song introduction

2.1 Original version

  "Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) – official video" is a song sung by Gotye (lead singer) who has dual citizenship of Australia and Belgium, and Kimbr (sub-vocalist) from New Zealand.

  "Somebody That I Used To Know" is often translated into "Familiar Strangers" in Chinese. The content of the lyrics tells about Gotye's real emotional experience in the past. It narrates that after the two broke up, all the love they had before was lost. , and even killed them all. When they met, they acted as if they were strangers, as if nothing had happened, and greeted each other as if nothing had happened, showing no emotion.

  And the melody of this song is also very special. The prelude is carried by a gentle and drifting rhythm, and the tone is slowly increased when entering the main brother, and only when the chorus is loudly shouted, singing the love for each other Hate entanglement, dissatisfaction, regret, and finally returned to the attitude of treating each other as strangers.

  In addition to the unique melody and meaningful lyrics of this song, the shooting method of the MV is also more special. It uses paint on the body with a color similar to the wall to integrate itself into the wall, symbolizing that the other party regards themselves as The air-like ignorance echoes the "stranger" mentioned in the title of the song. This song was also very popular on the charts at that time, so many people also sang this song. Let me introduce other popular and characteristic cover songs.

2.2 Other cover versions

2.2.1 Walk off the Earth's five-player-one-guitar version

  "Somebody That I Used to Know – Walk off the Earth" is a cover version of the group Walk off the Earth, with five members playing a guitar and singing at the same time, and it has become one of the most popular covers of this song.

  In fact, the first time I knew the song Somebody That I Used to Know was not the version sung by the original singer (Gotye feat. Kimbra), but because I searched for the Chinese keyword "guitar" on Youtube and found " It's super nice - five people play a guitar" I just knew this song, and then went to check the original version.

  In addition to the high popularity of Walk off the Earth's cover of this song, it has also become the target of many Youtubers' covers, which shows its popularity and its strength has been affirmed by many Youtubers.

  The group is very experienced in shooting this type of film, and the quality is quite high. No matter from the shooting of the film, the tacit understanding of the team members, the distribution of work, etc., they are all of a very high standard and organization, as shown in the film The effect is very professional.

2.2.2 Pentatonix's five-person a cappella (only vocals) version

  "Somebody That I Used To Know – Pentatonix (Gotye cover)" is a pure vocal version sung by five members of the Pentatonix Acapella group.

  Pentatonix is ​​a foreign cover group that I like very much. In their YouTube channel, they have adapted many classic and popular songs in the way of a cappella. Each member is responsible for different parts and cooperates very well. There is a tacit understanding, and there are many superb performances and moving collaborations that are not covered. I also recommend other a cappella versions of songs adapted by this group.

  The way the film handles the presentation has a kind of ethereal inspiration that is very similar to the a cappella that will be performed in the church, but at the same time it incorporates many elements of pop music, which is full of excitement and makes it easy for people to immerse themselves in that situation .

  Although this version is an acapella version, just like other films of the group, even though they know that all are pure human voices, they can present the effect and playing method very much like musical instruments, which is amazing.

2.2.3 Matthias Harris plays multiple roles in the a cappella version

  "Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know – Acapella version" is a version sung by Matthias Harris from the United Kingdom who plays many roles and voices.

  The biggest difference between this version and Pentatonix's A cappella version mentioned above is that the whole song is sung by only one singer, and there are no other members, so the whole production process should be quite energy-consuming , After all, it takes a lot of time for one person to play multiple roles, and then edit them together.

  The different parts of the film are produced by the same person using different methods. There are different voices from the mouth, there are whispers, shouts, and different parts of the body are used to make sounds, such as slapping the face, chest, hands, etc., using the sounds made by these body parts to play Aka Bella's version.

  In addition to the good acting and cutting techniques in the whole film, the performance of each character is also full of fun. While listening to the music, people may also smile knowingly when watching the content in the film!

2.2.4 Ghost the Musical duo fantasy musical version

  "Ghost Covers Gotye – 'Somebody That I Used To Know" is a cover version sung by Mark Evans and Siobhan Dillon of Ghost the Musical.

  While this version has had mixed reviews on YouTube, I personally like it because it's presented in a way that's so different from other covers, not just in the way it's played, but in a way that's similar to the original. There is a "dramatic" effect, with rich facial expression changes from the singer's appearance to the end, as well as a moving way of speaking and singing.

  Of course, in addition to the rich dramatic effects and facial changes in the cover, the way the music is presented is also very special, with a feeling of "urban fantasy". In addition to the sound effects in the song, even the film images and story layers are fascinating. After the song is about to end, the male protagonist disappears slowly to symbolize the female protagonist's ignorance of treating the male protagonist as a stranger after the breakup, and then slowly leaves.

  The group was originally a musical group, and it may be because of this that some musical elements were added. Although the whole film is not strictly a typical musical, it has very dramatic effects and elements, and you can go slowly It is a version that is easily moved by the layering of content to experience the meaning and symbolism.

2.2.5 Sungha Jung's Ukulele Recital (Instrumental) Version

  "(Gotye) Somebody That I Used To Know – Sungha Jung (ukulele)" is a performance version of pure music ukulele performed by Korean virtuoso Sungha Jung.

  Sungha Jung was originally a YouTuber who played many guitar and ukulele arrangements on YouTube. He became a YouTuber at a very young age. He has many superb arrangements of performances on this channel, including many classic and hit song.

  Although the player is young, he has attracted a lot of attention with his amazing playing ability, and has been subscribed by many YouTube users, which also reflects the high quality and professionalism of the performance.

  This version is one of the rare versions of pure instrument performance among cover and adaptation versions. Those who like to listen to performance music can immerse themselves in the melody of pure music.

2.2.6 Chen Handian of the biggest party in the whole people and Xiaoyou's spoof adapted version

  After introducing a lot of cover versions above, I also found two versions adapted from the TV program "The Greatest Party of the People" on YouTube - "The Biggest Party of the People Australian Singer Gauthier Chen Handian Kimbula Xiaoyou", and by Performed by Chen Handian and Xiaoyou.

  "The Biggest Party of the Whole People" is a TV variety show that often discusses the content of news events in a light-hearted and funny way, and often criticizes current events. This time, it also presents what the unit wants the content of the discussion.

  These two parts happen to be imitating the same song, and they happen to be only one day apart, but they discuss different themes. On August 2, 2012, the discussion was about Taiwan's national flag when it participated in the Olympics; the first half of August 3, 2012 was about Taiwan's education and diplomas, and the second half was about food safety.

Of course, the focus of these two films is not musicality, but self-deprecating, humorous content and fun after the adaptation, and the use of adapted lyrics to satirize things to criticize current events. Those who are interested can also take a look.

references

update record

  1. 2022/05/12, multi-language version added.



English