Mad World: Difference between revisions
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*[[American Idol]] Season 8 contestant [[Adam Lambert]] performed the song on the show on April 7, 2009, as well as on May 19, 2009. Both live and studio recordings were subsequently released. The live performance received a standing ovation from all four judges, including [[Simon Cowell]]. |
*[[American Idol]] Season 8 contestant [[Adam Lambert]] performed the song on the show on April 7, 2009, as well as on May 19, 2009. Both live and studio recordings were subsequently released. The live performance received a standing ovation from all four judges, including [[Simon Cowell]]. |
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* Canadian jazz singer [[Shannon Butcher]] recorded a [[cover]] of the [[song]] for her album ''Words We Both Could Both Say''. |
* Canadian jazz singer [[Shannon Butcher]] recorded a [[cover]] of the [[song]] for her album ''Words We Both Could Both Say''. |
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* Live electronic music act [http://www.soulinthemachine.com Soul in the Machine] started playing a version live and subsequently released it as a public mp3 for download on their blog. A "video" version exists on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z91H4J_m2zo YouTube]. |
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* A dance/electronica remix was created by DJ RB SaUCe and can be found on [http://www.reverbnation.com/djrbsauce ReverbNation]. |
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===Samples and quotations=== |
===Samples and quotations=== |
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Revision as of 17:31, 23 June 2009
| "Mad World" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Ideas As Opiates" |
"Mad World" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its b-side, "Ideas As Opiates", would turn up on the band's debut LP The Hurting the following year. The song would eventually become Tears for Fears' first international success, reaching the Top 40 in several countries between 1982 and 1983.
Two decades later, the song made a popular resurgence when it was covered in a much slower, ballad-like style by composers Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the soundtrack to the movie Donnie Darko. This version reached no.1 in the UK in December 2003.
Background
"Mad World" began life as the intended b-side for Tears for Fears' second single "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)". The band decided, however, that it may be something people would like to hear on the radio and held back its release, instead waiting to issue the song as a single in its own right after re-recording it with Chris Hughes, a former drummer with Adam & The Ants. [1]
That came when I lived above a pizza restaurant in Bath and I could look out onto the centre of the city. Not that Bath is very mad - I should have called it "Bourgeois World"![2]
— Roland Orzabal
"Mad World" was the first single off the finished album. The intention was to gain attention from it and we'd hopefully build up a little following. We had no idea that it would become a hit. Nor did the record company.[2]
— Curt Smith
Meanings
Lyrically the song is pretty loose. It throws together a lot of different images to paint a picture without saying anything specific about the world.[2]
— Roland Orzabal
It's very much a voyeur's song. It's looking out at a mad world from the eyes of a teenager.[2]
— Curt Smith
Song versions
The 7" version of "Mad World" is the same mix of the song found on The Hurting. The song had only one remix on its initial release, the "World Remix" that was featured on the 7" double-single. This mix is very similar to the album version, with the most notable difference being the additional echo added to the intro and middle sections. More recently, a remix by noted British music producer Afterlife was featured on the 2005 reissue of the Tears for Fears greatest hits collection Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92).
B-side
"Ideas As Opiates" is a song that originally served as the b-side to the "Mad World" single. It would later be re-recorded for inclusion on The Hurting. The song takes its name from a chapter title in Arthur Janov's book Prisoners of Pain and features lyrics related to the concept of primal therapy. The song is musically sparse, featuring just a piano, drum machine, and saxophone. An alternative version of this song titled "Saxophones As Opiates" was included as a b-side on the 12" single and is mostly instrumental.
That's the chapter from Janov, and it's really a reference to people's mindsets, the way that the ego can suppress so much nasty information about oneself - the gentle way that the mind can fool oneself into thinking everything is great.[2]
— Roland Orzabal
It really was all about that kind of thing - the psychological answer to religion being the opiate of the masses, whereas we thought ideas were, more than anything else.[2]
— Curt Smith
Music video
The promotional clip for "Mad World", filmed in late summer 1982, was Tears for Fears' first music video. It features a gloomy looking Curt Smith staring out a window, while Roland Orzabal performs a bizarre dance outside on a lakeside jetty. The clip was directed by Clive Richardson who was notable for his work at that time with Depeche Mode.
