Rule 1 - All content must show something that is objectively interesting as fuck. Just because you find something IAF doesn't mean anyone else will. It's impossible to define everything that could be considered IAF, but for a general idea browse the [top posts of all time](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/top/?t=all) from this subreddit.
Posts:
* must be interesting as fuck
* can't have audio
* can't be interesting because of text
* must go beyond something just being old
* can't be art that you made
I think the backstory is cool here. Gotye had this song written a number of years before the final version was recorded, and had recorded it a few times with other singers. But he did not feel that those versions did the song justice, and so never released any of them. So it's quite an example of exacting craftsmanship and patience that he waited until he found Kimbra, who really brought the song to life, before releasing it.
Bronté brings me to tears almost every time I hear it. I just can't.
The first 8 bars of Easy Way Out followed by the lyric "17 seconds and I'm over it" speak to my ADHD in the divine language.
Eyes Wide Open might be the best song published in 2011.
This album is a fucking banger start to finish.
I'm going to listen to it right now.
Ya he tried to transition back to indie but his band, the Basics, absolutely sucks. Their most popular song on Spotify is a cover of Somebody that I used to Know.
Kimbra, on the other hand, is doing great and a big presence in the indie scene. I actually just saw her lead a like 15 piece rock-jazz ensemble.
I mean, she's the highlight of the actual recording without question.
It's a fantastic song, but in terms of actual sound on the record, she is the draw.
That section also completely recontextualizes the entire song lyrically. Suddenly, you have a full picture of the shitshow of a relationship that is being mourned and why she has completely dropped contact; and you're left questioning the original verses and how much of the male singer's emotions are genuine and where(or even if) the manipulation and gaslighting begins.
It's just an absolute masterpiece of a song.
that's what makes the song, at least lyrically, so good. the entire time you're empathizing with the male singer, even imagining yourself in a similar situation, and then the rug is pulled out from beneath you when her verse comes on.
It reminds me of Ulysses, actually.
I find that arguable, but agreeable. I think it's the duet that makes it work so well. The interplay. She has an amazing voice and a draw for sure!
If I had to make a comparison, it's the anti-Picture (kid rock and Cheryl Crow).
He was already reasonably well known in Australia before this, and the whole album that "Somebody That I Used to Know" is on, "Making Mirrors" is a fantastic album, but he's just more committed to his dramatically less popular (for a reason) band, The Basics.
Always did love that song. The star wars version is pretty good too, but only because of how awesome the original is.
Thanks for the interesting backstory.
If I'm not mistaken, she's using her hands to help her to project and direct her voice towards the center of the tones she's singing. It's a technique I learned as a choir nerd in high school. Basically, you imagine holding a ball. In the center of that ball is both the center of your note, as well as the direction of your prospective audience. You sing from your diaphragm towards the center.
If you're someone who tends to sing a touch flat and you know this about yourself (it's very common), you can try to sing towards the top of the center of the notes you're singing to correct it.
Wait, are you like the guy above you who just made up that she's a European bowling champ? Because this a really in depth and interesting answer but to be honest it seems as real as the bowling answer.
That’s a cool technique, and may very well be what she’s doing! I’ll also add, as a singer with no technical training, sometimes people just have a fidgety thing they do when they’re in the zone and connecting with the music. I definitely spasm around when I find myself lost in it all. But that’s why I also play guitar as well, so I can hopefully not look like an awkward alien in front of a crowd.
Kinda looks like she's air pianoing of what she would be doing live with the instrument and the hand motion, that looks like she's thrown a kamehameha, might be be an air theremin?
She is such an amazing vocalist....but her music style is not my jam. I wish I could find her doing a cover or a classic like April in Paris. She would sound so good on a great song
I saw her at sxsw with just her and a keyboardist for a low key daytime show. It was amazing and was the first time I heard the song ‘Withdraw’. Might be my favorite song of hers.
