Musical Influences – Part 2 – Tears for Fears

This is part of a series of blog posts written to share songs, bands and musical experiences that have shaped me as a musician and artist.

Ok, so we’re still in the 80s here, but barely. The group: Tears for Fears. The song: Seeds of Love. Still one of my all-time favorite songs. I can listen to it again right now with the same interest. Seeds of Love was my introduction to Tears to Fears and one of the earliest music videos I remember watching on MTV. A few years after that, the album Elemental came out which continued to captivate me (though I had to listen to my brother’s CD). Once again, in college, when mp3s were readily available through Napster and other file-sharing methods, I got my hands on some of the Tears for Fears hits: Woman in Chains, Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World – no longer having to check out CDs from the library or catch them on the radio. Tears for Fears was also the first I started taking notice of multi-layered sequenced music. Layers upon layers of synthesized sounds, keyboards, soundscapes, effects – all woven together into masterpieces (and best explored with a good pair of headphones). It’s also the extensive song format that makes this song epic.  It doesn’t follow the American Idol hit formula (Verse 1, Verse 2 add Drums, Chorus, Bridge, Key Change, quiet verse 3, big chorus at end) It’s possible this opened the door to my exploration of what our local library termed “New Age” music (the style, not the religion). More on that later…

I have easily listened to this song hundreds of times. The song is epic in length and depth. I hear some Beatles influence in the song (although, what song doesn’t in some way!) Have a listen. Perhaps it will bring you back to a fond memory in your own life!  What time in YOUR life does this song bring you back to?  Leave a comment 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndYqlnewfz4]