I heard of the saying that goes “when you are sad, you hear the lyrics. And when you are happy, you hear the beat”. I heard it all on all TFF songs. They are my childhood heroes. And led me to pick up all the musical instruments and sing. Thank you Curt and Roland. Thank you Professor.
At a TFF concert in 2011, they actually opened up with the Gary Jules version of “Mad World” then immediately went into “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”. About halfway through the show - and I believe it was Curt who said this - it was mentioned how they very much admired Gary’s version and greatly appreciated what it did for TFF. Then said “but sometimes, the original version is always the best” - then they proceeded to play their version. Of course, the audience went nuts. It was a great concert memory!
I actually think it matches the mood better, because it's 'mad world's not 'sad world'. To each their own, however, and my opinion doesn't invalidate yours. Cheers!
Saw them in 2004 in Kansas City they introduced the song as a "cover of a cover", Kansas City is where Oleta Adams lives, they pulled her out of the crowd to do "Woman in Chains". One of the best concerts I've seen.
When he said that and then mentioned n passing how it saved some, you could hear that at one point in his life, these songs did save him, there was a spli second of emotion and confession there. Glad you are with us @professorofrock
I might be 47 but I'm still 12 Y.O., I'm still a child, still growing up, and all the music I've listened to over the past 30 years is STILL forming my childhood; now what?
Curt Smith covered the song with his young daughter during the lock-down. At the time I did not know the song, but I listened to that version over and over again. The smile he exchanges with his daughter at the end is pure magic.
I have one word for this band: Brilliant. I grew up in the 60s and by the time the 80s came along when I heard pale shelter and mad world my mind was blown away.
I worked with kids for years and used to tell them, be choosey about the music you listen to, it becomes the soundtrack to your life. Listen to what YOU really enjoy not just what's popular. Great episode!
So true and well put. In our lives, people will pass, foods will change taste, movies will look outdated and rough, but somehow music transcends all of that to teleport you back. It’s surreal and beautiful how our brains connect with this specific art and memories in time.
The Hurting is definitely on the list of truly underappreciated albums of the 80's. I still listen to it every few months minimum from start to finish. Never gets old for me.
At 49 I’ve been to almost a thousand concerts. Music is my life. A year and a half ago Tears for Fears took the number one spot of greatest concerts I’ve ever been to. My wife agreed. These guys are on top of their game!!
I loved this band. I had few friends in high school and was not popular. I was also bullied. Tears for Fears music touched me and how I felt. I still listen to them.
This song spoke to me in the 80’s, 90’s and to this day. I play piano by ear and my daughter inherited that trait. She passed away 3 years ago at age 26. While searching through Facebook videos of her there was one where she was playing the piano along with others and ‘Mad World’ was the song. This song continues to add more meaning now. She, like myself had suffered from depression and we both could relate to the lyrics of this song. ❤ Some songs are overplayed and they get tiring, but not this one! Thanks for providing such wonderful content about the greatest songs from all generations.
Your ending comment about how the music of your teen years stays with you is so, so true. My niece was recently in a musical review in her high school that consisted almost entirely of songs from my high school & early college years. There were many times I found myself singing along with tears in my eyes, remembering events and/or people that are forever linked to those songs.
"The music you listen to when you're a child, when you're a teenager, it becomes a part of your being. It creates your world. It thankfully stays with you as an old friend." Profound words, indeed! I became a teenager in the early 70s and fifty years later I am still listening to the same songs I heard on the radio back then. Thank goodness for satellite radio. There are a handful of channels where I can find those wonderful songs that I listened to in my room. Door closed, lights out, just me and my music. I did not go on to be a musician, although I have been playing the drums, off and on, since 1968. When I manage to find like-minded individuals who feel the need to jam, then I am the happiest I can be.
Tears from fears was a band in such a short time that evolved from an 80s pop band into a group of mature and insightful musicians from Curt Smith's gentle vocals to Roland orzabal's powerful vocal deliveries and stunning guitar playing they became an iconic band thats still putting out great music today
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 what's your favorite album of theirs the hurting is great and elemental I like to the one that took the longest to grow on me was the seeds of love that has some Roland's finest guitar playing on that album
@@georgemathie8123 Mine is Songs from the Big Chair. Every single song on that album is unskippable. One that I never hear anyone talk about is The Working Hour. It’s such a cool song.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 it's a perfect album yes the working hour has a kind of progressive rock edge to it for me it's side ,2 all the way for me from the gentle and jazzy I believe and the fantastic broken, head over heels and the powerful ending of listen and Isn't Roland orzabal such a fantastic guitar player he almost reminds me of David Gilmour in a way
I was born in '71 and am forever grateful my teenage years coincided with the fantastic era of music that was the '80s. Although at the time I was into more alternative and underground bands, I have come to enjoy most of the popular songs from that era just because of the heavy nostalgia they carry! I've loved the subsequent music as well, right up to today's music, but there is something about the music that was on the airwaves at the time you were experiencing so many firsts...first love, first heart break, first job, first car, first concert...never to be repeated times.
I would love to hear Roland sing this song. I can’t imagine how he felt it didn’t sound right. Roland has one of the best voices and is one of the best singers around.
Much of the music from my younger years acts as a time machine. I can close my eyes and be transported back to specific places and times in my life. Music is so powerful.
Professor, I cant agree enough with your closing reflection on how music can both memorialize and shape our life and our attitudes. I think outside experiences are obviously major part, but listening to artists describe common experiences in humanity reminds us we're not alone either in sadness or in celebration. ❤
First let me start by saying that I don't watch American Idol (or The Voice for that matter), but one night some years ago I was flipping through channels and stopped because a young man (Adam Lambert) was singing Mad World. It was so haunting and beautiful I got goosebumps all over, and by the time he was finished I was crying a little. Dayum, that boy wrung all the pain in that song out beautifully! Apparently the contestants had to choose a song from the year of their birth, and I totally loved Adam's choice. No surprise he's got a career of his own. Don't ask me about the rest of that night, I know I changed the channel and that's it, lol.
