17 replies to this topic

[k13oharts]

There are songs out 'there' on radioland which could have been a 007 Theme.
The lyrical message is partially there as well as the arrangement of the song.

What song do you think (regardless of the title) would be a perfect candidate as an Alternative James Bond Theme?

Here's one candidate of mine:
Kylie Minogue's Confide In Me

Verse 1:
I stand in the distance
I view from afar
Should I offer some assistance
Should it matter who you are

BRIDGE:
We all get hurt by love
And we all have our cross to bear
But in the name of understanding now
Our problems should be shared

CHORUS:
Confide in me, confide in me

Verse 2:
I can keep a secret
And throw away the key
But sometimes to release it
Is to set our children free

Coda:
Stick or twist the choice is yours
Hit or miss what's mine is yours
Stick or twist the choice is yours
Hit or miss what's mine is yours

My review.
On lyrics: Verse 2's "Is to set our children free" and the Coda does not fit in with the Bond Theme Genre yet the rest surely does.
On music: With a Meditteranean feel Kylie's vocals here bring in something reminicsent of Natacha Atlas and David Arnold's "You Only Live Twice". The violin melody could really fit in well in a complete albeit alternative soundtrack. And the style, I dare say, is appropriate for this generation of Bond fans.

[bryonalston]

I've always though that Sade would be a perfect choice for a Bond singer. Here's a song that I think would have made a great Bond song"

"The Sweetest Taboo" by Sade

If I tell you
If I tell you now
Will you keep on
Will you keep on loving me
If I tell you
If I tell you how I feel
Will you keep bringing out the best in me

You give me, you give me the sweetest taboo
You give me, you're giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me

There's a quiet storm
and it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
that is you
There's a quiet storm
and it never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)

You give me the sweetest taboo
That's why I'm in love with you (with you)
You give me the sweetest taboo
too good for me
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)

I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain
Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away
There's a quiet storm
and it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
I think it's you
There's a quiet storm
and i never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo

You give me the (you give me, you give me the) sweetest taboo
That's why i'm in love with you (with you)
You give me, keep giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me

You've got the biggest heart
Sometimes i think you're just too good for me
Every day is christmas, and every night is new year's eve
Will you keep on loving me
Will you keep on, will you keep on
Bringing out the best in me

My review: In case you haven't heard this song, it is set to an exotic beat, with Sade's sultry voice providing the perfect tone for this Bond song. When I first heard the song, I imagined this to be something that a Bond girl would say about James Bond, or her relationship with him. They know that it's not right, but it's so sweet (hence the name, "The Sweetest Taboo".)

This song would have gone really well with OP. Not only is it much better than "All Time High," but it's exotic sound is a perfect match with a movie as exotic as Octopussy. At one time when I was watching OP, I muted out the title sequence and played this song in replace of "All Time High." It matched pretty well. I think that Sade would be a good choice to sing 'Casino Royale.'

And BTW, do you think that the title song will be called 'Casino Royale,' or will they change the title. A song called Casino Royale will be a little hard to sell to the general public, like 'The Living Daylights,' 'License To Kill,' and 'GoldenEye' were. (Even though 'GoldenEye' was somewhat successful to a certain extent, it's lyrics sounded a little contrived, as if they picked random sentences out of a hat, put them in order, then put the word 'GoldenEye' in between them.

Edited by bryonalston, 26 June 2005 - 06:53 AM.

[k13oharts]

Hmmm... you're right about that song too, could've have been one of the possibilities Sade would be perfect for a James Bond track!
Sweetest Taboo (kinda brings in the image of Q in Moonraker saying:
I think he's attempting re-entry lolz).
Good candidate for a possible Bond Theme, we're getting on track

As for CR: As a lyricist I'm also finding it hard to use the title as part of any song. The title would be better off as a new-age-jazz instrumental cos if you're gonna write word for it it's gonna end up somewhat cheesy.

