It’s hard to believe that Gotye’s amazing song and music video, Somebody That I Used to Know, was popular 14 years ago. That just blows my mind. I would have said 5 years, or maybe 8 at the absolute most. Time passes so strangely. Maybe that’s partly because of how popular it still is. On YouTube, the music video has had more than 2 BILLION views. I don’t think many videos can boast those kind of numbers. The song stuck to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for an amazing eight consecutive weeks from April to June of 2012, winning Record of the Year at the Grammys and a host of other awards as well.

So here’s why I’m talking about it today. It came up in my Facebook memories yesterday that 13 years ago, I posted what may be one of the best mashups of all time. Gotye himself took a wild selection of covers of the song from YouTube, and created a YouTube Orchestra performance epic in its brilliance.

“Hello from 11 years later. In the presence of what the modern internet is, this is a masterpiece. Not a relic from the past, but a monument to the golden ages of YouTube.” – Video commenter on YouTube

As if your memory needed jogging, here is the original to refresh your recollection of the beauty and simplicity of the original:

And here is the equally-brilliant mashup that inspired today’s post. What a talent!

Though the runaway success of that song didn’t sit well with the artist (whose real name is Wouter “Wally” De Backer), and it caused him to declare that Gotye is done releasing music, Wally still writes and performs with his other project, The Basics. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this talented musician.

You can follow Gotye on his website and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And you might want to check out The Basics on YouTube as well!

If you’re interested, here’s a very good summary of Gotye’s influences, process, and early career leading up to the character’s retirement from music.