@ineedmoreshoes4668 it was! He also made it his own, he didn't try to BE either member of TFF. It actually would've been Kurt Smith, but you know what I mean. I LOVE your user name! 💕 You're my spirit animal, lol!😂😘💖🫂
I remember back in the early MTV days trippin' on the video... Curt singing next to the window, and the silhouette dancing toward the end of it... Good ol days!
My favorite band..my bff and I went to every single concert of theirs here in California starting in 1985...I've lost track of how many times I've seen them and recently, my Son's first concert was TFF in 2022...and asked to include him when we bought tickets again in 2023!! (My job with his musical taste is done!! LOL!!!) I still continue to LOVE them..their last album really shows their mindset with what has happened to them and their lives at this age now!!! I met Roland years ago at a record release...he knew I was a giant fan and reacted like HE was my biggest fan while screaming as he shook my hand....sigh! TFF completely overlooked as one of the most significant bands of not only the 80's but into their musical future and luckily into ours!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this thorough video!!!! xo
I was once told, insistently by a young person, that Jules' version was the original... Until I played her the Tears For Fears version from 2 decades before... "Oh..." 🤣
it passed my by in the 80's, I was more into Shout and Everyone wants to rule the world, but since 2000 I've gone back to a bunch of old stuff and reconnected and this song stands out more than it did then...that's the mark of a good song...either you see it on release for what it is or later on it clicks due to life experience or you used to just like the sound but now the lyrics do it for you lol any song that can get new life later on is a keeper and Mad World is a keeper for the ages....as is most of RFF's catalog lol
8:11 My dad always said on our way to the barber that it was "time to get our ears lowered." He turns 80 this year. Cool guy. Your quip brought back a funny memory. Thank you for that.
I love Tears for Fears. All of their songs are great. Their songs really helped me get through a tough childhood as well. I played there albums on cassette tape over and over. I always cranked up the volume and sang along when ever I head them on the radio. Thank you.
This was your best yet. I write for Blitzed Magazine here in the UK, and write about 80s music- your closing lines in this video sum up why I write about these songs. They go to my core. I love most music- even some of what is around nowadays... but albums like The Hurting, and groups like (as in my recent articles) Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, Associates, Wah! and many others, comforted, educated and socialised me. They are friends. Keep up the great work, mate. These videos, one day, will be the revision notes for college students studying the popular poetry and music of a hugely important cultural epoch. 👍🏼
Back in 84, I was 5 years old and almost completely non-verbal. But Tears for Fears put out "Shout" and it connected with me in such an essential way, I started singing that song every time it came on. It still took a while longer before I started talking, but "Shout" is still one of my favorite songs.
Adam: I love Mad World, and you did a great job of laying out the narrative. I am a longstanding pianist, and my performances of Mad World have often been showstoppers with my friends. This podcast convinced me to stop being a freeloader and become a Patreon member, which I did today. Am pleased to drop some modest coin to see these artists and these musical stories thrive. With gratitude and respect, ~ Peter Ferber
My first exposure to this song was watching Donnie Darko, it came as a great surprise that the song was a Tears For Fears original as I was a huge fan of them as a kid and was only exposed to Songs From The Big Chair and Seeds Of Love, I was a too young to of known about The Hurting so it was really awesome to be able to go back and check that out, this song truly is a masterpiece, awesome work on this episode I hope you do get to interview them soon
@@kj9093 Adam’s version introduced me to Jules’ version. I love Tears For Fears, but Gary Jules’ cover is one of the best covers of all time. It really showcases the sadness of the song.
Somehow I missed this song in the 80s. I got TFF's greatest hits album, and that was the first time I had ever heard it. I love it. Sowing the Seeds of Love is my favorite TFF song, though. It's such an upbeat anthem, and of course, I love a sunflower.
Another of my favorite bands from my young adult life, Professor. I am so BLESSED to have lived through the 60's, 70's and 80's, and to have witnessed some of the most amazing music ever created and performed. TFF is one of those transcendent bands that have produced music that has indeed stuck with me as part of the very fabric of my life. I agree with you, Professor, and love how you wrapped up your analysis. Thanks for ALL you do, we music junkies appreciate and are extremely grateful to you for allowing us to relive those poignant moments of our lives. Well done, Brother, well done!!
Professor, you post many wonderful videos here on UA-cam, but this touched a place in my heart like no has been to in a while. Thank you so much for covering and telling the History of Roland and how he came to write Mad Would. I also can relate to his life ...but have survived and I am in much better state of being. Once again, thanks Professor of Rock
Music From The Big Chair was my first experience with TFF, so I hadn't heard Mad World until Adam Lambert performed it on American Idol. I was blown away by the beauty of the performance and the lyrics. I was delighted to find out it was a TFF song. Loved them in the 80s and still loving them today. Brilliant coverage of this beautiful song.
The music of our youth becomes a part of us. So true. The music of the late 60s / early 70s sends me right back to the absolute joy of discovering music that spoke to me. It was the beginning of the formation of my identity.
Actually... Shell Shock involves concussions with accompanying skull fractures and cranial hemorrhaging... It's not a Disorder, it's physical damage to the head...
@@Taranau I believe the poster is referring to how the term was used during the WWI era, when it was used as a term to describe what is now known as ptss or ptsd. I studied how this was discussed by medical professionals (while I was in grad school) and as psychiatry was in in its relevant infancy, WWI vets who had acute severe ptsd were thought to have “shell shock” in addition to other possible conditions.
I am a child of the 80's an TFF are one of those band I grew up on, but would never say I was 100% a fan, but now later in life they are a band with a catalog I always go back to from time to time.
The best version I've heard of Mad World was done by Curt Smith and his daughter...a stripped-down acoustic version they put on the internet during the pandemic. Magical!
What I love about your channel is you take the songs of my youth and open my eyes to the depth and beauty of the music from that time of my life. Thank you.