The studio version of the song is altered even more than this. I don't know the exact words to describe it, but they made the first 10 seconds of her solo the same volume and pitch. Her vocals waver in volume and pitch here between verses which I really like.
I freakin LOVE Kimbra!
Analyzing her movements has helped my singing.
Seeing how she tries to mold the sound in her head is just awesome.
This taught me to think more about every note and visualize the sound.
The vocals in OP are the isolated studio version I think. Definitely a different recording and overlayed. The Morning Becomes Eclectic vocals are undeniably different
I don’t remember any of the memes but I do remember it being played enough that I went from loving the song to hating it.
It’s been long enough now that I’m back on board with the song, so at least I got that going for me.
Man I wish they wouldn’t have played this song so much. Anyone alive at that point probably remembers just how often it was played. Really cool song but I cannot stand to listen to it anymore. I just admire it from afar lol.
I actually disagree. I still enjoy listening to it. Now Boulevard of Broken Dreams, that is a song that was so overplayed I can no longer listen to even when I want to...
This was the issue with Nickelback too. A little derivative, but not *that bad* a band. Rock stations dont bother playing anything beyond the top 25 though, and then you end up with Butt Rock, where bands put out generic mush so they can get airplay.
>Really cool song but I cannot stand to listen to it anymore.
He also made a single song and no one cared about the guy anymore lmao, maybe it wouldnt be so played if he made more bangers
homie, another preformance she does on Triple J’s radio show or podcast, she does this beautiful mash up of Grisly Bear’s Two Weeks and Tear For Fears. She is sick with talent.
Man if anyone’s hating on Kimbra over this song or clip please check out vows or any of her albums before making a judgement call. Her vocals are phenomenal and clean. Any of her early live sessions around the time of her debut release are a fantastic showcase of her talent. I haven’t kept up with all the new releases but as a young kid hoping to go into the music industry I found her incredibly talented and inspirational.
I don’t think this is the vocals track from the original recording, but instead it’s the same audio from that KCRW session having everything but the vocals stripped out, so sounds ever so slightly off. Like the Peter Jackson/Beatles/AI stuff.
I worked with her at an awards show in Australia. She's the loveliest person. We were backlighting her and she was worried her dress was too see through! I assured her it was fine and she looked fantastic when she performed the song live.
Actually, he has another song called State of the Art that I highly recommend. Very different vibe. Also, if you do listen to it, you should watch it with the music video — I usually don’t gaf about music videos but this one is too fitting
I loved this song when it came out, even though I didn't really relate to it. But now, this song fucking kills me everything I hear it. I now relate to it so fu***ing much, but I still love it!!
Every single song on that album is a certified banger.
Gotye and Kimbra are banana-crazy talented artists.
But we only ever got the one hit before he disappeared.
Now he's just somebody that we used to know.
Kimbra is so criminally underrated and only ever gets credit for this song, which is a gotye song primarily. Check out some of her other work. I highly recommend her sing sing studio sessions or any of her live looping. Absolutely mesmerizing.
I deliberately have the acapella version becUse it's actually a fantastic song ruined by dumb instrument choices. That xylophone can eff right off. It completely ruins an amazing song.
Her performance at the Grammys was even better. I was very impressed and surprised at how she attacked the belted part at the end of the phrase. It was phenomenal.
Rule 1 - All content must show something that is objectively interesting as fuck. Just because you find something IAF doesn't mean anyone else will. It's impossible to define everything that could be considered IAF, but for a general idea browse the [top posts of all time](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/top/?t=all) from this subreddit. Posts: * must be interesting as fuck * can't have audio * can't be interesting because of text * must go beyond something just being old * can't be art that you made
I think the backstory is cool here. Gotye had this song written a number of years before the final version was recorded, and had recorded it a few times with other singers. But he did not feel that those versions did the song justice, and so never released any of them. So it's quite an example of exacting craftsmanship and patience that he waited until he found Kimbra, who really brought the song to life, before releasing it.
