"Mad About You" is a song by the Belgian band

Hooverphonic Hooverphonic is a Belgian band that formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a singular genre, but rather encompass altern ...

, released as the lead single from their third studio album, ''

The Magnificent Tree ''The Magnificent Tree'' is the third studio album by the Belgian band Hooverphonic, released on 26 September 2000. The cover features the band in front of a tree in the town of Kieldrecht, Belgium. Four singles were released from the album: "Mad ...

'' (2000). "Mad About You" is often considered the band's masterpiece and its biggest worldwide success. The song features a sweeping string arrangement that typifies the

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

genre. It is also similar in style to a

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

-style film theme, with its dramatic orchestration and lyrics. The song is about a forbidden love, an idea also conveyed in the video, with the lyrics of "Can someone tell me if it's wrong to be so mad about you?". In an interview with MNM, Alex Callier revealed that the inspiration for the song came from his encounters with

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the su ...

, who he had first met at a songwriting camp in 1998 where they had had a disagreement over ''fishy wine'', and he also recalled a wild car ride with her through London, occasionally ''driving in the wrong lane''. Anecdotes that ended up being referenced in the lyrics of Mad About You.

Usage in the media

"Mad About You" was used in the soundtrack for the films '' Driven'' (2001), ''

New Best Friend ''New Best Friend'' is a 2002 American psychological thriller film based on a story by author James Edwards. The film was originally owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which eventually lost the rights to it. Later, Sony Pictures acquired the rights to ...

'' (2002), '' A Lot Like Love'' (2005) and ' (2012). It was used in the episode "Sanctuary" of the CBS series ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'' (season 3, episode 15). The song is also played in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

show ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an American comic book series created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. The first six-issue limited series, '' The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite,'' was released by Dark Horse Comics betwee ...

'' (season 1, episode 8). The song is also used in the Netflix limited series '' The Innocent'' (Episode 6) It was used in an episode of the NBC series ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

'' (Montecito Lancers: season 2, episode 7).

Covers

Cantonese pop singer

Joey Yung Joey Yung (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female Sin ...

covered the song in Cantonese on her 2002 album '' Something About You''.

Influences

In its Hooverphonic with Orchestra Live version, the song features the same opening as the

Daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...

hit from the also Belgian band

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...

, and both songs feature themes from

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

's final scene. This was an idea from Cédric Murrath, who is both the violinist from

's reformation and the conductor of the Hooverphonic with Orchestra Live.Cedric Murrath's answer to ramin rnn, ''Hooverphonic - Mad About You (Live at Koningin Elisabethzaal 2012)'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EA-MIYY1bg

Charts

References

2000 singles 2000 songs Columbia Records singles Hooverphonic songs Songs written by Alex Callier {{Belgium-music-stub