TFF is my all time favorite band…got me thru my horrific teenage years, thru a college suicide attempt and thru life’s ups and downs here and there. Had a ton of their 12” remix albums in my teens and college back when 12” “maxi singles” were a thing, had their albums on vinyl and cassette and later CD and eventually my iPod (and now of course in my iTunes library!). Everytime I hear their music it just sends me to a different place…a better place. Love TFF!!!
The Tipping Point is fantastic and proves that these guys still got it. They sound just as good as they ever have. I get irritated by some peoples’ comments on their newer stuff because many will say “WOW what happened to this guy!😂” because Roland is so grey now (not even grey but white, instead of a silver fox I call him an arctic fox!) which shows so much insensitivity and ignorance. I get that people are used to seeing these guys young, but that was decades ago! We all age and should be able to do so with grace. And as your video shows, Roland has not had the easiest life, clearly, from childhood and through adulthood. His precious wife passed at a relatively young age due to alcoholism, and we can only imagine the suffering that went on over the decades. I’m glad he found love again. Of course he won’t look the same as he did 40 years ago! To these people saying things like “what happened to him?” I want to say, well, pull up a chair. A Big chair 😌
Your final reflection upon the vast impact of music in our childhood and adolescent lives is so utterly, profoundly true. That "soundtrack" does absolutely fuse to the core of one's soul and inform, if not outright shape, the person one grows up to become. And I don't think we talk about that nearly enough. Thank you for putting words to this truth. Well done.
In the early 80's As a child my mother would listen to TFF and I was hypnotized by it, I didnt come from a broken home, but my musician father was completely absent, spending all of his time in his failing recording studio (🎶Going nowhere, going nowhere 🎶) while my mother had to work 14hr days scrubbing toilets to support his ridiculous dream. I spent much of my time alone, listening to The Hurting vinyl on repeat. Today listening to it stirs up so many emotions.
Absolutely Love them! Like you said…certain songs and bands become a part of your life. TFF is one of those bands. I saw them last year and they are still Amazing! ❤🎶
Adam, you are the man. Every time you get emotional, you get me emotional. Music is everything and this is why your channel is so special. Love your work man!
I've watched most of your videos by now, and this one hits me the hardest because of the depth with which you tell the story. You see, Roland's story has a very sad beginning, but he found triumphant healing through music and emotional honesty. Excellent work, Professor!
Always amazed with such insightful views you give us by dissecting a song’s history… Even if I already liked it, I end up loving it more and find joy by listening carefully to it again. Thanks Professor!
I LOVE TfF, I was so excited when I saw the repressing of The Hurting on vinyl. It is a fantastic, deeply emotional album that is perfect for listening on vinyl.
Saw them in 80 in a small lounge in Vegas and they were GREAT! I don't have any of their LP's but, when their music comes on the radio,I crank it up! This is music that helps you remember the past. BRAVO DOC.😊👍✌️
One of the first times I just hung out with a college friend listening to music and talking - I put in the Hurting CD and after we went through it, we both realized that we knew every single word and that we'd be friends for a long time. We just hung out in Seattle last fall, still listening to music in the car.
luv all things Roland.. he is the 7th son of the 7th son.. meanwhile, your album collection will be complete when I see Lake (German band) first album back there!.. It was my first ever purchased lp and what a great great lp it was.. Heard the song 'Between The Lines' on pirate radio late night.. killr 12min tune.. btw > I saw TFF in a small town in France back in 84' when they were just getting going.. They were with the Thompson Twins, Bronski Beat and Howard Jones.. Was a great little concert in a little musical hall.. ah,, the guud ode dayz..
@@ProfessorofRock we gotta get you over the 1mil subs mark.. !!.. posting this video now over at my music group on Gab.. btw > most passionate ending in the video.. you commented before I finished watching. Most excellent storytelling.. well done indeed.
In ‘89 I was 13yo and had brain surgery. During my recovery I emotionally regressed and craved all music from a few years earlier…Tears For Fears was part of that heavy rotation of music. Mad World will always hold a sentimental spot in my soul.
These guys came along when i was in middle school. Such a nostalgic time for all of us. Very thankful we/I had great music like this to help me understand and work my way through becoming a young teen in the early/mid 80s. Still have a poster as well as albums of theirs including a remix of one of their hits with only a few tunes on it. Great times, wish my daughter was growing up then instead of now
@@ProfessorofRock yes I saw where you said you've recently exposed your son to the FIXX. LOVE IT because I enjoy doing the same for my 11 yo daughter! Supertramp and many of the "Yacht Rock" tunes along with Michael Jackson seem to be her favs. Thanks for the reply and the content. Like I've said you often sound similar to Casey so it's nice to sit and feel like I'm listening to an old top 40 countdown like we so often/ALWAYS did as kids. ✌️🤍🤘
I was 11 when this came out and completely understood what it was like living with a father who would lose it and I would suffer verbal and physical abuse upto 21 years old so subconsciously it became ingrained. The album is a must a master piece with" the prisoner" being difficult to listen to because it's frantic and earie. Mad world sums up child suffering alienation you just hope a generation of kids now and to come listen to that song and album and get help before it's too late. Wonderful review ❤
This is one of my all time favorite TFF songs. I would even say one of my favorite songs of all time. These lyrics speak to my soul. To create so much beauty from so much pain is an incredible talent and a beautiful gift.
@@ProfessorofRock it really really does. I love every single version I’ve ever heard. This is one of my two all time favorite bands. Their music is a huge part of the soundtrack of my life.
Love all of your videos and the research you do behind them all. The Hurting for me, was a life changing moment. Although I can't say I had similar experiences growing up as Roland, the whole album still touched a nerve in me. I was working in a local record store upon its release and this was my go to album at that time. The musicianship was second to none, the melodies on all songs were and are still amazing. This album I have on vinyl, CD and Blu-Ray Hi-Res CD and still today is on high rotation. Like you, I was a teenager when this came out (now 56) but love this album and so many other 80's albums - they don't make them like they used to!
