584 replies to this topic

[Skudor]

Rock is not my thing ... but I love the song. I like the energy and the way they have woven the bond theme in there! I don't understand the overwhelming negetivity ... we need something different after years of bad kock-off's of Goldfinger.

Look at the poll results, I wouldn't say the reaction is overwhelmingly negative.

Yes, but as is typical with these things, those who are negative tend to be far more vocal about it

It's a slightly more than lukewarm reception. Most people seem pleased but not blown away.

[Felix_Leiter]

it does kinda grow on you the more you listen to it but, for me anyways, it still doesn't quite sit right. i have a feeling that most reputable music review forums would probably struggle to give it a passing grade.

[Goldengun007]

OK, I've listened to the song several times. Admittedly, I'm not in the age group that the song is targeted at. My verdict- it is the first thing that I have seen/heard in connection with the movie in which I am disappointed.

It's not a BAD song- Madonna's wretching of DAD was an example of a really bad song performed very badly. This song is just disappointing- as if it almost is good, but it never quite gets there. I'm not certain that there is a need to listen to it over and over to see if it grows on me- isn't a theme song suppose to catch you right away?

The basic structure of the song is OK. Others who have said that it sounds like a garage band are on the mark. This sounds like a song from a band my fraternity would have hired to play on a Saturday night. They don't play great, just OK, and the lead singer whines and yells, in place of having a good, strong singing voice. I think that Chris Cornell did not bring out everything that the song has to offer, and that he was a poor choice. I've kept an open mind about everything with the movie until I see/hear it, and this is just a disappointment. I hear nothing Bondian about it, as others have claimed to hear.

I do not think there has been a GOOD Bond theme song in quite some time, starting with AVTAK through Casino Royale now. Some have been OK, some have been awful, most in-between, but none have been GOOD theme songs. Some have been good stand-alone songs, but not good theme songs- they just didn't work with the opening of the movie. I do see a comparison to LALD, but the pacing of this song does not seem to work as an opening theme song, and the level of the band and performer are not even close (but then who is close to Sir Paul?).

After all this critcism, we must remember that this is only the opening theme song. I can hope that the rest of the scoring of the movie will be something more in keeping to a return to the classical Bond. We could only wish for a return to the great scoring era, such as GF and TB (remember, I'm talking about the music in the body of the films, not their theme songs).

From the choices on the poll, I have to vote that I hate it, although that is probably too strong. I come back to my opening conclusion- it is just a disappointment for a film that otherwise has shown me nothing but GOOD!

[archer1949]

I voted "Middle of the road". I do hope that they use a different arrangement. THis is an OK radio ready rock song, but for the credits, I think it needs to be more orchestral.

[mccartney007]

I don't hate the song, but I do think it's boring. I have yet to discover the "hook" in the song that would even make it memorable.

[Bond#9-GeorgeKemp]

I, for one, like it. WAIT! Don't flog me to death yet!

As a script reader, I can put it into context and I don't think it'll be that disatrous. I think it'll fit with the sequence, which is quite quick and up-tempo and although, not one of the best theme songs, make a different and refreshing change.

The more I listen to it, the more I like it .

Edited by Bond#9-GeorgeKemp, 21 September 2006 - 10:42 PM.

[K1Bond007]

K1Bond007 wrote:

but the problem I believe really comes from the fact that it is so untraditional for a Bond theme.

Kind of like Daniel Craig?

I said something like that a few pages back: "I kinda hate to say it, but it fits Casino Royale perfectly in that for most people you either love it or hate it right away, then for some of the latter it grows on you as time goes by. Initially I was indifferent. Now I like it. This has been a running theme so to speak for practically every aspect of the film from Craig, to poker, to the reboot, and finally to the theme song."

[Bond#9-GeorgeKemp]

I said something like that a few pages back: "I kinda hate to say it, but it fits Casino Royale perfectly in that for most people you either love it or hate it right away, then for some of the latter it grows on you as time goes by. Initially I was indifferent. Now I like it. This has been a running theme so to speak for practically every aspect of the film from Craig, to poker, to the reboot, and finally to the theme song."