[spynovelfan]

I agree that both CONFIDE IN ME and THE SWEETEST TABOO would have made good Bond songs. Perhaps the most obvious contender is PLAY DEAD, a song Bjork did with David Arnold for the film YOUNG AMERICANS. It sounds very much like Arnold's Bond stuff, and I think is fairly obviously a dry run for his Bond gig. Other candidates:

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD by Tears for Fears
THE HUNTER GETS CAPTURED BY THE GAME by Massive Attack, featuring Tracey Thorn
HUMAN by Goldfrapp
IT COULD BE SWEET by Portishead
And, for DIE ANOTHER DAY, the song THE ICE MAIDEN by Prefab Sprout:

'Standing on the boulevard
You wish to know my name
I'm the ice maiden
(I think perhaps you like being unhappy)
I'm the ice maiden - the limit of your dreams

Arctic winds blow and still you believe
Loves makes you one of the chosen
Die in the snow - I'll never grieve
So what if tomorrow you're frozen?
Death is a small price for heaven...

Welcome to the glow of high octane affairs
Esperanto style and blonde disheveled hair
Subterranean streams, duckling you're a swan
Infinites of dreams imploding into one

All those nights I dreamt of you
I wonder where they've gone
You're the ice maiden

Standing on the boulevard
I've always known your name
You're the ice maiden
(Let you and I grow frosty together)
You're the ice maiden - today you meet your match

Girl when I burn - hell nothing's the same
I'll singe your pretty blonde lashes
We're talking fire - we're talking flame
We're talking ice into ashes
But death is a small price for heaven...'

[spynovelfan]

As for CR: As a lyricist I'm also finding it hard to use the title as part of any song. The title would be better off as a new-age-jazz instrumental cos if you're gonna write word for it it's gonna end up somewhat cheesy.

How's this?

'The odds of meeting a man like you
Would take some beating
And before this is over, my dear,
You might take a beating, too

Take a chance on love
And there's a chance you might lose
Never forget, my love
The house makes the rules...

Are you ready to take on
Casino Royale (they don't play like they play in St James or Pall Mall)
Casino Royale (when the stakes are this high there's a danger you'll fall)

When everyone folds
Will you still stay on
With the hand that you hold
Will you boldly play on

At Casino Royale (they don't play like they play in St James or Pall Mall)
Casino Royale (when the stakes are this high there's a danger you'll fall)
Casino Royale...'

Or something.

[k13oharts]

Other candidates:

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD by Tears for Fears
THE HUNTER GETS CAPTURED BY THE GAME by Massive Attack, featuring Tracey Thorn
HUMAN by Goldfrapp
IT COULD BE SWEET by Portishead

Hmmm... I remember "Hunter" quite well (being an OST afficionado) and it appears on Batman Forever OST. Here's another candidate from that album:
Nobody Lives Without Love performed by Eddi Reader.

Seems like I've gone off the side of a mountain
couldn't be sure I was even alive
fallen from the icy heights
landed with a broken cry
in this valley of shadow
sorrow and sighs
can you save me baby?

Nobody lives without love
nobody gets to give up
you can try to lock your heart away
the love will come back for you some day
nobody lives without love

Thought I could live my life as a stranger
hide from the heartbreak of love all life through ???
make it to the higher ground
try to turn the volume down
couldn't stop the sirens from singing
sing for me baby

Nobody lives without love
nobody gets to give up
you can try to lock your heart away
the love will come back for you some day
nobody lives without love

You came along like a flash of your like... ???
crashed into my life like a runaway star
feels like I'm falling in gravity's action
I'm standing here offering a stranger my heart

You can even lock your heart away
the love will come back for it some day
nobody lives without love
(nobody lives without love)
(nobody lives without love)
(nobody lives without love)
since I got blown off the side of the mountain
(nobody lives without love)
couldn't be sure if I was even alive
(nobody lives without love)
thought I could live my life as a stranger
hide from the heartbreak of love...
(nobody lives without love)

[k13oharts]

[quote name='spynovelfan' date='26 June 2005 - 16:55']'The odds of meeting a man like you
Would take some beating
And before this is over, my dear,
You might take a beating, too

Etc...

[/quote]

At least it's better than

[quote]Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale,
They came to save the world
And win a gal at Casino Royale!
Six of them went to a heavenly spot,
The seventh one is going to a place
Where it's terribly...hot.

