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）

Tears for Fears -- Change

 

As much as I was getting dazzled by Japanese pop music since the early 1980s, I was also in thrall to the songs coming in from America, Canada and the United Kingdom, especially the UK's brand of synthpop and New Wave.

The local music TV show "The New Music" on CITY-TV was one of my wonderful guides to what was happening in the music department at the time so I was privy to the electronic wonders of Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and even Canada's Spoons. Plus, there were also the incredible and daring Eurythmics with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the famous video.

I have often wondered why whenever I think of Eurythmics and "Sweet Dreams", the other British band Tears for Fears and "Change" come to mind. Well, as it turned out, both songs got their single release in January 1983. And I'm finally happy to get Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith onto KKP since much of their discography also formed my love for 80s music. As it turned out, "Change" was not the first single by Tears for Fears; they'd been releasing music since 1981 and a couple of their preceding songs arguably have more of a legacy as have a lot of their singles since "Change". Let's say that the Tears for Fears file on this blog will be a fairly long one in the Reminiscings of Youth part.

Still, why not "Change"? It's the first song and video that I've experience by Tears for Fears and despite Orzabal not being all that enthused about his creation, it's still a memorable tune with that percussive synth that starts it off and Smith's high-toned vocals. As well, that music video has the guys looking like an invasive New Romantic cult...with choreography. Up to that point, I hadn't seen a Noh mask used in anything outside of Noh plays, and I very rarely saw any of those. Seeing the video again some 41 years following its release, I felt like saying to the guys in there "Ah, you got the site wrong, guys. The 'Dune' set is over there!".

In Canada, "Change" hit No. 23 on the RPM chart while in the United States, it did a more modest No. 73 on Billboard. It did hit No. 4 in the UK. Bigger and better were coming for Tears for Fears though so no tears or fears here.

Now, I was going to put up the Top 3 on Oricon for January 1983 when "Change" came out, but I realized that I already had done so for Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." (which is also why I had to pivot when I did the ROY article for "Sweet Dreams"). Therefore, I offer No. 5, 6 and 7 from that Oricon list this time.

5. Masatoshi Nakamura -- Koibito mo Nureru Machikado (恋人も濡れる街角）

6. Toshihiko Tahara -- Love Spoor（ラブ・シュプール）

7. Warabe -- Medaka no Kyoudai （めだかの兄妹）