584 replies to this topic

[Harmsway]

The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Honestly, I think it's more likely "the coldness burns through my veins" as G.S. had it. It's especially clear when he sings it right before the bridge.

[Bucky]

i can already picture the beginning of the song with how the main titles start. will be interesting to see how it all fits in the end.

[icecold]

I like it. It's far from crap. Frankly, the fact anyone would call this crap compared to the songs of FYEO, LTK, or OP is insulting. It's a song in the same vein as LALD, AVTAK, and TLD. And given those are 3 of my personal favorites that's a very good thing. It's not the best theme ever but it's a nice change up. It's been too long since we had a male vocal with a more fast paced, rockish edge.

[Bon-san]

The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Honestly, I think it's more likely "the coldness burns through my veins" as G.S. had it. It's especially clear when he sings it right before the bridge.

I must agree with Wade. It seems fairly obvious to me that the lyric is:

'The coldest blood runs through my veins'.


I think Wade nailed the lyrics save this one line:

'Than you yourself, but if you must be pretend';

which should be:

'Than you yourself, but if you must pretend'

[Gobi-1]

Here's a quick CD cover mock-up I made for the song.

You Know My Name
http://img218.images...owmynameoj7.jpg

[Cody]

I agree that it's "the coldness burns through my veins", I think it's really clear the last time it's said in the song.

I also think that "the coldness burns" is better than "the coldest blood runs".

[MovieMaestro]

Hey guys (and gals), long time reader, first time poster.

I found the song on a remote website and I've been listening it to it for the past few hours. The fact that I still want to listen to it says something about it- It definitely, DEFINITELY grows on you.

What works-
-GREAT opening bars. It'll explode from the teaser to the titles.
-It's catchy, but not overbearingly so.
-And like everyone else has said- It ain't Madonna.

What doesn't work-
-That said, Cornell's voice works well for the lower, sultry stuff, but it cracks terribly on the higher stuff, especially at the end of the song. Makes me miss those wonderful, long-breathed ending notes of Shirley and Tina and even k.d...
-The lyrics are a little forced, but at least it sells it as a "Bond" song to the unawashed public.
-Yeah, the mix is cruddy on the version I'm listening to, but those strings and especially the brass are wonderful when they come through. A shame they're not more prominent.


What WILL work-

-Maybe someone mentioned this before, but the TWINE theme is quite different on the radio/CD version than as heard in the film credits, especially if you have surround sound (brass riffs are added, pumped up). So, I'd bet a blue chip that "YKMN" gets a similar treatment when we finally see it in theatres, especially if you consider that TWINE is the only other David Arnold-influenced title track that we've seen. What do you guys think?



Looking forward to NOV. 17th!

[erniecureo]

I dig it. I hear a theme of urgency running through it, which fits my image of Bond.

Additionally, I can see the possibilities for adapting it to the entire score, in different arrangements (something that was done to perfection in Goldfinger, Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever, in my opinion).

I have to say, also, that some of these posts tickle me, when people try to "prove" that their opinion is "right." It's like saying Monet is better than Rembrandt, or that Moore was better than Connery.

Bottom line? It's a done deal. Love it or hate it, it's the next Bond song. And the world (and these forums) would be a pretty boring place if we all agreed on subjective things like music and art!

[Felix_Leiter]

just wanted to know what version most of the people here on CBN are listening to? i ask this because there's both a 48kbps (1.4mb) version out that really doesn't do the song much justice and a 320kbps (9mb) version out that actually allows you to hear more of the orchestra and subtly in cornell's voice. listening to this again and again with this higher quality version i've somewhat actually come to like this tune. it's definitely not a top 10 but it's not as bad as i once thought.

[MovieMaestro]

I agree about adapting this to the score, erniecureo. It would work beautifully, and especially with the absence of the Bond theme, this is even more necessary.

By the way, ernie, I really enjoyed your on-set extra production journals. I work on feature films and TV shows all the time (usually as a PA or 2nd AD) on usually smaller films such as "The Ice Harvest" but I did work on "Batman Begins." It was great to see the whole experience from another angle. Only I never get to be on-screen, dangit!

[Killmaster]

i give it a thumb's up ... i like it, but i don't love it. i had no idea who chris cornell even was (the program director of our rock station had to tell me ... our overnight guy described him as a "rock god") so i had no preconceptions. i didn't much care for it when i first heard it, but i've probably listened to it about 3 dozen times and it's grown on me. it's not the best, but it's nowhere close to being the worst either. (can you say "die another day" or "the man with the golden gun") i think the reason we consider so many bond songs to be classics is partly because we've heard them over and over and over again, some of them for decades. lyrically, how many bond title songs actually make sense anyway. so who's to say that in fifteen or twenty years, we'll say the same thing about this one. plus it'll definitely sound a little different when arnold adds more of the orchestra before the film is released, like he did to "the world is not enough".

it's no real surprise to me that members are so divided on the song ... we've been divided on almost everything else about "casino Royale" (craig, blond hair, re-boot, etc.) ... why not the title song, too.

[bernsmartin007]

I dig it. I hear a theme of urgency running through it, which fits my image of Bond.

Additionally, I can see the possibilities for adapting it to the entire score, in different arrangements (something that was done to perfection in Goldfinger, Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever, in my opinion).

