My God. Has it been that long since I posted? That's what happens when vacations, new jobs, eating chips, sleeping, and added work after hours get in the way.
And what better way to start than with a cover song so grating, I want to walk right up to Gary Jules and punch him repeatedly in the groin. Yes, he sounds 'deep'. To me, it's deep all right. And I'm pulling up the hip waders to wade through the fecal matter this cover produces. I mean, what was this all about?
In 2001, Jules released the album 'Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets', and included his cover of 'Mad World'. The album literally took years to climb the charts, reaching the UK Top 40 and Billboard 200 in 2004, a good three years later. The cover song was included on the soundtrack to Donnie Darko in 2002, and demand for the song forced Jules to release it as a proper single in 2003. It reached number 30 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart (WTF?) in 2004, while over Christmas of 2003, it became the UK Christmas number 1. How...seasonal.
The original Tears For Fears version was sung by bassist Curt Smith, a rare departure from Roland Orzabal on lead vocals. The 3rd single by the band, it was released in November of 1982 as a single, later to appear on the 'The Hurting' album the following year.
It was also the band's first international hit, breaking in to the Top 40 in many countries, including number 2 in South Africa, number 6 in Ireland, and number 12 in Australia. Surprising success the band and the record label did not foresee, especially since the original idea was to make the song a B-side to 'Pale Shelter'.
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