Today's ear X-tacy: Gary Jules "Mad World"

Louisville Public Media | By John Timmons

Published December 21, 2023 at 5:00 AM EST

Today's ear X-tacy features a classic track or deep-cut from the Alternative era every weekday at 10:10.

American singer-songwriter Gary Jules is best known for his cover version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World". In 2001, Jules and close friend Michael Andrews recorded their version which was featured in the film Donnie Darko. The song took just 90 minutes to record.

Their re-imaging of the Tears for Fears art-pop classic traded the dense arrangement of the original for a bare bones approach with just spare notes on the piano from Andrews and Jules' intimate vocal. This week in 2003 it became the Christmas number-one single in the UK.

Check out his beautiful 20th Anniversary remake below:

Music

John Timmons

John is the mid-morning host on WFPK. Email John at jtimmons@lpm.org

See stories by John Timmons

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