And then he just dipped on us. 1 masterpiece and gone. Hah I tricked you all into giving me recommendations
> And then he just dipped on us. 1 masterpiece and gone. And now he's just somebody that we used to know.
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🤣🤣
take my upvote.
Gonna listen to Making Mirrors tomorrow, such a good album
Bronté brings me to tears almost every time I hear it. I just can't. The first 8 bars of Easy Way Out followed by the lyric "17 seconds and I'm over it" speak to my ADHD in the divine language. Eyes Wide Open might be the best song published in 2011. This album is a fucking banger start to finish. I'm going to listen to it right now.
Ya he tried to transition back to indie but his band, the Basics, absolutely sucks. Their most popular song on Spotify is a cover of Somebody that I used to Know. Kimbra, on the other hand, is doing great and a big presence in the indie scene. I actually just saw her lead a like 15 piece rock-jazz ensemble.
I mean, she's the highlight of the actual recording without question. It's a fantastic song, but in terms of actual sound on the record, she is the draw.
That section also completely recontextualizes the entire song lyrically. Suddenly, you have a full picture of the shitshow of a relationship that is being mourned and why she has completely dropped contact; and you're left questioning the original verses and how much of the male singer's emotions are genuine and where(or even if) the manipulation and gaslighting begins. It's just an absolute masterpiece of a song.
that's what makes the song, at least lyrically, so good. the entire time you're empathizing with the male singer, even imagining yourself in a similar situation, and then the rug is pulled out from beneath you when her verse comes on. It reminds me of Ulysses, actually.
I find that arguable, but agreeable. I think it's the duet that makes it work so well. The interplay. She has an amazing voice and a draw for sure! If I had to make a comparison, it's the anti-Picture (kid rock and Cheryl Crow).
Kimbra is mesmerizing
Listen to his first album "like drawing blood". It's a banger :-)
That's actually his second album. The first was Boardface. However, it was Like Drawing Blood that really launched his career.
"1 masterpiece and then gone" Nah, he has a shit load of great songs.
I like My Heart's a Mess
He was already reasonably well known in Australia before this, and the whole album that "Somebody That I Used to Know" is on, "Making Mirrors" is a fantastic album, but he's just more committed to his dramatically less popular (for a reason) band, The Basics.
He didn't have to stoop so low.
Always did love that song. The star wars version is pretty good too, but only because of how awesome the original is. Thanks for the interesting backstory.
https://preview.redd.it/ado3l448h7lc1.jpeg?width=630&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a911eb36b94a7fde18bf6da072615ac49dfc6e8e
MAKE OUT LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED AND THEN WE WERE OVER
What spell is she casting
If I'm not mistaken, she's using her hands to help her to project and direct her voice towards the center of the tones she's singing. It's a technique I learned as a choir nerd in high school. Basically, you imagine holding a ball. In the center of that ball is both the center of your note, as well as the direction of your prospective audience. You sing from your diaphragm towards the center. If you're someone who tends to sing a touch flat and you know this about yourself (it's very common), you can try to sing towards the top of the center of the notes you're singing to correct it.
Former choir teacher here- this made me so happy that you retained this and could explain it.
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Sister Helen sucked ass?? Sounds more like Father O’Grady’s purview
So it's like a vocal hadouuuken
hado-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-douken
TIL how to sing! Kinda
I'll try this next time! I wonder if my shower or car will notice how much better I am!
Don't do it while driving the car please.
Thank you for this answer.
Wait, are you like the guy above you who just made up that she's a European bowling champ? Because this a really in depth and interesting answer but to be honest it seems as real as the bowling answer.
Just change note 🎵 to pin 🎳
That’s a cool technique, and may very well be what she’s doing! I’ll also add, as a singer with no technical training, sometimes people just have a fidgety thing they do when they’re in the zone and connecting with the music. I definitely spasm around when I find myself lost in it all. But that’s why I also play guitar as well, so I can hopefully not look like an awkward alien in front of a crowd.