You're very right K1, like you, I was unsure at the beginning, the song, even Daniel Craig, but both have grown on me, as has the movie as a whole. As the whole thing comes together, piece by piece, I just get more and more excited

Edited by Bond#9-GeorgeKemp, 21 September 2006 - 10:53 PM.

[Tiin007]

I was skeptical at first, but it's really grown on me.

[Qwerty]

This is definitely one of the most divided polls in a while on here.

[TGO]

Its a cock-rock song. And not even an all-the-way-there song either. Just middle of the road. Sade has been due one for YEARS. She's even ENGLISH for christ's sake!

[Loomis]

Still, for the moment, I'm decidedly less than ecstatic about it.

Weren't you initially just okay with it, only to later say you thought it would grow on you to the point you loved it? I mean, it's only been like a day.

True, but that was time enough for me to settle on the view that it's .

[Moonraker]

The song is really growing on me. The intially reaction was different. I wasn't sure what to make of it. But after a couple of more listens it has grown on me. The vocals and lyrics are fantastic especially in the chorus. The guitar was a tad too much and the orchestra was too subtle. As a Bond theme, it o.k. just barely lacking in memorable quality. As a regular song, its great.
8/10

[Harmsway]

[quote name='Publius' post='611007' date='21 September 2006 - 14:20']
[quote name='Captain Grimes' post='611000' date='21 September 2006 - 15:13']
The lyrics are of the

[Publius]

Its a cock-rock song. And not even an all-the-way-there song either. Just middle of the road. Sade has been due one for YEARS. She's even ENGLISH for christ's sake!

I finally had to Wiki that. Gotta say, I love some of the bands listed as examples (albeit hate others, go figure), so the impact of the insult is lost on me.

[Grindelwald]

Lovely, after listening to it ten times in a row, I really am very enthusiastic about this song, I'm humming it right now, whilst typing, haha! Great effort, something completely different, as is this whole movie. Just wait till your vote untill you listened to it numerous times, it gets better all the time, really. I can't wait to see the final product, the complete title sequence that is (and all of the rest too of course). Well done Arnold! Well done Chris! Thanks Babs and Michael! This movie will be a classic and I think this back to the basics treatment will drop this movie second favourite in the series to me, after OHMSS, which can't be topped...

[Gobi-1]

I hope Thomas "Renard" Waldek edits the trailers into a "You Know My Name" music video.

[Harmsway]

I think the biggest issue with "You Know My Name" isn't that it doesn't sound Bondian (IMO, it does... the background orchestrations and verses as well as the guitar strumming during the verses ensure that), but just that it's pretty cheesy.

As G.S. said, Cornell's vocals are pretty mediocre and are the biggest factor in why this song isn't all that great. Factor number two is the rather lame lyrics. Factor number three is just the mixing, which loses all the orchestrations in the process, when they really should be as in your face as the guitars.

And so while I enjoy it as a real guilty pleasure, I don't think it fits CASINO ROYALE. ROYALE needed a really classy theme, and this isn't really it. I don't think this is an awful song, really, and it's certainly no cheesier than a lot of the songs the Bond franchise has produced, but it's no masterpiece, either.

That said, I'm *very* excited about hearing an instrumental version of this theme (my favorite part of the song are Arnold's orchestrations in the background). I think it could make quite a cool anthem from an instrumental perspective.

[Forever007]

Thanks to all who pointed me in the right direction. I truly appreciate your help in locating the song.


After listening to it at least 5 times I have to say it is the worst song I have heard in a long time. It does not fit in with the series and has no enduring characteristics that would carry it through the ages. It's pure crap geared towards head bangers to try and grab a much younger audience. If that was indeed the finished product I am extremely dissapointed. , even the Man With The Golden Gun was more ing Bondeque! Fire David Arnold now!!!

