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Mad World

by Jesse Maclaine

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Why this song? Why now? What does it all mean?

So, this does feel like quite a deviation for me, my first ever "officially" released cover song and it's not even a weird one or something obscure. It is in fact, a song that has been recorded hundreds of times or more but maybe that's because it resonates with so many of us, especially during the pandemic. As a human witnessing the pandemic unfold, it felt like the end of the world but as a musician, at least for me, somehow it felt bigger than the end of the world.

Since I was about 12, I have spent most of my time learning new music for different projects and then ultimately writing and producing my own music as well as doing hours and hours of research for new songs and new venues, calls/emails to book gigs, promo work, admin work, HR work, all the things that an indie musician spends literally the majority of their life doing... and then all of a sudden everything, you know, EVERYTHING was on hold. In limbo. What was going to happen?

I still had some remote music work for a local Unitarian church, music students on Zoom, and the blessings of technology to join the massive throng of lonely live-streaming musicians but all that paled in comparison to playing irl and then having the audience (1 person or 1000, somehow the difference isn't really that much) acknowledge our existence and show their gratitude with clapping and cheering. Am I so bereft of attention that life without someone clapping or cheering just feels abysmal? Maybe. All I know is I spiraled into an existential crisis and like many, my mental health was best represented by dumpster fire memes.

Yet somehow this song, this one rather simple and commonly played song felt like a lifeline to me. Music soothes the savage beast or in my case, the craziness inside my head. When I felt overwhelmed by everything covid, playing this song was like a touchstone, bringing me back to hope, back to my purpose, back to music. So it's kind of neat that this version of Mad World which I recorded at Grusin Hall (CU Boulder) in December of 2016 has become the first of my post pandemic recordings to get the full treatment and a proper release!

All my life I have struggled with depression and anxiety so I felt like my original performance (recorded by audio engineer extraordinaire Kevin Harbison) captured that succinctly, then in 2020, Ryan Elwood dropped these powerful, deeply emotional drums onto the track and just blew my mind! But still we needed more ...enter the magical Seth Girton and his charming cello to bring us layers of mournful, lavish, potent and heavenly strings. Wow, did he deliver! Now we just needed some little vocal harmonies (including a special guest vocal by my bae Charles Gammill) and of course the nuanced, enigmatic mixing artistry of Jeff Kanan at The Keep Recording, et voila!

It's like a little trip on a sad cloud through a gentle summer storm, close your eyes, put your headphones on and allow yourself to be swept away, transported by the music to a softer, kinder, lovelier place for just a few minutes. This is why I made yet another cover of Mad World, something similar but different. Differently different, everybody's so creative!

Remember to Like and Follow Jesse Maclaine & the Scotch for all the latest updates! ☮️❤️🎶

lyrics

You know these lyrics already!

credits

released May 8, 2023
Jesse Maclaine - singer, pianist, producer
Seth Girton - cello
Ryan Elwood - drums, percussion
Charles Gammill - background vocals

Kevin Harbison - recording engineer
Jeff Kanan - mixing engineer
Mike Thebridge - painter

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Jesse Maclaine Denver, Colorado

Jesse Maclaine and her bands deliver versatile, soulful music that defies categorization. Originally inspired by the music of Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos and the magic of New Orleans, Jesse Maclaine's songs romp through the genres of singer-songwriter, jazz, rock, pop, folk, indie, avant-garde and world music.

Read more on her website! www.jessemaclaine.com ... more

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