2012 has started at the same amazing pace as 2011 for Scala & Kolacny Brothers, with a tour of Northern Spain, dates in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Ireland, an upcoming trip to Korea as well as TV appearances at ITV's Dancing On Ice (UK) and at the famous San Remo Festival... But 2011 was the breakout year for Scala & Kolacny Brothers as they conquered the United States and Canada with a major tour, in support of their first North American CD release, including headlining stages at SXSW and Coachella. This success was immediately followed by a first record release in the U.K., a sold out show at London's Union Chapel in June and a triumphant “special guest” performance at the Latitude Festival, where they played the prestigious Sunday noon slot. In June the group headlined at the Heineken Dia De La Musica in Madrid, in November the album ‘Scala & Kolacny Brothers’ was released in Italy, where it immediately hit the top 10 (!) and in December the group returned to 4 sold out shows in Berlin, as well as a Radio Eins very special-alternative-Christmas-songs special. 2011 has brought Scala & Kolacny Brothers the status of international phenomenon and it all seemed to start with a simple email.
When the email arrived in May 2010, the Kolacny brothers thought it was some kind of joke. “Yeah”, the brothers thought, “right.” But the request was genuine. And the film turned out to be The Social Network. It transpired that the director, David Fincher, is a huge fan.
The song in question is a hauntingly beautiful acoustic reworking of Radiohead¹s Creep. In July 2010, two months after the brothers received the email, the Social Network trailer was released. The powerful music was center stage, heightening a growing sense of unease like a chorus of fallen angels.
Like the film itself, the trailer has been a huge global hit more than 250m people have seen in the Cinema, on TV or online. Thanks in part to the subsequent buzz on social media, traffic to the brothers’ website went through the roof: their interpretation of Creep is an internet phenomenon, watched in various forms well over 25m times.
A record-label bidding war erupted in America but the brothers chose to sign with Atco, a subsidiary of Warner, with whom they had been negotiating. They released an eponymous album in in the US in March in the US and in the UK and most of the rest of Europe - 6 June 2011 (on Wall Of Sound). Italy followed in November of this year and the album was re-released in December in the UK, with two additional titles. In 2011 Scala & Kolacny Brothers also released 2 acclaimed video clips, for their versions of Use Somebody (directed by Inti Calfat) and Everlong (directed by Mark Woollen, who also directed the The Social Network trailer).
In September Scala & Kolacny Brother’s version of U2’s With Or Without You, was featured in the trailer for Season 2 of the British hit drama series Downton Abbey (broadcast in the USA on PBS where Scala & Kolacny Brothers also have their new special ‘Live From Bruges’ airing from December). And in December Scala’s version of Last Christmas was used in the trailer for the Downton Abbey Christmas special, while the group performed at Downton Abbey’s VIP Christmas special launch party in London.
But even with numerous TV shows (including 'the Simpsons'!) using Scala & Kolacny Brother’s music in 2011, it was the Social Network trailer which shone a spotlight on the unique musical project that is Scala & Kolacny Brothers an indie-rock choir, comprising of the two Kolacny brothers, Steven and Stijn, and Scala, their all-girl choir. Steven plays the piano, Stijn conducts the choir. The brothers usually work with 20-30 singers, aged 16-26, at a time, but these days have more than 200 girls on their books, ensuring plenty of cover for their increasingly busy schedule.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers take rock and indie songs and reinvent them as elegiac hymns to breathtaking effect with the piano often the sole accompaniment to the voices. On occasion they also use drum machines, sequencers and synthesizers, and also often perform with a full rock band.
The new album includes versions of Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), Champagne Supernova (Oasis), With or Without You (U2), Use Somebody (Kings of Leon), Everlong (Foo Fighters) and more. Creep also features, as do three original compositions Seashell, Masquerade and Our Last Fight.
Rock and indie music works best because “the beating heart of the songs is often very black and very emotional, and the female voices of the choir add a certain melancholic touch”, says Stijn. “Sometimes they bring out whole new dimensions in the songs our version of Nothing Else Matters could be
classical music; its sound is nothing to do with Metallica anymore.” Other influences range from Sigur Ros to Nirvana and include the dark electro-pop of Goldfrapp and Depeche Mode, and the brooding mini-symphonies of Massive Attack.
