When this song came out, I was a teenager, and our world was divided into two basic factions:
Those clinging to 70s-style rock like Queen, The Who, Dire Straits, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, etc.
Those who embraced the strange new sounds coming from the UK, like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie & The Banshees, etc.
Seldom did both of these worlds meet. Maybe with bands like Blondie and The Cars, music with some of this new sensibility which had made it to mainstream radio.
“Mad World” sounded like some sort of clarion call for those on camp 2, like nothing else like it before. Here we were, taking in all these new sounds, a whole ontology of them, and out pops this thing that still managed to sound completely fresh, to surprise and dazzle us.
This was all amplified by the video, in which Orzabal dances like no one we’d ever seen before. For a minute there, right after The Hurting but before Songs From The Big Chair, the Tears For Fears duo was the hottest thing in the zeitgeist.
I suspect that the enduring impact of this song has a lot to do with the Gary Jules cover originally featured in the film Donnie Darko and later in the Gears of War trailer.
The Cure remains an absolute diamond of a band, and Robert Smith’s voice is so good. I’ve only seen them play live once but it was incredible. Musically almost nobody else from the 80s touches them for me. Tears for fears had some pretty great numbers though
When this song came out, I was a teenager, and our world was divided into two basic factions:
Seldom did both of these worlds meet. Maybe with bands like Blondie and The Cars, music with some of this new sensibility which had made it to mainstream radio.
“Mad World” sounded like some sort of clarion call for those on camp 2, like nothing else like it before. Here we were, taking in all these new sounds, a whole ontology of them, and out pops this thing that still managed to sound completely fresh, to surprise and dazzle us.
This was all amplified by the video, in which Orzabal dances like no one we’d ever seen before. For a minute there, right after The Hurting but before Songs From The Big Chair, the Tears For Fears duo was the hottest thing in the zeitgeist.
I suspect that the enduring impact of this song has a lot to do with the Gary Jules cover originally featured in the film Donnie Darko and later in the Gears of War trailer.
Gears of War trailer:
https://youtu.be/4PAelc9C5xw
Official video:
https://youtu.be/etSbOs3aUqI
Not just the trailer. That scene in the game still makes me cry
The Cure remains an absolute diamond of a band, and Robert Smith’s voice is so good. I’ve only seen them play live once but it was incredible. Musically almost nobody else from the 80s touches them for me. Tears for fears had some pretty great numbers though