Mad World

It's that time of the year when the TV stations spruik themselves up and present themselves with a 'new look' image (not that it makes the content any better, just easier to swallow...maybe).

The ABC is not above this sort of thing these days, either, but their ads for the news are a distinct departure from the usual upbeat image that promotional material tries to project.

Not that the world, as a whole, has much to celebrate at the moment (and the Boxing Day tsnunami is still a very real disaster). It's unusual to see it so starkly presented in a promotion, though.

The accompanying music is interesting, and really underscores the glum mood. Listening on the radio this morning, I heard it's attracted a lot of interest, and learnt it was a rendition of the old 'Tears for Fears' number 'Mad World' by a gent called 'Gary Jules' ('scuse the spelling). He sounds a bit like Neil Young, and his quiet rendition gives the words real power.

Looking for references, I read that this song is voted by the RAC as being one the best to drive to. Not sure about the significance of that!