Tears for Fears -- Mad World

Thank you, Bing!

 

Tropical Storm Shanshan may have been downgraded from a typhoon but it still seems to be wreaking havoc on the Japanese archipelago, so I'm hoping that everyone is doing the best they can under some very trying meteorological conditions. 

For this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I remember years ago when a certain video game of battle put up a theme song whose melody was instantly recognized by me and it was effectively sung in this very sad and resigned fashion as if soldiers were left wondering when this war would ever end.

But my ROY memory goes back even further since the original version of "Mad World" was recorded by the New Wave duo Tears for Fears. Although the September 1982 single had been released before their "Change" song, it was actually the opposite for me here in Toronto; I'd heard and enjoyed "Change" before "Mad World" came out as the follow-up. 

The order didn't matter though because both songs are still great. Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabal came up with words and music for this lyrically unhappy tune although the music video has the man himself doing a one-man rave party on the jetty while his partner, Curt Smith, was left inside a manor to sing away. Being a fellow who was in thrall to all of the technopop of the time, "Mad World" was a cool world of all these bloops and bleeps including those quicksilver "horns" descending every so often like bombs. 

Strangely enough, "Mad World" didn't (initially anyways) make any sort of dent in the American and Canadian charts but it did hit No. 3 on the UK charts, going Gold. Of course, after doing my ROY last week on "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", it was going to be a simple segue into this Tears for Fears classic. So, what was at the top of the Oricon charts back in September 1982? I will give you Nos. 1, 2 and 4.

1. Aming -- Matsu wa (待つわ）

2. Hiromi Go -- Aishuu no Casablanca （哀愁のカサブランカ）

4. Seiko Matsuda -- Komugi Iro no Mermaid (小麦色のマーメイド）