When Tears For Fears were active I was into rock and metal, Mad World was a song that everyone knew and everyone understood. It's timeless, it speaks to a point we all live through at sometime in our life.
Adam's last name fits him perfectly, he reads everything and puts the best parts in a half hour video, concise and well written. Every time I hear an episode I wish Rock and Roll Jeopardy was still on VH1 I feel like I would know all the answers! Never disappointed and this is another great episode!!
Songs From the Big Chair is still, to this day, on regular rotation in my car and at home. I've never tired of that album. The Hurting is great as well, but Songs From the Big Chair is one of my all time favorites. After I first heard Shout, on the radio, I went and purchased the vinyl album, and later on cassette then CD and now on Spotify. Think i'll always love that album. Thanks Professor for another great story about one of my favorites. They were a huge part of my teenage soundtrack.
I started tearing up at 20:30 or so... subscribing now. This feels like coming home to a place I didn't know existed! I'm SUCH an 80s music child and never left. Oh, Tears for Fears. They were the best for crooning/shouting your ballads of heartbreak and teenage angst in the novelty of stewing in MTV's earliest and spiciest herbs: "SHOUT. SHOUT. LET IT ALL OUT." And your musical analysis, as well as your incredibly thoughtful approach to the context and story of this ONE moment of magic... I'm thrilled to have found my way here. I look forward to rediscovering your deep dives! I was a music history/theory major and particularly loved your attention to the musical references and cross-pollination. I can't wait to delve into your trove of history and analysis and reverence for the songs I also cherish with similar intensity. Right this second, though, I have to go listen to some TFF. 💕
Poll: Who is your pick for the most UNDER-APPRECIATED Band of the 1980s?
XTC
The Waterboys
Ugly Kid Joe
ABC
The Fixx... Filled a decade with great songs
I heard of the saying that goes “when you are sad, you hear the lyrics. And when you are happy, you hear the beat”. I heard it all on all TFF songs. They are my childhood heroes. And led me to pick up all the musical instruments and sing. Thank you Curt and Roland. Thank you Professor.
At a TFF concert in 2011, they actually opened up with the Gary Jules version of “Mad World” then immediately went into “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”. About halfway through the show - and I believe it was Curt who said this - it was mentioned how they very much admired Gary’s version and greatly appreciated what it did for TFF. Then said “but sometimes, the original version is always the best” - then they proceeded to play their version. Of course, the audience went nuts. It was a great concert memory!
So cool!
I definitely prefer Gary Jules's version. The poppy arrangement from TFF just put the wrong mood on the song.
I actually think it matches the mood better, because it's 'mad world's not 'sad world'. To each their own, however, and my opinion doesn't invalidate yours. Cheers!
I saw it, at pac amphitheater in Costa Mesa, CA
Saw them in 2004 in Kansas City they introduced the song as a "cover of a cover", Kansas City is where Oleta Adams lives, they pulled her out of the crowd to do "Woman in Chains". One of the best concerts I've seen.
And let's not forget the incredible cover by Puddles Pity Party. Thank you, Roland, for gifting us with something to connect with.
"The music you listen to as a child or teenager becomes a part of your being!" - Truer words were never spoken!
When he said that and then mentioned n passing how it saved some, you could hear that at one point in his life, these songs did save him, there was a spli second of emotion and confession there.
Glad you are with us @professorofrock
When he said that I instantly thought of Rubber Ring by The Smiths. It talks about that very subject.
I might be 47 but I'm still 12 Y.O., I'm still a child, still growing up, and all the music I've listened to over the past 30 years is STILL forming my childhood; now what?
Sadly, Roland's wife of 35 years passed in 2017.
R.I.P. Caroline Orzabal
🌹
Curt Smith covered the song with his young daughter during the lock-down. At the time I did not know the song, but I listened to that version over and over again. The smile he exchanges with his daughter at the end is pure magic.
I still remember the moment I saw them perform together: 😍
That is such a great vid. And she knocks it out of the park!
I saw that, very sweet father-daughter moment and at a very relevant time.
I love Tears for Fears. Songs from the Big Chair and Seeds of Love are perfect albums from start to finish.
They truly are. I remember first hearing Tears For Fears when Shout came out. I was 6.
So is The Hurting. Not one second of filler on it.
I am not a fan but they have made some really good song and i thought that seeds of love was much bigger.
Seriously, check out the Korgis recent "Bringing Back the Spirit of Love" if you like "Sowing..."
100% agree they are perfect. I always add the Elemental album as well. Another perfect TFF record.
The 3 albums from Tears for Fears in the 80s are easily 3 of the best of the decade.
I agree. The perfect trilogy!
@@ProfessorofRock: WISH more people KNEW about Elemental through to The Tipping Point, though - Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, MOST of ALL ; (
i totally agree.
I have one word for this band: Brilliant. I grew up in the 60s and by the time the 80s came along when I heard pale shelter and mad world my mind was blown away.
All of them are great all the way through!
I worked with kids for years and used to tell them, be choosey about the music you listen to, it becomes the soundtrack to your life. Listen to what YOU really enjoy not just what's popular. Great episode!
So true and well put. In our lives, people will pass, foods will change taste, movies will look outdated and rough, but somehow music transcends all of that to teleport you back. It’s surreal and beautiful how our brains connect with this specific art and memories in time.
The Hurting is definitely on the list of truly underappreciated albums of the 80's. I still listen to it every few months minimum from start to finish. Never gets old for me.
All these years I never knew this song was written about Roland's own life. For me, it now gives this great tune different look..for the better
At 49 I’ve been to almost a thousand concerts. Music is my life. A year and a half ago Tears for Fears took the number one spot of greatest concerts I’ve ever been to. My wife agreed. These guys are on top of their game!!
I loved this band. I had few friends in high school and was not popular. I was also bullied. Tears for Fears music touched me and how I felt. I still listen to them.
Still listening to them frequently
Same!
Classic!
