History Music / SongsFromTheBigChair

** Curt Smith wears large, square-ish spectacles in the "Head over Heels" music video in order to portray a geeky library janitor.

* UsefulNotes/ColdWar: The second hot period of the conflict in the first half of the '80s informs the ProtestSong lyrics of "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "Mothers Talk" and "Listen".

* HomoeroticSubtext: Roland Orzabal wrote the lyrics for "When in Love with a Blind Man" (which is about [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited love]] for a man who's [[ObliviousToLove oblivious to one's romantic feelings]]), and Curt Smith is the lead vocalist on the song, so this strongly implies that the character who's pining for a (presumably straight) guy he can't have is male, and thus he would be gay or bisexual. [[note]]It should be noted that Orzabal and Smith used to enjoy hanging out at a gay vegetarian discotheque during their youth even though they're neither gay, vegetarian, nor disco fans, but as [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide sensitive men]] who loathed the toxic masculinity environment that they grew up in, they appreciated the safe space that this discotheque provided, so they're comfortable around homosexuals.[[/note]]

** At the beginning of the "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" music video, a kid in a cowboy costume (cowboys are an icon of American machismo) points his toy pistols at Curt Smith -- a LongHairedPrettyBoy dressed in [[PinkIsForSissies pink]] -- who simply ignores the child's "tough guy" posturing as he drives away. This mirrors the group's disdain for toxic masculinity, subtly blaming America's aggressive "cowboy culture" for its role in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar (which is the subject of the song).

* HollywoodNerd: In the "Head over Heels" music video, NerdGlasses were put on Curt Smith and Canadian model Joan Densmore in an attempt to make them appear as a dorky library custodian and a nerdy librarian, respectively. However, Smith's [[PrettyBoy prettiness]] is still very apparent (in fact, he liked the look enough that he kept the fake glasses on during a Creator/{{CBC}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVA807yy0U&t=3m38s interview]]), and Densmore's character is a HotLibrarian.

** "Broken" is a remix of "We Are Broken", the B-side to the 1983 version of [[Music/TheHurting "Pale Shelter"]].

** "Broken" is a re-recording of "We Are Broken", the B-side to the 1983 version of [[Music/TheHurting "Pale Shelter"]].

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Due to the rhythm of the song requiring it, the chorus "Cumpleaños chica, no hay que preocuparse" in "Listen" is uttered as "[=CUMpleaños chica, no hay que preoCUparse=]" rather than "[=cumpleAños chica, no hay que preocuPARse=]". [[note]]In Spanish, words that end with an "n," an "s," or a vowel accentuate the penultimate syllable unless otherwise specified.[[/note]]

* LimitedLyricsSong: For all of its nearly seven-minute runtime, "Listen" has only two proper stanzas, both of which are only two verses long. The other lyrics are mostly just repeating "Cumpleaños chica, no hay que preocuparse" and a brief mutter of the TitleDrop, with the vast majority of the song being a pseudo-{{ambient}} synth piece.

* NonAppearingTitle: The B-sides "Pharaohs" and "Sea Song".

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: A baby chimpanzee features prominently in the "Head over Heels" music video, tying in with the trove of humorous imagery throughout its runtime by comedically contrasting its presence and crude mannerisms with the comparatively eloquent human library patrons.

-->'''"Shout"'''

''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by English {{pop}} group Music/TearsForFears. It was released through Creator/MercuryRecords on 25 February 1985.

You shouldn't have to jump for joy

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down."'']]

''Songs from the Big Chair'', released in 1985, is the second studio album by English {{pop}} group Music/TearsForFears. A significant departure from the {{angst}}y SynthPop of ''Music/TheHurting'', the band's sophomore release sees them incorporate a much broader and more eclectic range of influences, ranging from {{jazz}} to PostPunk and ProgressiveRock to WorldMusic, in doing so crafting an elaborate progressive pop sound that would define their later output. The decision to do this was motivated by the band's own CreatorBacklash against their non-album single "The Way You Are", which had been rushed out to appease demand from Creator/MercuryRecords; frontman Roland Orzabal described it in hindsight as "the point we realized we had to change direction," and change direction they did.

* DefiniteArticleTitle: "The Working Hour" and "The Big Chair" [[note]]the BSide of "Shout"[[/note]].

* OneWordTitle: "Shout", "Broken", "Listen" and "Pharaohs" [[note]]the BSide of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"[[/note]].

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: One of the ''Film/{{Sybil}}'' dialogue samples from "The Big Chair" (the BSide of "Shout") is "The devil has the power to assume a pleasing shape".

** The third and final video was shot for the 1986 re-recording of the song, featuring a 1950's family attempting to shelter themselves from an impending nuclear strike, interspersed with performance footage of the band.

* UnnaturallyBlueLighting: The first "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OANEvv1W2-E Mothers Talk]]" music video has an extremely vivid blue tint.