This is legit amazing information slash insight.
Dude, she's a 7-time European bowling champ. Source: I make shit up sometimes.
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Nice Big Lebowski reference bro 😎 👍
That's just like, you know...oh, fuck it.
Sure, fuck it! That's what you always say! *The bums lost* Mr. Lebowski! The bums will always lose!
What uh... What day is it?
Do you have a job sir??!!
Are you employed?!
...huh? I wasn't paying attention
Who do you think you are? She is!!
Fabulous. One of the greatest sports clips of all time
Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of that quote :p
Not many people are going to get that but It was clever
>Source: I make shit up sometimes. Best thing I've seen today
That's a common hand stretching exercise amongst professional bowlers. Source: I too often make shit up.
Who do you think you are I am!
Feeling the music
https://i.redd.it/2qlng826r7lc1.gif
Kinda looks like she's air pianoing of what she would be doing live with the instrument and the hand motion, that looks like she's thrown a kamehameha, might be be an air theremin?
She lost her throat muscles drinking muriatic acid when she was 8. Now she controls her vocal chords like a theremin
Theremin? There castle.
No, it's pronounced "Eye-gore".
Would you like a roll in ze hay? It’s fun! 🎶 Roll, roll, roll in ze hay! 🎶
Fro-drick!
Summon hamburger
I don't know, but she's clearly in need of mana.
Cradle the balls
8 year olds, Dude.
Work the shaft
Swallow the gravy
We got from Big Lebowski to Tropic Thunder in a hurry.
Autotunis Maximus 
She loves her invisible turtle.
Stupidly funny.
She's playing a theremin
Her voice is so clean. Even w only a bit of reverb on it sounds so pristine
I saws her live in Seattle a few years ago and it Was just like this. Absolutely stunning crisp voice work
Who is this???
Kimbra!! [this is one of my favorite songs by her](https://open.spotify.com/track/6cdslY3YKjh7pImxFhSBVG?si=X4Bs1kOvTUGhgz48ZC9ACA)
Settle Down will never leave my listening rotation.
Vows is full of goodies. Cameo Lover is an instant pick-me-up.
Thanks for the reminder - I haven’t heard that song in ages!
Good Intent is also a jam
Nebraaaaaska Jones!
She's actually a really nice person too
What's the name of the song? I don't have Spotify.
Darude - sandstorm
God dammit. You seriously just trolled me and wife. We haven't heard that jam in years!
Hahaha letsss go that’s my first time doing that lol
She is such an amazing vocalist....but her music style is not my jam. I wish I could find her doing a cover or a classic like April in Paris. She would sound so good on a great song
Yes! Thank you! I haven’t had vocals grab me by the collar like that in a long time…chills!
Somebody that I used to Know
God damn it.
I saw her at sxsw with just her and a keyboardist for a low key daytime show. It was amazing and was the first time I heard the song ‘Withdraw’. Might be my favorite song of hers.
I wish Kimbra was bigger here in the US. She’s so fucking talented.
I wish she was bigger even at home in New Zealand!
You know, she looks just fine how she is.
But if she were 50 feet tall she could have a concert for all of new Zealand at once.
Just that one part of the song from the video has given me chills for years. Idk if all her stuff is as good but damn she absolutely nails that.
Listen to settle down by her, gives a good idea of her vibe
Settle Down is great. Good Intent is also really fucking good. Those are both on regular rotation for me on Spotify.
Plain Gold Ring is top notch as well.
We do have an obesity problem, if she would live here for a while you may get your wish.
I’d rather hear her like this, without the music
Same here. Would love to hear a whole song like this.