Use Somebody
Scala & Kolacny Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always looking down and all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you
And how you speak
Countless lovers undercover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you oh oh oh
Someone like you oh oh oh
Off in the night
While you live it up I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
Someone like me oh oh oh
Someone like me oh oh oh
Yeah
I'm ready, I'm ready
I'm ready now
I'm ready, I'm ready
I'm ready now
Oh oh oh
Someone like me oh oh oh
I've been roaming around
Always looking down and all I see
The lyrics of Scala & Kolacny Brothers's song Use Somebody speaks to the isolation and loneliness that one often feels in a crowded city. The singer describes roaming around and looking down, only to see painted faces filling the places they can't reach. This could refer to the masks people wear to hide their true selves or the unattainable places one may long to reach. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "You know that I could use somebody" indicating the desire for human connection and an end to the loneliness.
The second verse of the song describes the contrast between the singer's solitude and the bustle of the nightlife happening around them. While others are out living it up, the singer is off to sleep, waging wars within themselves. The hope that this internal struggle will be noticed by someone is expressed through the line "I hope it's gonna make you notice".
Overall, the song Use Somebody is a poignant expression of the human longing for connection and an end to loneliness. The lyrics describe the struggle of feeling isolated in a crowded place and the yearning for someone to notice the internal turmoil and provide comfort.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been roaming around
I've been aimlessly walking around without any clear direction
Always looking down and all I see
I have been looking at the ground and I only see the ground
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
Everywhere I look, there are people who are unreachable or unapproachable
You know that I could use somebody
I am in need of somebody to help me through
Someone like you
I need someone with your specific qualities and personality traits
And all you know
I need someone knowledgeable and experienced
And how you speak
I need someone who communicates effectively
Countless lovers undercover of the street
There are countless people hiding their relationships from the public
Off in the night
While you are out enjoying yourself at night
While you live it up I'm off to sleep
I am going to bed because I don't have the energy or desire to live it up like you do
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I am struggling to overcome obstacles in order to follow my dreams
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope my efforts will make you pay attention to me
Someone like me oh oh oh
I hope you will notice someone like me who is usually overlooked
I'm ready, I'm ready
I am prepared and willing
I'm ready now
I am ready right at this moment
Oh oh oh
I am emphasizing my readiness
Someone like me oh oh oh
I hope you will give someone like me a chance to prove myself
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Anthony Caleb Followill, Ivan Nathan Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KCPD official
USE SOMEBODY
I've been roaming around,
always looking down and all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you
and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers
undercover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you
Off in the night while you live it up,
I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me, somebody
Go and let it out
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
I've been roaming around,
always looking down and all I see
Kidofrodo
This is my favorite choir in the world singing one of my favorite songs, in the background of an amazing video.... What more could you want?
peanutmovies
This video touches the essence of humanity. In the deepest and rawest sense, people can connect to the meaning.
Avonne Camille
I went to Iraq in 2008 while I was in the Marine Corps. Some of the things I saw, heard and felt were unimaginable. Returning home after 10 months in hell was the hardest thing I've done. I could've used somebody but I didn't know it at the time. A beautiful take on my favorite songs.
Storyteller - The Broad is here!
thank you for your service ..tremendously. we all need somebody. be like me. i have come to be my own somebody....it's a good start
Gervan Simon
Sending you much love & hugs.
xxx
Charles
The video interpetation of this song by the Scala & Kolacny Brothers is just spectacular. It should be an image the enire world should see that we need to all come together for those in need, not just shelter, food & clothes, but simple companionsip.
Catrin Vincent
I think that this is a beautiful interpretation. My interpretation would be, however, that this video is so beautifully simple. It is just raw emotion from a difficult scenario. It's such a real situation that people usually tend to shy away from in fiction or art because it doesn't have a clear, happy ending. It's reality. For me, she is still alive.
lunageologist
As a Marine who too has been to far away lands for far too long, I feel your pain Marine. I did too many tours and too many nights spent away from loved ones. This song does reach deeply into our hearts, sung in such a melancholy way as to evoke a deeper feeling of despair and longing. I do wish it showed a happier ending, however, I believe I understand the meaning of the video coupled with the song. Good luck Marine, I hope everything has become better since you left Iraq.
BratLori
I love the 2nd altos on this song. They bring depth to the sopranos. Incredible.
Icey Bb
Yeah...this made me cry very hard. Such a powerful video. Thank you for creating and sharing.