Edited by Forever007, 21 September 2006 - 11:35 PM.

[Garth007]

I think the new song is a great start for the Bond fanchise and is awsome to listen to. so what im trying to say is this song rocks!!!!

[Navy007Fan]

I finally heard the whole song, and, for the moment, I like it. I'll reserve final judgement until I hear it in context with the rest of the film.

But it's a song. Why does it need to be put into "context with the rest of the film"? It's either good or it isn't.

Simple, for me, a song, or any other piece of music associated with a film, can either diminish a film (like Eric Serra's score for Goldeneye), or raise it up (Goldsmith's score for Star Trek V, great music for a poor film). It's just the way I judge film music. The song by itself, as I said, is good, but if it enhances the whole package, so much the better!

[Ouroboros]

I'm right in the middle of the road on this one. It's growing on me a little, but I think the "edginess" which Cornell initially promised was reduced in favor of the sort of grand, orchestral Bond themes people expect. And I'm not sure how well they go together. I enjoy Audioslave a lot, and I have never thought Cornell's voice sounded weak, but it just seems inappropriate for the music they're playing.

Perhaps if they hadn't felt the need to make the thing sound so Bondian and had let the tune rock out a bit more, it would have been better. Ah well, I haven't been a big fan of too many Bond themes.

[MattofSteel]

For me, the good Bond song is just the one that stirs up that particular 'Bond' emotion, and YKMN definitely does. In kind of a catchy way. So I'm on board.

[Loomis]

I think the biggest issue with "You Know My Name" isn't that it doesn't sound Bondian (IMO, it does... the background orchestrations and verses as well as the guitar strumming during the verses ensure that), but just that it's pretty cheesy.

As G.S. said, Cornell's vocals are pretty mediocre and are the biggest factor in why this song isn't all that great. Factor number two is the rather lame lyrics. Factor number three is just the mixing, which loses all the orchestrations in the process, when they really should be as in your face as the guitars.

And so while I enjoy it as a real guilty pleasure, I don't think it fits CASINO ROYALE. ROYALE needed a really classy theme, and this isn't really it. I don't think this is an awful song, really, and it's certainly no cheesier than a lot of the songs the Bond franchise has produced, but it's no masterpiece, either.

That said, I'm *very* excited about hearing an instrumental version of this theme (my favorite part of the song are Arnold's orchestrations in the background). I think it could make quite a cool anthem from an instrumental perspective.

I do have gripes about this song - as I'm sure I've made painfully, tediously clear - but I must admit that I'm at a bit of a loss as to what exactly they are, and what my "main gripe" would be.

A few things:

It doesn't quite sound finished. Fair enough, it may not be, although I rather suspect it is. It sounds a bit half-baked, like a demo.

For all the cock-rock (a new CBn buzzword, I feel ) aspects, there's definitely something weedy about it, something a bit pale and tinny. Lacks punch, as Elliot Carver might say. I mean, it's not Nirvana or Led Zep (or even Wings).

It sounds very early '90s, the kind of thing a band aiming to be "the next Pearl Jam" might come up with.

The speed and pace of it are all wrong.

It has me thinking of loads of other, better songs, reminding me of everything from Spinal Tap's "Rock & Roll Creation" to Phoenix's "Too Young" and even that old classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Which I guess means it's incredibly derivative.

That it isn't a good-old fashioned, straight-down-the-line traditional Bond song is the least of its problems. I mean, I love the likes of "A View to a Kill", "The Living Daylights" and even the much-bashed "Die Another Day", and they're hardly trad Bond. The main problem, I think, is that it just isn't anything very special.

[Skudor]

Nothing special - that sums it up. I wonder if it, perhaps, isn't the final product? A man can hope...

[MarcAngeDraco]

Perhaps if they hadn't felt the need to make the thing sound so Bondian and had let the tune rock out a bit more, it would have been better.