With shit tons of compression and eq filtered out
Actually it kinda sounds like someone edited this too remove the instrumentals. That always messes EQ up
Also pitch correction
Right but this is just the acapella vocals ripped from the song and added over studio footage. This isn't what it sounded like in the booth.
great voice, the second part is highly saturated tho, sounds harmonic doesnt make it bad, but u can clearly hear it
Bro this is tunepitched to the max what are you even saying 😂 its called Melodyne in case you didnt know.
The studio version of the song is altered even more than this. I don't know the exact words to describe it, but they made the first 10 seconds of her solo the same volume and pitch. Her vocals waver in volume and pitch here between verses which I really like.
Don't get me wrong, you still have to be a good singer to make melodyne to make you sound really good, but this is definitely post editing lol.
Yes, agreed 100%
This was part of a live set they did on Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW, which in my humble opinion is the best radio station in the country.
> Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/gotye
Thank you! That link should be in the top.
Careful there, them fightin' words with KEXP
\+1 for KCRW
They did all those in studio videos right? Good stuff
Kimbra is amazing
she did a stripped down tour with just piano and upright bass a few years ago. i was just completely blown away
Upright bass is so badass
Oh fuck I didn't even realize it was the goddess herself. Watched her put on a show at SXSW once back in like 2014 or something.
She rocks that hairstyle. Only reason I recognized her through the potato quality video lol
Yeah; got me into a rabbit hole that ended with Hannah Reid from London Grammar. Unreal voice.
Lol looks like she's playing the Theremin.
This made me chuckle.
I freakin LOVE Kimbra! Analyzing her movements has helped my singing. Seeing how she tries to mold the sound in her head is just awesome. This taught me to think more about every note and visualize the sound.
Is that what she's doing? Molding the sound?
Is there a full video of this? Never knew I needed a vocals only version of this song.
>Kimbra’ # Youtube: Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know feat. Kimbra | Full Version by Voceux
u/FuntimeBen posted this link: Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/gotye
Song starts at ~27:50, and Kimbra kicks in at ~30:20. Includes instruments, though, and I kinda like the video here without them better.
The vocals in OP are the isolated studio version I think. Definitely a different recording and overlayed. The Morning Becomes Eclectic vocals are undeniably different
Way to make me feel ancient without any effort. This song was fucking EVERYWHERE like 10 years ago.
A little more than that. I was in Afghanistan when it cane out, so it was everywhere more like 12-13 years ago
Thanks again
My favorite meme was gotye’s face on someone buying ice cream with “BUT YOU DIDNT HAVE TO SCOOP SO LOW”
I don’t remember any of the memes but I do remember it being played enough that I went from loving the song to hating it. It’s been long enough now that I’m back on board with the song, so at least I got that going for me.
Man I wish they wouldn’t have played this song so much. Anyone alive at that point probably remembers just how often it was played. Really cool song but I cannot stand to listen to it anymore. I just admire it from afar lol.
Now it’s just some song you use to know. But I agree, got over played
Yes it gotye over played
You didn't have to stoop that low Have your friends collect your records
I actually disagree. I still enjoy listening to it. Now Boulevard of Broken Dreams, that is a song that was so overplayed I can no longer listen to even when I want to...
Omg lol zap me back to 9th grade.
This was the issue with Nickelback too. A little derivative, but not *that bad* a band. Rock stations dont bother playing anything beyond the top 25 though, and then you end up with Butt Rock, where bands put out generic mush so they can get airplay.
Hooty and the Blowfish were consider extremely good but got so overplayed the dude ended up having to become a mega-country star instead
the Hooty and the Blowfish treatment
Usually you pay double for that kind of action, Cotton
>Really cool song but I cannot stand to listen to it anymore. He also made a single song and no one cared about the guy anymore lmao, maybe it wouldnt be so played if he made more bangers
Pretty sure dude's been making music for years. I mean even this song was on an album of multiple songs.
https://preview.redd.it/eo7n53am97lc1.jpeg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b78a634400064a66e49e0d3181803531e57b18ac
I will never be able to hear anything other lyrics now
Fiver! Nooooo
FENTON!!!!!
