The COVID-19 pandemic created a plethora of problems for everyone across the world. Without even considering the illness itself, lockdown quarantines forced us out of our offices and made us homebound for months. It, naturally, came with many negatives, but also provided us with new perspectives on life that turned into positives in many ways.
One thing that the pandemic taught us is the importance of connecting with those who are close to us. Being forced into close confines with family and friends made us appreciate them more than before, and that’s exactly what Tears For Fears bassist Curt Smith attempted with his daughter in a touching cover of their classic hit – Mad World. Watch their stunning version in the video below:
In this stunning acoustic rendition of their biggest hit, Curt Smith provides the main vocals while playing on an impressive acoustic bass. His daughter, Diva, is playing on an acoustic guitar and matches her father’s beautiful melodies with her equally impressive voice. In many ways, this rendition between father and daughter is more impressive and touching than the original hit.
Tears For Fears made shockwaves around the world upon the release of Mad World. Despite releasing seven full albums since their humble beginnings in 1983, the band is primarily known for a small handful of classic hits: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and the topic of this article, Mad World. The latter is more depressive than the other offerings from Tears For Fears but became an instant relatable hit to many.
Tears For Fears weren’t the only artists to try and make the most of the incredibly difficult COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-One Pilots, which comprises Tyler Joseph and Josh Dunn, released Level Of Concern over the lockdown, with plenty of references on the state of the world at the time.
With COVID-19 putting a halt to live shows in venues and arenas the world over, artists had to take additional measures to both perform for their fans and to continue making a living. Some held on and waited for the lockdowns to lift, and others took more original and revolutionary methods to continue to create experiences for their audiences.
The Swedish doom and heavy metal outfit Katatonia decided to do something about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic was having on their fans. As such, they decided to put on a livestream event, ticketed like a normal show and full of their biggest hits. Recorded at Sweden’s Studio Grondahl on May 9, 2020, the show was a massive hit with fans and inspired other artists to follow suit during those difficult times.
Now that the majority of COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted worldwide, the music scene is beginning to recover from the immense hit it took during lockdown. However, rising costs globally and small venues struggling to keep their lights on are resulting in a new problem for the smaller music scene: financial survivability. It is our responsibility to ensure bands have full venues and plenty of interest in their art, so that they may continue and help these venues stay open.