Technology-Headlines

by Jon Pompia

jonmichael@hotmail.com

“Shout,” Tears for Fears.
One of many standout tracks on 1985′s “Songs From The Big Chair,” “Shout” was both a chart hit and dance club smash. But its ulterior meaning was certainly far from sunny and bright.

As followers of American psychologist Arthur Janov‘s school of Primal Therapy — which encouraged patients to scream and shout in order to purge themselves of pain and repressive memories — Tears for Fears drew upon this therapy for both its name and this tune.
(The group’s moniker came from Janov’s book “Prisoners Of Pain,” in which tears become replacement for fears. Of note, John Lennon also underwent Janov’s therapy in the late 1960s).
While describing what appears to be a Primal Scream therapy session, vocalist Roland Orzabal uses the opportunity to rant, among other things, against the United States for housing nuclear weapons on British soil.
Like many landmark hits of the 1980s, “Shout” was a bold statement — although in somewhat cryptic terms — against the world’s use of nuclear weapons as threats against perceived enemies. Other tunes that fall into this “peaceful” category are “99 Luftballons” by Nena, “Russians,” by Sting, “London Calling,” by The Clash and “Seconds” by U2.
“A lot of people think that ‘Shout’ is just another song about primal scream theory, continuing the themes of the first album,” Orzabal once said. “It is actually more concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when a lot of people were still worried about the aftermath of The Cold War and it was basically an encouragement to protest.
“It’s a song about making a noise about things that politically or socially disturb you. For instance, nuclear weapons.”
Added bandmate Curt Smith, “It concerns protest inasmuch as it encourages people not to do things without actually questioning them. People act without thinking because that’s just the way things go in society. So it’s a general song, about the way the public accepts any old grief which is thrown at them.”

Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I’m talking to you, come on

In violent times
You shouldn’t have to sell your soul
In black and white
They really, really ought to know
Those one track minds
That took you for a working boy
Kiss them goodbye
You shouldn’t have to jump for joy

They gave you life
And in return you gave them hell
As cold as ice
I hope we live to tell the tale
I hope we live to tell the tale

And when you’ve taken down your guard
If I could change your mind
I’d really love to break your heart
I’d really love to break your heart

“Mad World“
Though released as a single way back in 1982, this haunting ballad was given new life by singer Gary Jules, whose sparse, chilling version from the “Donnie Darko” soundtrack became a bigger hit than the original.
“American Idol” contestant Adam Lambert also covered the song, to much acclaim.
As the title indicates, the song is a commentary — from a young person’s eyes — about the world outside — and it’s definitely not a pretty one.
Writer Roland Orzabal said the tune came to him while he was living above a pizza restaurant in Bath, England.
“I could look out onto the center of the city. Not that Bath is very mad…I should have called it “Bourgeois World!”
Nonetheless, Orzabal crafted a dark, hopeless view of the world that seems to come from the mind of a suicidal, or at least severely depressed, individual.
In this world outside the narrator’s window, faces are worn out, people race to get nowhere, filling their glasses with tears as hopes for tomorrow dim.
Things don’t pick up much for the narrator as he attends an unnamed school. There, no fellow students acknowledge him. Likewise the teacher, who imparts the lesson without even “seeing” the child.
But there still seems to be a glimmer of hope in the narrator’s soul, as he — along with fellow children — await the day when they will “feel good.”
While the singer can’t escape this grim, bleak world, he does find relief when he sleeps. There, in the dream state, there is solace in visions of dying. Those dreams, he notes, are the best he’s ever had — a fact he finds both funny and sad.
Despite these foreboding lyrics, the song struck a chord with millions of people throughout the globe — many of whom perhaps have felt exactly like the narrator at some point in their lives.
The melody is incredibly haunting, as vividly demonstrated by Jules’ slowed-down version in which the emphasis is on the words and melody rather than the expansive electronic instrumentation that Tears for Fears was known for.
The song has been covered by numerous artists, including death metal bands, art rock groups, Israeli singers, folk vocalists and a cappella outfits.
Jules’ version has appeared on a large number of television shows and movies.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere

Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me, what’s my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very, very
Mad world

Filed under: Media, Music, Adam Lambert, Arthur Janov, Gary Jules, Mad World, madworld, Primal scream therapy, Prisoners Of Pain, Roland Orzabal, Songs From The Big Chair, Tears for Fears, United States