"Mad World" Tears For Fears remake by Gary Jules

  "Mad World" by Gary Jules is a remake of the original Tears For Fears song. Although they have the same lyrics, the two songs have very different effects on their listeners. In the original version of the song, the music is more upbeat and gives the song energy while in Gary Jules remake, the music is slower and mellow. The music in the original version is more 80's and techno, using instruments like drums, and electric guitar to add to the song. In the remake, the music is transformed and becomes very calm using a simple piano. The settings in the original is also very different from the setting of the Gary Jules version. The original takes place inside a large house, with the artist looking out a window out onto a field. It is almost as if he is wanting to be freed, or to explore a new aspect of life. In the remake the setting is very different. Now, instead of the artist looking out into an empty field, Jules is standing on a rooftop in, what appears to be, a city. He is looking over top of all the people in the city, watching how they move, and realizing the world below him. These two versions of "Mad World" show that even when the lyrics are the same, the overall mood of the song can be completely transformed just by the way it is sung.