Their new album, "The Tipping Point" is worth listening to as well. ...it's awesome.
I love it!
It’s a gem!
It’s one of my favorites.
This song spoke to me in the 80’s, 90’s and to this day. I play piano by ear and my daughter inherited that trait. She passed away 3 years ago at age 26. While searching through Facebook videos of her there was one where she was playing the piano along with others and ‘Mad World’ was the song. This song continues to add more meaning now. She, like myself had suffered from depression and we both could relate to the lyrics of this song. ❤
Some songs are overplayed and they get tiring, but not this one!
Thanks for providing such wonderful content about the greatest songs from all generations.
My condolences. Peace my friend. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, much sympathy for your loss.
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss❤️
Sorry for your loss.
My condolences to you and your family.
I’m 66 and you are so correct about the music from your youth becoming part of the fabric that is you.
Thanks!
Your ending comment about how the music of your teen years stays with you is so, so true. My niece was recently in a musical review in her high school that consisted almost entirely of songs from my high school & early college years. There were many times I found myself singing along with tears in my eyes, remembering events and/or people that are forever linked to those songs.
"The music you listen to when you're a child, when you're a teenager, it becomes a part of your being. It creates your world. It thankfully stays with you as an old friend."
Profound words, indeed! I became a teenager in the early 70s and fifty years later I am still listening to the same songs I heard on the radio back then. Thank goodness for satellite radio. There are a handful of channels where I can find those wonderful songs that I listened to in my room. Door closed, lights out, just me and my music. I did not go on to be a musician, although I have been playing the drums, off and on, since 1968. When I manage to find like-minded individuals who feel the need to jam, then I am the happiest I can be.
Tears from fears was a band in such a short time that evolved from an 80s pop band into a group of mature and insightful musicians from Curt Smith's gentle vocals to Roland orzabal's powerful vocal deliveries and stunning guitar playing they became an iconic band thats still putting out great music today
Amen! Love the comment George!
One of my favorite musical acts of all time.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 what's your favorite album of theirs the hurting is great and elemental I like to the one that took the longest to grow on me was the seeds of love that has some Roland's finest guitar playing on that album
@@georgemathie8123 Mine is Songs from the Big Chair. Every single song on that album is unskippable. One that I never hear anyone talk about is The Working Hour. It’s such a cool song.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 it's a perfect album yes the working hour has a kind of progressive rock edge to it for me it's side ,2 all the way for me from the gentle and jazzy I believe and the fantastic broken, head over heels and the powerful ending of listen and Isn't Roland orzabal such a fantastic guitar player he almost reminds me of David Gilmour in a way
I was born in '71 and am forever grateful my teenage years coincided with the fantastic era of music that was the '80s. Although at the time I was into more alternative and underground bands, I have come to enjoy most of the popular songs from that era just because of the heavy nostalgia they carry! I've loved the subsequent music as well, right up to today's music, but there is something about the music that was on the airwaves at the time you were experiencing so many firsts...first love, first heart break, first job, first car, first concert...never to be repeated times.
I can go one better..Born in 61 and grew up with both the brilliant 70s and the 80s !
I was born in '74 and know exactly what you mean
Yes I totally understand what you’re saying. A romantic time. 72 boy.
I would love to hear Roland sing this song. I can’t imagine how he felt it didn’t sound right. Roland has one of the best voices and is one of the best singers around.
I love Roland’s voice. I think he and Curt actually sound very similar so it’s strange that he didn’t think his voice sounded right.
"Shout" is pure catharsis for my soul.
Much of the music from my younger years acts as a time machine. I can close my eyes and be transported back to specific places and times in my life. Music is so powerful.
When you are alone, it should be soothing to realize that you are not alone being lonely
Professor, I cant agree enough with your closing reflection on how music can both memorialize and shape our life and our attitudes. I think outside experiences are obviously major part, but listening to artists describe common experiences in humanity reminds us we're not alone either in sadness or in celebration. ❤
THanks Linda! Great comment!
And it unites us toward a common cause.
What an awesome comment! 100% with you
First let me start by saying that I don't watch American Idol (or The Voice for that matter), but one night some years ago I was flipping through channels and stopped because a young man (Adam Lambert) was singing Mad World. It was so haunting and beautiful I got goosebumps all over, and by the time he was finished I was crying a little. Dayum, that boy wrung all the pain in that song out beautifully!
Apparently the contestants had to choose a song from the year of their birth, and I totally loved Adam's choice. No surprise he's got a career of his own.
Don't ask me about the rest of that night, I know I changed the channel and that's it, lol.
It's an amazing cover :) Adam Lambert's song "Broken Open" has a similar mood but a more reassuring lyrical outcome, I think.
I like his cover of Duran Duran's Ordinary World as well. He has such a great voice and stage presence. He was definitely born to perform.
His cover of Mad World was incredible!
@ineedmoreshoes4668 it was! He also made it his own, he didn't try to BE either member of TFF.
It actually would've been Kurt Smith, but you know what I mean.
I LOVE your user name! 💕
You're my spirit animal, lol!😂😘💖🫂
I remember back in the early MTV days trippin' on the video... Curt singing next to the window, and the silhouette dancing toward the end of it... Good ol days!
Good ol days indeed! What's your favorite TFF song?
@@ProfessorofRock Pale Shelter- because its originality... Advice for the Young at Heart is a close second- so smooth!
It’s a memorable video!
My favorite band..my bff and I went to every single concert of theirs here in California starting in 1985...I've lost track of how many times I've seen them and recently, my Son's first concert was TFF in 2022...and asked to include him when we bought tickets again in 2023!! (My job with his musical taste is done!! LOL!!!) I still continue to LOVE them..their last album really shows their mindset with what has happened to them and their lives at this age now!!! I met Roland years ago at a record release...he knew I was a giant fan and reacted like HE was my biggest fan while screaming as he shook my hand....sigh! TFF completely overlooked as one of the most significant bands of not only the 80's but into their musical future and luckily into ours!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this thorough video!!!! xo
Love, love, LOVE that story! ❤
God we were so angsty back then. But then, many of us are today. If today isn't a mad world, IDK what is.
