Thank you to Curby for bringing this one up in another thread... a slowed and stripped-down cover of Tears For Fears' 1982 song "Mad World" was recorded by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews for the soundtrack of the 2001 movie Donnie Darko (cool movie!). Some have criticized them for turning it into a "funeral dirge", but personally I LOVE it! I've been known to listen to it repeatedly and it gives me chills every time. In my opinion, it's a definite improvement over the faster, poppy, synthesized original, which I don't think properly matched the nature and mood of the lyrics, especially the chorus.
Here's the live performance Curby posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Nq086QB1Q
Here's the original official video for the cover, which is pretty cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4
And here's the original 1982 Tears For Fears version, for those who don't quite recognize it yet or need a refresher. Apparently the original official music video isn't allowed to exist on YouTube, but here's the audio anyway. I can't believe how many people are loyal to this version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Wt3snNGoM
--Vik 