Every week at lunch time Tuesdays, Music Club meets in Room 119 to talk about everything and anything audible. Although with the current level 2 regulations meaning assemblies cannot go ahead, our regular meetings have been put on hiatus as most seniors finish their schooling early on a Tuesday.

Knockout Competition Results

We have finished our 7 week long knockout competition! After weeks of waiting, and over 1000 votes cast, we can finally reveal that Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know has been deemed the “Best Song of the 2010s” after beating Hozier - Take Me To Church in the finals last week. Obviously this title comes with a grain of salt… There were only 64 songs in the running, arbitrarily picked by Music Club! on a Tuesday afternoon. Much of the feedback on this last week of voting lamented this, often citing “better” songs by specific artists, and that the songs remaining were “bad”. So it seems like a good time to talk about what “good” music is. It is very tempting to call any music that doesn’t fit our own tastes “bad”, which is a fine statement really, so long as we are aware that it really is just our own opinion that ends there, and doesn’t extend to any quantifiable metric. Letting go of the fact that our own music taste is no more valid than anyone else’s is a strange feeling, but there is nothing more freeing!

As for Gotye... the tune is an undeniable earworm. No matter your feelings about the song it takes just one listen and it will linger for the rest of the day. Gotye is a Belgian-Australian artist, who sings with Kimbra on this track. Kimbra is a New Zealander, who currently lives in The U.S and continues to make music, however Somebody That I Used To Know changed her career forever, skyrocketing her to stardom. We might listen to the song these days and think it sounds like anything you might hear on the radio really, but everything about the track from the eclectic instrumentation, to the 2 minute wait for the chorus really did bend the rulebook in a way that sees it remain as one of the most memorable releases of the 2010s. The music video is nearing 1.8 billion views on youtube, and really has become an instantly recognisable classic. Don’t be surprised when you hear it in the supermarket in 20 years and your children roll their eyes as their parents start to sing along.

I would like to thank everyone who took part in the competition - it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me and I hope it brought you some joy too - and hopefully not too much frustration. Music Club will resume when we can, and rest assured that the feedback regarding the competition will be taken into account for future tournament plans.

Thanks for reading, and a special thanks to our contributors this week. Stay tuned for more reviews in the future. Remember - this is all subjective - there is no such thing as a cool taste in music - and you are welcome to agree, disagree, or request albums via email (jens.moller@obhs.school.nz).