Kirk kicks off Strong Songs Season 5 with Tears For Fears' 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Rule The World." From classic synths and drum machines to surprisingly avante-garde guitar solos, this song's got a lot more going on than you might remember.

Written by: Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes

Produced by: Chris Hughes

Album: Songs from the Big Chair (1985)

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

ALSO DISCUSSED:

"Shout" and "Head Over Heels," both from Songs From the Big Chair, 1985
"No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age from Songs For The Deaf, 2002
"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton performed by Whitney Houston on The Bodyguard soundtrack, 1992
"You're The Voice" by John Farnham from Whispering Jack, 1986
"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" by Kate Bush from Hounds of Love, 1985
"Kiss" by Prince from Parade, 1986
"Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads from Stop Making Sense, 1983
"So What" by Miles Davis from Kind of Blue, 1959
"Cold Sweat" by James Brown, 1967
Dan Carr's excellent synth breakdowns at Reverb Machine

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JULY 2023 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

Catherine Warner – Damon White – Kaya Woodall – Dan Austin – Jay Swartz – Miriam Joy – Sean D. Winnie – Rush – Daniel Hannon-Barry – Ashley Hoag – Christopher Miller – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joe Laska – Ken Hirsh – Jez – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Jeanneret Manning Family Four – Dave Sharpe – Sami Samhuri – AccessViolation – Ryan Torvik – Elliot Jay O’Neill – Andre Bremer – Mark Schechter – Dave Florey

JULY 2023 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

Callum Webb – Lynda MacNeil – Dick Morgan – Zach Wampler – Ben Stein – Susan Green – Sean Murphy – Jake Yumatilla – Alan Brough – Randal Vegter – Go Birds! – Jeff Speck – Samuel Millett – Whit Sidener – Chance McClain – Robert Granat – Dave Malloy – Tim Rosenwong – Nick Galloway – John Halpin – Peter Harding – David – Meghan O’Leary – John Bauman – Dax and Dane Huddleston – Martín Salías – Tim Howes – Stu Baker – Steve Martino – Dr. Arthur A. Gray – Carolina – Gary Pierce – Matt Baxter – Giant Predatory Mollusk – Luigi Boccia – Rob Albright – E. Margaret Warton – Charles McGee – Catherine Clause – Ethan Bauman – Renee Downing – Ken Is Wearing a Hat – Jordan Block – Aaron Wade – Travis Pollard – Jamie – Deebs – Portland Eye Care – Carrie Schneider – Richard Sneddon – Julian Roleff – Doreen Carlson – David McDarby – Wendy Gilchrist – Elliot Rosen – Lisa Turner – Paul Wayper – Bruno Gaeta – Kenneth Jung – Adam Stofsky – Zak Remer – Rishi Sahay – Jason Reitman – Ailie Fraser – Von – Natalie Mistilis – Josh Singer – Phino DeLeon – Amy Lynn Thornsen – Adam W. – Kelli Brockington – Stephen Rawlings – Victoria Yu – Brad Clark – Mino Capossela – Steve Paquin – David Joske – Emma Sklar – Bernard Khoo – Robert Heuer – Matthew Golden – David Noah – Geraldine Butler – Richard Cambier – Madeleine Mader – Jason Pratt – Abbie Berg – Doug Belew – Dermot Crowley – Achint Srivastava – Ryan Rairigh – Michael Berman – Olivia Bishop – John Gisselquist – Linda Duffy – Liz Seger – Eoin de Burca – Kevin Potter – M. Shane Borders – Dallas Hockley – Jason Gerry – Nathan Gouwens – Lauren Reay – Eric Prestemon – Cookies250 – Damian Brady – Angela Livingstone – David Friedman – Sarah Sulan – Diane Hughes – Michael Casner – Lowell Meyer – Stephen Tsoneff – Lorenz Schwarz – Wen – Jack Sjogren – Geoff Golden – Robyn Fraser – Pascal Rueger – Randy Souza – JC – Clare Holberton – Diane Turner – Tom Coleman – Mark Perry – Dhu Wik – Mel – Eric Helm – Jake Roberts – Jonathan Daniels – Michael Flaherty – Jarrod Schindler – Caro Field – Michael Bochner – Naomi Watson – David Cushman – Alexander – Gavin Doig – Sam Fenn – Tanner Morton – AJ Schuster – Jennifer Bush – David Stroud – Amanda Furlotti – Andrew Baker – Jules Bailey – Andrew Fair – L.B. Morse – Brian Amoebas – Brett Douville – Jeffrey Olson – Matt Betzel – Mueller – Nate from Kalamazoo – Melanie Stivers – Richard Toller – Alexander Polson – Earl Lozada – Justin McElroy – Arjun Sharma – James Johnson – Kevin Morrell – Colin Hodo

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