Tears for Fears has always been a favorite band and main musical influence of mine, and is such an iconic voice of the ‘80s pop era. Since I draw a lot of inspiration from ‘80s and ‘90s pop, I thought “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” would be a great cover to put my take on, since a lot of the lyrical content is still directly applicable as a modern day social commentary. Since the original recording is so iconic and perfectly executed, I had to flip it on its side and attempt a completely different approach to the song. The somber, yet delicate piano and vocal approach in the intro and outro set the proper mood for a post-apocalyptic movie trailer. However, I didn’t want to lose the fun, groove oriented part of the song, so those somber moments bookend a funky, synth bass-driven shuffle that is akin to most early ‘90s hip hop grooves. I thought the major juxtaposition between the two moods would set this one apart. And of course, I had to keep the soaring bridge and instantly-recognizable guitar parts in there!