I know what you mean!
It has always been that way............ The more things change the more they stay the same.
It’s always been a crazy world!
Thank you for covering this one. “Mad World” was my intro to New Wave/alternative music in the very early 1980’s.
A great first song to do so! Thanks Kelly!
It’s a perfect representation of new wave.
SAMEZIES
Wasn't sure I knew this song but realized it's simply a forgotten classic and very deep.
Very deep! Are you a fan of TFF?
@@ProfessorofRockI am indeed.
Very cool!@@TerrickTerran
I was once told, insistently by a young person, that Jules' version was the original... Until I played her the Tears For Fears version from 2 decades before...
"Oh..." 🤣
it passed my by in the 80's, I was more into Shout and Everyone wants to rule the world, but since 2000 I've gone back to a bunch of old stuff and reconnected and this song stands out more than it did then...that's the mark of a good song...either you see it on release for what it is or later on it clicks due to life experience or you used to just like the sound but now the lyrics do it for you lol
any song that can get new life later on is a keeper and Mad World is a keeper for the ages....as is most of RFF's catalog lol
8:11 My dad always said on our way to the barber that it was "time to get our ears lowered."
He turns 80 this year. Cool guy. Your quip brought back a funny memory. Thank you for that.
I love Tears for Fears. All of their songs are great. Their songs really helped me get through a tough childhood as well. I played there albums on cassette tape over and over. I always cranked up the volume and sang along when ever I head them on the radio. Thank you.
Curt’s acoustic “Jules” version with his daughter is splendid, with exquisite Simogarfunkian harmonies.
Simogarfunkian might be one of my new favorite words.
This was your best yet. I write for Blitzed Magazine here in the UK, and write about 80s music- your closing lines in this video sum up why I write about these songs. They go to my core. I love most music- even some of what is around nowadays... but albums like The Hurting, and groups like (as in my recent articles) Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, Associates, Wah! and many others, comforted, educated and socialised me. They are friends. Keep up the great work, mate. These videos, one day, will be the revision notes for college students studying the popular poetry and music of a hugely important cultural epoch. 👍🏼
I forgot how much I loved these guys, I am going to go back and revisit their first three albums, thanks Professor
Back in 84, I was 5 years old and almost completely non-verbal. But Tears for Fears put out "Shout" and it connected with me in such an essential way, I started singing that song every time it came on. It still took a while longer before I started talking, but "Shout" is still one of my favorite songs.
Man, this song brings back a lot of memories.
Adam:
I love Mad World, and you did a great job of laying out the narrative. I am a longstanding pianist, and my performances of Mad World have often been showstoppers with my friends.
This podcast convinced me to stop being a freeloader and become a Patreon member, which I did today. Am pleased to drop some modest coin to see these artists and these musical stories thrive.
With gratitude and respect, ~ Peter Ferber
The Jules version of Mad World is probably the song that gets me most.
Both versions get me.
I love both versions.@@jennybates
Me too because it was dreadful.
Agree 100%.
Even Roland and Curt agree Jules version is more in keeping with the mood of the lyrics. ❤ them both.
My first exposure to this song was watching Donnie Darko, it came as a great surprise that the song was a Tears For Fears original as I was a huge fan of them as a kid and was only exposed to Songs From The Big Chair and Seeds Of Love, I was a too young to of known about The Hurting so it was really awesome to be able to go back and check that out, this song truly is a masterpiece, awesome work on this episode I hope you do get to interview them soon
Very cool! Great comment!
I'm taking a guess that you're 48 years old.
@dr.awkward9075 I'm 47 I believe I was in 2nd grade when Songs From The Big Chair came out
Adam Lambert did an awesome cover of this song during his run on American Idol, it was in the same arrangement of Gary Jules.
@@kj9093 Adam’s version introduced me to Jules’ version. I love Tears For Fears, but Gary Jules’ cover is one of the best covers of all time. It really showcases the sadness of the song.
this song makes me cry every time... not that i had a bad childhood, is that i feel the pain from it so vividly.
Somehow I missed this song in the 80s. I got TFF's greatest hits album, and that was the first time I had ever heard it. I love it. Sowing the Seeds of Love is my favorite TFF song, though. It's such an upbeat anthem, and of course, I love a sunflower.
Tears Roll Down the Best of TFF?
That's the one! I couldn't think of the title offhand. @ProfessorofRock
I love Seeds of Love! It’s so Beatles-esque.
@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 You know what? I never heard that until someone mentioned that in the POR comments! Now I can't unhear it.
Believe it or not, I had never heard of this song before this video. It's a beautiful song. I'm glad the Professor highlighted it.
I'm 56, love the channel. My dad used to say he was "going to get his ears lowered" 😂
Another of my favorite bands from my young adult life, Professor. I am so BLESSED to have lived through the 60's, 70's and 80's, and to have witnessed some of the most amazing music ever created and performed. TFF is one of those transcendent bands that have produced music that has indeed stuck with me as part of the very fabric of my life. I agree with you, Professor, and love how you wrapped up your analysis. Thanks for ALL you do, we music junkies appreciate and are extremely grateful to you for allowing us to relive those poignant moments of our lives. Well done, Brother, well done!!
Professor, you post many wonderful videos here on UA-cam, but this touched a place in my heart like no has been to in a while. Thank you so much for covering and telling the History of Roland and how he came to write Mad Would. I also can relate to his life ...but have survived and I am in much better state of being. Once again, thanks Professor of Rock
I love Pale Shelter. The first chord gives me goosebumps. It reminds me of our school discos.
Music From The Big Chair was my first experience with TFF, so I hadn't heard Mad World until Adam Lambert performed it on American Idol. I was blown away by the beauty of the performance and the lyrics.
I was delighted to find out it was a TFF song. Loved them in the 80s and still loving them today. Brilliant coverage of this beautiful song.
