Spotlight: Gotye and "Somebody That I Used To Know"

Have you ever loved something so much you can't even put it into words because just trying to vocalize it or explain it will make you sound completely incompetent? As a child, these things included, but were not limited to: pink and/or blue freeze pops, Donald Duck, JC from N*Sync (because I was a child of discerning taste and all of those who claimed to "love" Justin Timberlake were conformist sheep), and "Arthur" on PBS.

As an adult, I pretty much still love all of these things, although the list of things has grown considerably in my post-adolescent years- Nicki Minaj, vampires, the library from "Beauty and the Beast," Chipotle, and a wide array of musical obsessions, including most recently, "Somebody That I Used to Know," a searing indie pop-rock song by Australian import Gotye featuring New Zealand singer Kimbra.

Gotye (pronounced like go-tee-aye), was hugely successful in Australia, with three independent albums already under his belt and "Somebody..." peaking at Number One on the charts there. It eventually surpassed Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply" in 1997 as the longest-running Aussie single. The song comes from his most recent album, Making Mirrors, and is his most successful entry stateside to date.

Gotye has said that he drew inspiration for the song from a wide array of crashed-and-burned relationships, but one in particular was the basis for the track, which details a messy break-up and its cold aftermath. Kimbra provides a rebuttal in the song as the voice of the aforementioned "somebody."

The song has gone platinum internationally and has spawned critical acclaim as well as a myriad of award nominations, including four ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) noms and three wins for Gotye, including Single of the Year, Best Male Artist, and Best Pop Release, as well as a Best Female Artist win for collaborator Kimbra.

Gotye (and Kimbra) were recently on Jimmy Kimmel Live performing the song, and really, is there any moment more perfect when the live performance of a song you love sounds almost exactly like the recording sans lipsynching? I think not.

Jillian Harding is a recent college grad and music enthusiast who sometimes thinks she can rap like Nicki Minaj and wishes her dog was a human. She blogs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Follow her @headphonesblog.