The formula is safe with ole double-oh seven!
He's got a redhead in his arms!
Oh, he's a lover, when you're in trouble

Have no fear, look who's here...
James Bond...
They've got us on the run

[spynovelfan]

Only marginally, though.

[bryonalston]

I think that they should go "The Spy Who Loved Me" or "Surrender", and create a Bond song that only mentions the words "Casino Royale" once or twice, and otherwise, the song has nothing to do with the phrase. Or, they could simply change the name of the song to something similar, like "Love Royale," or something. Otherwise, they should just create a song that doesn't mention the words at all. After all, that's what they do for other superhero movies like 'Batman' or 'SpiderMan.' Can you imagine a song called 'Batman Forever'? No. That's why they made separate songs (like they did with OHMSS and OP.)

[k13oharts]

I guess it would be time to resurrect this fun thread

Casino Royale is coming up soon and there are so many
composers and musicians out there who are trying to
get their tracks heard unsubconciously.

In the vein of EON-style James Bond music,
what song do you think could pass for a 007 track
keeping in mind the lyrics and arrangement of the music
(as again, regardless of the title)?

[Mathis05]

Hmm..I'd like to propose something a bit different. Howabout a song similar to "Vindicated", like what Dashboard Confessional did for Spiderman 2? Just suggesting a change in pace...

[marktmurphy]

'Lovely Head' by Goldfrapp is always the song I think of as Casino Royale's title track.
Otherwise, George Michael's 'The Strangest Thing'?

[TheLazenby]

These probably don't count since they were considered for use and turned down, but Blondie's "For Your Eyes Only" and Saint Etienne's "Tomorrow Never Dies" far surpass the real songs, imho. (Johnny Cash's "Thunderball" is a great song, but definitely would have sounded out of place. )

As for other songs that should have been theme songs, I think The Propellerheads' "History Repeating" would have worked nicely in one of the Brosnan movies. (But then of course, it works wonders as the theme song to Drummond Grieve's "Never Say Never Again" re-edit - every time I hear that song, I picture the Thunderball titles that he put over them!)

[Jericho_One]

'Lovely Head' by Goldfrapp is always the song I think of as Casino Royale's title track.
Otherwise, George Michael's 'The Strangest Thing'?

Yep, that's right! Goldfrapp's song almost hits the mark. Couldn't sound more
Bondish than that. Her voice and the whole beat would look super with typical Bond opening titles.

[Fro]

Melodically, "Sunny" - Bobby Hebb.

The verse has the OHMSS bass line in the chords and the bridge between the chorus and the verse is four notes from the "James Bond Theme".

Edited by Fro, 30 June 2006 - 05:31 AM.

[tdalton]

I've always thought that U2's "So Cruel" would have made for a decent Bond title song, perhaps in a more serious Bond film.

[k13oharts]

Good choice tdalton!

We crossed the line - who pushed who over?
It doesn't matter to you - it matters to me
We're cut adrift - we're still floating
I'm only hanging on to watch you go down
My love
I disappeared in you - you disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted

The men who love you, you hate the most
They pass right through you like a ghost
They look for you, but your spirit is in the air
Baby, you're nowhere

Oh, love - you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love - sweetheart, you're so cruel

Desperation is a tender trap - it gets you every time
You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie
Her skin is pale like God's only dove
Screams like an angel for your love
Then she makes you watch her from above
And you need her like a drug

Oh, love - you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love - sweetheart, you're so cruel

She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing, her movements something else
Oh, love, like a screaming flower
Love - dying every hour

You don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher
Head in heaven - fingers in the mire

Her heart is racing - you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust
We are trampled under foot

Oh, love - you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love - sweetheart, you're so cruel
Oh, love - to stay with you, I'd be a fool
Oh, love - sweetheart, you're so cruel

It kinda reminds you somewhat of Vesper and Tracy.

Everyone else:
Are there any songs in the triphop style that could be an Alternative Bond theme?

[tdalton]

It kinda reminds you somewhat of Vesper and Tracy.

That's part of the reason that I think that they'd be perfect for the Casino Royale title song. It's songs like this that are the reason that I keep mentioning them for the title song, because if they put a song like "So Cruel" up for the title song, it would be perfect.