This is a song I've heard from time to time, probably mostly when I was in the UK. It was brought back to my awareness by a writing challenge last year, when I used the song to accompany a piece of writing I did (NSFW) for the challenge...
Discovering that the original is by Tears for Fears (during @pcos A-Z challenge recently), I knew I needed to explore this song further and see who has done awesome covers and parodies of this solemn, sullen song.
Original
Mad World by Tears for Fears (1982)
This song written by Roland Orzabal and sung by Curt Smith reached #3 in the UK charts and didn't even feature in the US charts at this time, so this was an interesting discovery for me. Read more about the original on Wikipedia.
This song has been covered in several famous releases including this one (the one I featured previously):
Mad World presented by Gary Jules
I like this version in that it very well captures the sullen sadness of the song. I also like the creative way of presenting the video.
Mad World presented by Postmodern Jukebox
I actually didn't expect to like this one, but it really, really worked, despite the more upbeat tempo. These guys have brilliant vocals, so are always worth a listen.
On to the parodies
There were several parodies using this song to share feelings about coronavirus/covid-19... Here's the best I heard.
Mad World Covid 19 by Jennellsmusic
Her voice and lyrics are perfect for encapsulating the day-to-day feelings that covid 19 has generated regardless of what your opinions are on the virus itself.
WTF selection of the day
Joker - Bat World - presented by TacoTruck
I knew I was onto a good thing when I saw that it was someone actually playing piano for this song. The vocals are good, the lyrics clever, regardless of whether you agree with his opinion on the subject of various Batman renditions or the competition between DC and marvel.
Today's Finale!!!
Mad World presented by Peter Hollens
Seeing Peter Hollens' name on the list of covers, I knew I was in for a treat. He sings a capella as usual, providing many voices all on his own.
For this song, Peter uses chords and a darkened set in order to keep the emotion true to the original song.
Bonus Finale
I had this all queued up when my husband reminded me of one of the best covers I've heard of this song...
Mad World presented by Julia Westlin
If you're not familiar with this lovely Swede, you're in for a real treat! Her voice is absolutely amazing.
That's it for today! I hope you had as much fun as I did!
As usual, I'm simply sharing YouTube videos on a theme, all rights remain with the original.
Bring popcorn! (For @popcornexpress)
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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter
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