Oh yeah, that Gary Jules version is brilliant. It has very tragic feel to it. It's in the Donny Darko movie and is a perfect example of a song that totally fits the movie. Don't know the Tears for Fears version though.
Yeah I wasn't saying they are bad originals at all. They are all very, very good. I can't find any bad songs that have been covered because if I don't like the song originally then I wont bother with the remake (even if it is from an artist I like).
If a song can be made 'good' by covering it then surely that means the song was good in the first place and it's only the original performance of it that was bad.
Unless of course it means good as in the cover has a comical or satirical slant on the original in which it's still a bad song anyway regardless of how good you think it is, otherwise why parody it?
True, the song would have to have good aspects in the first place and perhaps let down by the execution or performance of the original artist.
Yeah, I first heard it while watching Donnie Darko and thought it was pretty touching. The Tears for Fears version is really... 80s synthpop-esque? Not my kind of thing.