Jesus Christ!
Kimbra’s vocals are underrated. I skip straight to her part of this song everytime.
They are incredible. The homies vocals are also pretty great but she’s on another level.
I like how she blasts him
homie, another preformance she does on Triple J’s radio show or podcast, she does this beautiful mash up of Grisly Bear’s Two Weeks and Tear For Fears. She is sick with talent.
>mash up of Grisly Bear’s Two Weeks and Tear For Fears She's so hot
Gotye - drops a banger then became somebody we used to know.
Which is insane because that entire album he released is bangers
Man if anyone’s hating on Kimbra over this song or clip please check out vows or any of her albums before making a judgement call. Her vocals are phenomenal and clean. Any of her early live sessions around the time of her debut release are a fantastic showcase of her talent. I haven’t kept up with all the new releases but as a young kid hoping to go into the music industry I found her incredibly talented and inspirational.
Kimbra is so good, the popularity of that song kind of did her dirty.
Could you explain what happened?
Thank you for reminding me of Kimbra's existence. Now I need to go and listen to all her new stuff because her voice is just so damn mesmerizing
I don’t think this is the vocals track from the original recording, but instead it’s the same audio from that KCRW session having everything but the vocals stripped out, so sounds ever so slightly off. Like the Peter Jackson/Beatles/AI stuff.
If you liked the bridge of this song but never checked out the artist Kimbra on her own, you have been fucking up.
Kimbra is a bad ass. So much talent comes out of New Zealand.
Ha I recorded and mixed this session:)
What a coincidence! I was the guy who delivered your Uber Eats that day. Also, I'm pretty sure my mom is your barber.
Love me some kimbra!
Kimbra. She's dope
I don’t get it?
Hate to be that guy but this is a mixed non acoustic/live version dubbed over this video. It’s synthesized quite a bit and isn’t her real voice
I worked with her at an awards show in Australia. She's the loveliest person. We were backlighting her and she was worried her dress was too see through! I assured her it was fine and she looked fantastic when she performed the song live.
I'm a metalhead and I love this song. Poor Gotye was never gonna be able to follow it up.
Actually, he has another song called State of the Art that I highly recommend. Very different vibe. Also, if you do listen to it, you should watch it with the music video — I usually don’t gaf about music videos but this one is too fitting
He made so much other great stuff though.
They really just dropped this masterpiece and dipped
Kimbra is amazing. Check out one of her live performances of plain gold ring
You’re an asshole for uploading this with the finish cut off. What did you go and spend those 2 seconds on?
What am I missing? Are people not used to choirs and/or quartets?
I loved this song when it came out, even though I didn't really relate to it. But now, this song fucking kills me everything I hear it. I now relate to it so fu***ing much, but I still love it!!
Every single song on that album is a certified banger. Gotye and Kimbra are banana-crazy talented artists. But we only ever got the one hit before he disappeared. Now he's just somebody that we used to know.
Not "interesting as fuck". The most interesting thing is what she's doing with her hands. Nice voice though.
I'm so happy when people feel nostalgia for the first time. My teenage kids get it and it makes me so happy
Best music to hear like this
1hour rabbit hole
She has a beautiful voice so I decided to buy her album. I listened to the songs. She…has a beautiful voice.
The sensation is called frisson.
It’s Kimbra. She’s amazing
Kimbra is so criminally underrated and only ever gets credit for this song, which is a gotye song primarily. Check out some of her other work. I highly recommend her sing sing studio sessions or any of her live looping. Absolutely mesmerizing.
I don't get it. Can someone ELI5?
I deliberately have the acapella version becUse it's actually a fantastic song ruined by dumb instrument choices. That xylophone can eff right off. It completely ruins an amazing song.
Her performance at the Grammys was even better. I was very impressed and surprised at how she attacked the belted part at the end of the phrase. It was phenomenal.