I agree that in an attempt to make the song sound Bondish, they may have effectively castrated it...

[Harmsway]

It doesn't quite sound finished. Fair enough, it may not be, although I rather suspect it is. It sounds a bit half-baked, like a demo.

I somewhat agree. Part of it is that I just the orchestra is mixed so low, and it needs to be amped WAY up. I can only hope that the film version will be.

For all the cock-rock (a new CBn buzzword, I feel ) aspects, there's definitely something weedy about it, something a bit pale and tinny. Lacks punch, as Elliot Carver might say. I mean, it's not Nirvana or Led Zep (or even Wings).

True.

It sounds very early '90s, the kind of thing a band aiming to be "the next Pearl Jam" might come up with.

Well, it's definitely 90s. I'm not sure if it's early 90s or mid 90s, but it's somewhere in there.

The speed and pace of it are all wrong.

I'm not sure I agree with that, but alrighty.

Which I guess means it's incredibly derivative.

That it is.

The main problem, I think, is that it just isn't anything very special.

I quite agree with you. I enjoy "You Know My Name" - but it certainly isn't something that's "WOW!" and it does feel more than a little cornball. I wouldn't say it's one of the worst Bond themes, but I wouldn't place it anywhere near the top, though.

[Alex Zamudio]

Love it, very cool, very brave... unlike "Bond past clone" songs TND and TWINE.

[Wade]

I'll link to it, and then if it violates CBN's policies the mods can delete it. I'm going to link to it, though, because I think everyone should get a chance to hear it before discussing it.

MOD NOTE: DO NOT LINK TO THE SONG!!!

I like the tune. I mean, there's a good song in there somewhere. I like the lyrics. They fit the film well. But Cornell's voice strains at time, and he's essentially the male version of Sheryl Crow: nice tune, sub-par vocals.

Lyrics:

If you take a life
Do you know what you'll give?
Odds are you won't like what it Is.

When the storm arrives
Would you be seen with me?
By the merciless eyes I've deceived

I've seen angels fall from blinding heights
And you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line

(Chorus)

Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you
And I will replace you
You can't deny the prize it may never fulfill you
It longs to kill you
Are you willing to die?
The coldness burns through my veins
You know my name

If you come inside
Things will not be the same
When you return to my eyes

And if you think you've won
You never saw me change
The game that we have been playing

I've seen diamonds cut through harder men
Then you yourself but if you must pretend
You may meet your end

(Chorus)

Try to hide your hand
Forget how to feel (forget how to feel)
Life is gone
At just a spin of the wheel (spin of the wheel)

(Chorus)

You Know My Name

Actually, I think they're closer to this (and I'm liking this song more and more):

YOU KNOW MY NAME

If you take a life, do you know what you'll give?
Odds are, you won't like what it is.
When the storm arrives, would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes I've deceived?

I've seen angels fall from blinding heights.
But you yourself are nothing so divine.
Just next in line.

Arm yourself, because no one else here will save you.
The odds will betray you, and I will replace you.
You can't deny the prize; it may never fulfill you.
It longs to kill you -- are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins.
You know my name.

If you come inside, things will not be the same
When you return to the night.
And if you think you've won, you never saw me change
The game that we have been playing.

I've seen diamonds cut through harder men
Than you yourself, but if you must be pretend
You may meet your end.

Arm yourself, because no one else here will save you.
The odds will betray you, and I will replace you.
You can't deny the prize; it may never fulfill you.
It longs to kill you -- are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Try to hide your hand -- forget how to feel.
Life is gone with just a spin of the wheel.

Arm yourself, because no one else here will save you.
The odds will betray you, and I will replace you.
You can't deny the prize; it may never fulfill you.
It longs to kill you -- are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins.
You know my name.
You know my name.
You know my name.
You know my name.
You know my name.
You know my name.
You know my name.

[Arch Stanton]

I love it. Way up there on my ranking list of the Bond themes.