Track listings
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Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | UK Singles Chart | #3 |
| 1982 | Australian Singles Chart | #12 |
| 1982 | Irish Singles Chart | #6 |
| 1983 | German Singles Chart | #21 |
| 1983 | South African Singles Chart | #2 |
Michael Andrews / Gary Jules version
| "Mad World" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "No Poetry" |
"Mad World" would achieve a second round of success beginning almost twenty years later, after it was covered by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the film Donnie Darko (2001). While the Tears for Fears version featured various synthesizers and percussion, the Andrews/Jules version was stripped down; instead of a full musical backing, it used only a set of piano chords, a cello, and modest use of a vocoder on the chorus. Their version was originally released on CD in 2002 on the film's soundtrack, but an increasing cult following spawned by the movie's DVD release finally prompted Jules and Andrews to issue the song as a proper single. The release was a runaway success in late 2003, becoming the Number One single over the Christmas holiday in the UK, a feat Tears for Fears themselves never accomplished. The music video has since been very popular on Youtube, garnering over 13 million views as of 2009.
Track listings
|
|
Chart positions
| Chart (2003/2004/2007/2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| USA Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 30 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 28 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 13 |
| Belgium Flanders Singles Chart | 23 |
| Canadian Digital Singles Chart | 1 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 6 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 4 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Portuguese Singles Chart[3] | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 53 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 37 |
Chart positions for Adam Lambert's Version
| U.S. Hot 100 | 19 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 10 |
Popular culture
In late 2006, a condensed version of the Andrews/Jules cover of "Mad World" was featured in the award-winning commercial for the video game Gears of War. The advertisement has been credited with helping propel the song to #1 on the iTunes sales chart. It is also used as a spoof in one of the Battlefield: Bad Company Trailers. In addition to its usage in numerous advertisements and fan-made YouTube videos, the Andrews/Jules cover has also become a popular choice for background music in television dramas, having appeared in the following series:
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In 2006, the song appeared on Broadway as the closing number in Butley starring Nathan Lane.
The song resurged in popularity again with the Gary Jules version performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol TV show in April, 2009. Lambert chose this performance as his encore during the season 8 finale, May 19, 2009.
Other versions and covers
In addition to the Andrews/Jules version, "Mad World" has been recorded over the years by the following artists:
- French artist Nicola Sirkis, frontman of the new wave band Indochine, on his solo album Dans La Lune... (1992).
- American industrial rock band Kill Switch...Klick, on the Cleopatra Records compilation New Wave Goes To Hell (1998).
- German DJ Pulsedriver's popular remix of Nu Romantix's cover, on the compilation album Dos Or Die Fresh Cuts (2001)
- American alternative rock band Finch, on their EP Rolling Stone Acoustic Session (2002).
- British singer-songwriter Alex Parks, on her debut album, Introduction (2003).
- American industrial act Brainclaw, (2004).
- American metalcore band Evergreen Terrace, on their album Writer's Block (2004).
- German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen, on their live DVD Rock am Ring 2004 (2004).
- Australian art rock band The Red Paintings, on their EP Walls (2005).
- German DJ Jan Wayne, on his single Mad World (2005).
- American singer-songwriter Sara Hickman, on her double album Motherlode (2006).
- Canadian rock bassist Ken Tizzard, on his album Quiet Storey House... An Introduction (2006).
- German a cappella group Wise Guys, on their album Radio (2006).
- American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, on their live DVD Live at the Roundhouse (2007). The performance features Trash McSweeney of Australian art rock band The Red Paintings.
- Canadian folk-singer Tara MacLean, on her EP Signs of Life (2007) and her album Wake (2008).
- German vocal band Gregorian, on their album Masters of Chant Chapter VI (2007).
- Vietnamese-Canadian singer Kristine Sa recorded a cover of the song.
- American Idol Season 8 contestant Adam Lambert performed the song on the show on April 7, 2009, as well as on May 19, 2009. Both live and studio recordings were subsequently released. The live performance received a standing ovation from all four judges, including Simon Cowell.
- Canadian jazz singer Shannon Butcher recorded a cover of the song for her album Words We Both Could Both Say.
Samples and quotations
- Prozak samples the song on the track "American Princess", from the Strange Music compilation Strictly Strange 08 (2008).
- British dubstep artist The Bug, with vocalist Warrior Queen, included the song "Insane" on the album London Zoo (2008). The song ends with a quote from Mad World.