The music of our youth becomes a part of us. So true. The music of the late 60s / early 70s sends me right back to the absolute joy of discovering music that spoke to me. It was the beginning of the formation of my identity.
Thanks!
Btw... They used to call PTSD "shell shock"
OAN: i love this band and there aren't enough words to describe all that talent.
Thanks!
That's the great George Carlin bit about how that and syllables. "Shell Shock" (2) to "Battle Fatigue" (4) to "post-traumatic stress disorder" (8)
Also "Operative Exhaustion."😔B.W.
Actually... Shell Shock involves concussions with accompanying skull fractures and cranial hemorrhaging... It's not a Disorder, it's physical damage to the head...
@@Taranau I believe the poster is referring to how the term was used during the WWI era, when it was used as a term to describe what is now known as ptss or ptsd. I studied how this was discussed by medical professionals (while I was in grad school) and as psychiatry was in in its relevant infancy, WWI vets who had acute severe ptsd were thought to have “shell shock” in addition to other possible conditions.
Thanks for what you said about the songs from our childhood and teenage years. You are 400% right. That music becomes part of us.
I am a child of the 80's an TFF are one of those band I grew up on, but would never say I was 100% a fan, but now later in life they are a band with a catalog I always go back to from time to time.
LOVE your sincerity and emotional honesty about all these things from the music that bind us together ... you are just a CLARION!
The best version I've heard of Mad World was done by Curt Smith and his daughter...a stripped-down acoustic version they put on the internet during the pandemic. Magical!
I love this version and have watched it over and over again ❤❤❤
Absolutely, one of my top 5 favorite bands. I was a baby in the 80's, but I was able to enjoy there songs during the 90's. They helped keep me sane
I love this channel, it’s nice to hear stories about songs I know & love!
Awesome!
What I love about your channel is you take the songs of my youth and open my eyes to the depth and beauty of the music from that time of my life. Thank you.
The '80s is the bomb!
I love all your episodes on Orzabal & Smith! Holding my thumbs that you get that interview.
❤🎉
Tears for Fears!
Love The Hurting.
I never knew Donnie Darko led to the songs resurgence. Maybe I was in a fog....
Happy Saturday Every One!
Happy Saturday to You! 😊
19:57 😢
Yes the Donnie Darko version was a cover by Gary Jules!
TFF is my all time favorite band…got me thru my horrific teenage years, thru a college suicide attempt and thru life’s ups and downs here and there. Had a ton of their 12” remix albums in my teens and college back when 12” “maxi singles” were a thing, had their albums on vinyl and cassette and later CD and eventually my iPod (and now of course in my iTunes library!). Everytime I hear their music it just sends me to a different place…a better place. Love TFF!!!
I worked security for TFF in I think 1990 at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Great, no frills, solid concert.
Pros.
Awesome. Did they play this?
Awesome! Were they nice guys?
An 80's classic that keeps on resurfacing in every generation.
The Tipping Point is fantastic and proves that these guys still got it. They sound just as good as they ever have. I get irritated by some peoples’ comments on their newer stuff because many will say “WOW what happened to this guy!😂” because Roland is so grey now (not even grey but white, instead of a silver fox I call him an arctic fox!) which shows so much insensitivity and ignorance. I get that people are used to seeing these guys young, but that was decades ago! We all age and should be able to do so with grace. And as your video shows, Roland has not had the easiest life, clearly, from childhood and through adulthood. His precious wife passed at a relatively young age due to alcoholism, and we can only imagine the suffering that went on over the decades. I’m glad he found love again. Of course he won’t look the same as he did 40 years ago! To these people saying things like “what happened to him?” I want to say, well, pull up a chair. A Big chair 😌
Something tells me they'll have it till the day they die!
All that matters is that they still have amazing voices and they can still make great music!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 YES!! 🥰
Your final reflection upon the vast impact of music in our childhood and adolescent lives is so utterly, profoundly true. That "soundtrack" does absolutely fuse to the core of one's soul and inform, if not outright shape, the person one grows up to become. And I don't think we talk about that nearly enough. Thank you for putting words to this truth. Well done.
In the early 80's As a child my mother would listen to TFF and I was hypnotized by it, I didnt come from a broken home, but my musician father was completely absent, spending all of his time in his failing recording studio (🎶Going nowhere, going nowhere 🎶) while my mother had to work 14hr days scrubbing toilets to support his ridiculous dream. I spent much of my time alone, listening to The Hurting vinyl on repeat. Today listening to it stirs up so many emotions.
Still one of my favourites. I absolutely love Tears For Fears!
Great video as always Adam!
Absolutely Love them! Like you said…certain songs and bands become a part of your life. TFF is one of those bands. I saw them last year and they are still Amazing! ❤🎶
Gary Jules’ Mad world is mind blowing
Adam, you are the man. Every time you get emotional, you get me emotional.
Music is everything and this is why your channel is so special. Love your work man!
I've watched most of your videos by now, and this one hits me the hardest because of the depth with which you tell the story.
You see, Roland's story has a very sad beginning, but he found triumphant healing through music and emotional honesty.
Excellent work, Professor!
It's a mad world that everyone wants to rule it I just want to shout it and let it all out ❤TFFF❤ Thanks you made the 80's Excellent 😊
Always amazed with such insightful views you give us by dissecting a song’s history… Even if I already liked it, I end up loving it more and find joy by listening carefully to it again. Thanks Professor!
Thanks for listening! Means a lot my friend.
I LOVE TfF, I was so excited when I saw the repressing of The Hurting on vinyl. It is a fantastic, deeply emotional album that is perfect for listening on vinyl.
Roland absolutely killed it with those dance moves...Great song...
Ha ha!
Saw them in 80 in a small lounge in Vegas and they were GREAT! I don't have any of their LP's but, when their music comes on the radio,I crank it up!
