Sometimes we all need a break from politics, so tonight/today I’m trying something a little different. In case you hadn’t noticed, I suffer from a wee case of OCD, and one way this manifests is through my need to listen to a song over and over again. Now, back in the old days, this meant I repeated the same track on a record album, or a cassette tape, or on a CD. But today with the internet and YouTube, you can find dozens , hundreds, or even thousands of covers of the same song! So guess what we’re going to do tonight?
I had to give the honor of the first song getting this treatment to Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” because it was the first song where I went down this rabbit hole of not only listening to various straight covers, but finding versions in other musical styles. So put on your headphones and crank up the volume, because we’re gonna dive deep into the many sides of that person we used to know!
BTW, if you’re wondering about the pronunciation, it’s GOT-ee-ay.
To start us off, we should listen to the original, so we have something to compare with:
This is an unrehearsed and improvised live performance in Australia where women in the audience sing the girl’s part. And if you’re wondering, “The Basics” is Wally De Backer, also known as Gotye, along with Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder.
This next video is what sent me down the rabbit hole. It’s from Gotye’s own channel, gotyemusic, and it’s a compilation of all kinds of versions of the song which have been posted to YouTube over the years. It’s insanely cool. And, yes, I had to seek out at least some of those variations on this theme. Oh, and if you’re interested in what all the videos are, here’s a link to the complete list.
This next one is just a straight cover from “ghostthemusical”:
Okay, I admit it: I included this one as much for the shirtless guy as the musical performance. 😉
Here’s an acoustic duet with only a guitar accompanying Jake Coco and Madilyn Bailey:
Here’s another straight cover from Army of 3 (Ingrid Michaelson, who’s doing all the instrumental and vocal parts):
Let’s switch over to a cappella, because you can’t do an OCD Jukebox without it! First up, probably the most famous a cappella group in the world, Pentatonix:
And next up we have Matthias Harris with his a cappella cover, because what’s more impressive than one guy doing ALL the parts?
Now let’s go from one guy to an entire a cappella choir! Omroep BNN, a Dutch choir, to be exact.
Some of those guys still seem quite a bit broken up about the girl who walked out on them…
This rendition is a nice transition piece into our next grouping. It’s by Charles Jones and Maiya Sykes, and it has a 1980s Peabo Bryson or Lionel Richie duet feel to it.
So now we’ve reached the jazz portion of this post. First up, Postmodern Jukebox, because, like Pentatonix, they’re pretty much required. This piece features Hannah Gill doing vocal.
There’s some noodling around for almost a minute before we get to the tune in this next piece. But they sure are cool in this Korey Riker version!
A jazz-reggae-funk version. A really smooth, up-tempo cover by East Park Reggae Collective.
In a classical vein, here’s Q Strings Quartet with their version:
And now for something completely different and possibly the most awesome cover ever. Okay, maybe not “ever,” but it’s a lot of fun. It’s Bardcore (medieval style) from Hildegard von Blingin’ and featuring Friar Funk. Yes, you read that right: medieval style, with lutes and recorders!
If you watched the compilation video earlier in the post, you might’ve noticed a few different groups where five people were all crowded around a guitar. (Or a bouzouki, or a banjo.) This is an entire sub-category of Gotye covers, which started with Walk off the Earth, who have five people playing a guitar while singing the song. And if you’re wondering how five people play one guitar, they have to be on very good terms.
So now let’s listen to Roi Lavi and his friends playing an Israeli bouzouki!
If you thought five people playing a guitar or a bouzouki at the same time was incredible, imagine six people playing a ukulele. Oh, wait! You don’t have to imagine it, it’s right here, thanks to The Waffle Stompers:
Finally, we can’t conclude any edition of OCD Jukebox without at least one parody version. Because we have to end on the funny! Breeze & Wilson give us this parody version with five guys playing a banjo.
And in case you thought those groups above made it look to easy, here’s this parody from Darrell N Joe Unplugged:
And here’s a Star Wars-themed parody from Teddie Films, because it’s always a hoot making fun of Star Wars.
If you watched all of those, you may be as OCD as I am! Congrats! Let me know which version you liked best and least in the comments below.
As always, this is an open thread so you can talk about other stuff, too.