This is music that helps you remember the past. BRAVO DOC.😊👍✌️
One of the first times I just hung out with a college friend listening to music and talking - I put in the Hurting CD and after we went through it, we both realized that we knew every single word and that we'd be friends for a long time. We just hung out in Seattle last fall, still listening to music in the car.
luv all things Roland.. he is the 7th son of the 7th son.. meanwhile, your album collection will be complete when I see Lake (German band) first album back there!.. It was my first ever purchased lp and what a great great lp it was.. Heard the song 'Between The Lines' on pirate radio late night.. killr 12min tune.. btw > I saw TFF in a small town in France back in 84' when they were just getting going.. They were with the Thompson Twins, Bronski Beat and Howard Jones.. Was a great little concert in a little musical hall.. ah,, the guud ode dayz..
Love it!
@@ProfessorofRock we gotta get you over the 1mil subs mark.. !!.. posting this video now over at my music group on Gab.. btw > most passionate ending in the video.. you commented before I finished watching. Most excellent storytelling.. well done indeed.
That 1976 debut Lake album, plus Lucifer’s Friend’s “Mind Exploding” album from the same year are still in my childhood vinyl collection
@@poldidak LAKE lives!.. thats awesome.. !!. you made my day!.. 😄
In ‘89 I was 13yo and had brain surgery. During my recovery I emotionally regressed and craved all music from a few years earlier…Tears For Fears was part of that heavy rotation of music. Mad World will always hold a sentimental spot in my soul.
Gary Jules version always resonated strongly with me.
These guys came along when i was in middle school. Such a nostalgic time for all of us. Very thankful we/I had great music like this to help me understand and work my way through becoming a young teen in the early/mid 80s. Still have a poster as well as albums of theirs including a remix of one of their hits with only a few tunes on it. Great times, wish my daughter was growing up then instead of now
Thanks for sharing. I agree about my own kids!
@@ProfessorofRock yes I saw where you said you've recently exposed your son to the FIXX. LOVE IT because I enjoy doing the same for my 11 yo daughter! Supertramp and many of the "Yacht Rock" tunes along with Michael Jackson seem to be her favs. Thanks for the reply and the content. Like I've said you often sound similar to Casey so it's nice to sit and feel like I'm listening to an old top 40 countdown like we so often/ALWAYS did as kids. ✌️🤍🤘
I loved Pale Shelter. That CD was some serious deep emotions. Fantastic!
I was 11 when this came out and completely understood what it was like living with a father who would lose it and I would suffer verbal and physical abuse upto 21 years old so subconsciously it became ingrained.
The album is a must a master piece with" the prisoner" being difficult to listen to because it's frantic and earie. Mad world sums up child suffering alienation you just hope a generation of kids now and to come listen to that song and album and get help before it's too late.
Wonderful review ❤
Your closing remark, absolutely. TFF is definitely my top 10 of my youth and is part of my soul.
This is one of my all time favorite TFF songs. I would even say one of my favorite songs of all time. These lyrics speak to my soul. To create so much beauty from so much pain is an incredible talent and a beautiful gift.
No question. It's a chilling song.
@@ProfessorofRock “chilling” what an incredibly apt description.
It just hits you in the soul. @@sariahut1
@@ProfessorofRock it really really does. I love every single version I’ve ever heard. This is one of my two all time favorite bands. Their music is a huge part of the soundtrack of my life.
Hauntingly beautiful.
I always enjoy your videos as I learn something new about these musicians and their songs
Love all of your videos and the research you do behind them all. The Hurting for me, was a life changing moment. Although I can't say I had similar experiences growing up as Roland, the whole album still touched a nerve in me. I was working in a local record store upon its release and this was my go to album at that time. The musicianship was second to none, the melodies on all songs were and are still amazing. This album I have on vinyl, CD and Blu-Ray Hi-Res CD and still today is on high rotation. Like you, I was a teenager when this came out (now 56) but love this album and so many other 80's albums - they don't make them like they used to!
When Tears For Fears were active I was into rock and metal, Mad World was a song that everyone knew and everyone understood. It's timeless, it speaks to a point we all live through at sometime in our life.
Adam's last name fits him perfectly, he reads everything and puts the best parts in a half hour video, concise and well written. Every time I hear an episode I wish Rock and Roll Jeopardy was still on VH1 I feel like I would know all the answers! Never disappointed and this is another great episode!!
Thanks My Name! Always means a lot coming from you!
Perfectly said!
Takes me back to my adolescence in the 80s. I’m so fortunate to have grown up during that time. Gen X, the last of the great generations.
Curt’s appearances on Psych made me watch those episodes over and over again. So good.
What you teach me in the history of such iconic songs, never ceases to amaze.
Songs From the Big Chair is still, to this day, on regular rotation in my car and at home. I've never tired of that album. The Hurting is great as well, but Songs From the Big Chair is one of my all time favorites. After I first heard Shout, on the radio, I went and purchased the vinyl album, and later on cassette then CD and now on Spotify. Think i'll always love that album. Thanks Professor for another great story about one of my favorites. They were a huge part of my teenage soundtrack.
I started tearing up at 20:30 or so... subscribing now. This feels like coming home to a place I didn't know existed! I'm SUCH an 80s music child and never left. Oh, Tears for Fears. They were the best for crooning/shouting your ballads of heartbreak and teenage angst in the novelty of stewing in MTV's earliest and spiciest herbs: "SHOUT. SHOUT. LET IT ALL OUT." And your musical analysis, as well as your incredibly thoughtful approach to the context and story of this ONE moment of magic... I'm thrilled to have found my way here. I look forward to rediscovering your deep dives! I was a music history/theory major and particularly loved your attention to the musical references and cross-pollination. I can't wait to delve into your trove of history and analysis and reverence for the songs I also cherish with similar intensity. Right this second, though, I have to go listen to some TFF. 💕
Great job Professor. One of your best and I have listened to hundreds of them. Loved the band.
Love your closing thoughts on music sticking around like an old friend. Couldn’t agree more!
Donnie Darko scene where Mad World is played are ethereal together...perfect!