I have to say, also, that some of these posts tickle me, when people try to "prove" that their opinion is "right." It's like saying Monet is better than Rembrandt, or that Moore was better than Connery.

Bottom line? It's a done deal. Love it or hate it, it's the next Bond song. And the world (and these forums) would be a pretty boring place if we all agreed on subjective things like music and art!

Well said Ernie, I agree.

Cornell is responsible for the amazing song Black Hole Sun, but he has ups and downs. This isn't one of his best, but it's certainly no duffer, I like it and can see it working with the titles very well kicking in hard as Bond fires his gun in the famous gunbarrel shot.



Of 190 big Bond fans so far:

-Like it. A solid Bond theme. [ 57 ]
-Middle-of-the-road. Fun, but not one of the best. [ 46 ]
-Love it. One of the best Bond themes. [ 40 ]
-Hate it. [ 34 ]
-Haven't made my mind up yet. [ 13 ]

I think that about sums it up. If we polled Die Another Day it would be far worse and for good reason, but to be honest I think the titles of the film DAD are the best part of it by a country mile. They actually make the song sound half decent, and if they could do that for that god awful song then this could come off really interesting and cool in the film IMO.

Edited by bernsmartin007, 22 September 2006 - 02:34 AM.

[dunmall]

I think it sounds pretty good, deffinately a nice change from the more "traditional" (cough cliched cough) songs we've had since LTK.

[the doctor]

sounds great, the problem ive had with alot of the recent songs is that they dont sound like real songs, just a song for a bond movie. this song sounds so different that i think it will have a good reception from most IMO

[TheREAL008]

Don't get me wrong, I like Audioslave and Soundgarden (Although IRON MAIDEN rules them all) but Chris' voice sounds like it could crack at any given moment in parts of the theme. It feels chunky and against the grain of song structre. Parts of it are alright, buit as a whole, it just barely fits as a song.

I can defenately pass it by without a third listening. They should have gone with something instrumental instead

[Publius]

just wanted to know what version most of the people here on CBN are listening to? i ask this because there's both a 48kbps (1.4mb) version out that really doesn't do the song much justice and a 320kbps (9mb) version out that actually allows you to hear more of the orchestra and subtly in cornell's voice. listening to this again and again with this higher quality version i've somewhat actually come to like this tune. it's definitely not a top 10 but it's not as bad as i once thought.

I've got the 9MB version. I heard the 1.4MB version, and it's not surprisingly noticeably weaker.

Bottom line for me: if they bring out the orchestra, dilute or remove the echoes, and slow it down some, it'll be far better. As it stands, it's still pretty darn good, especially when considered in context of other Bond songs, although we'll have to see if it's utilized well in and is a good match for Casino Royale.

[gkgyver]

With all due respect, and I really mean that, this song isn't Bond- worthy.

Let's see, it's a good song (for reasons I've elaborated on elsewhere here) that's better than a majority of the other Bond themes. So it's already off to a good start there. The fact that there exists no such thing as a template for Bond themes means this has the added bonus of being able to be and being very different from anything we've heard so far. There you go.

That's a big contradiction right there. If there's no template for Bond themes, how could you tell the difference then?
Frankly, saying the legacy of James Bond title songs doesn't have an identifiable texture is a little too far out there; you might not make it back.
That's my main complaint about the recent development of Bond title songs, actually, that most people call them "different" and think that's it.
See, that's the huge and most important difference between "now" and "then": "then", Bond songs were different in a sense that they were not only inseparable from the corresponding movie, they were also something special because they were *good songs*, you know, musically.
"Now" they are different in a sense that the connection to the film is very loose, and the identification with the rest of the music world is very strong.
That's the point you're missing, and it's an important one: Bond isn't rock or heavy metal or hip hop, Bond is Bond. And You Know My Name isn't Bond, it's metal. It's your average metal song that happens to be featured in a James Bond film. It might have been written for it, but it surely doesn't sound like that.

And I'm not talking about lyrics, I'm talking about the sound of it. That was a misunderstanding. When I say it has no thematic quality whatsoever, I'm not talking about the lyrics, I mean that musically. If the lyrics didn't relate to Casino Royale, I would have thought this whole song was a big hoax.

James Bond songs do have "templates", so to speak. John Barry defined Bond music as well as 007's title songs. For one, Bond songs always pick up one aspect of the film and translate that into music (again, I'm NOT talking about lyrics), which gives it a certain mood and ties it inseparably to the movie. And more important, they take this specific mood and translate it into a strong theme. That combination is the reason why people connect a certain theme with a certain movie the second they hear it.
And this is also why that thematic material works as a song as well as in the underscore. And, the last piece of the chain, this is why the film composer for a Bond film should always write the title song.
If my memory serves me correctly, all this "give it to a famous person" hysteria began with the Brosnan era. And, alas, that's where the problems with the songs began.
Even Live And Let Die, which according to some is apparently the "soulmate" of YKMN, was so fitting that it worked in the score as well.

YKMN simply doesn't convey a strong feeling because it's musically average. Sure, the lyrics may have a feel, but if those were the most important part, I would just read them. The lyrics ARE important, but they're only a part of the big picture.

And, of course I speak for myself, don't really see how the title sequence plays a huge role. OHMSS didn't get worse because of the disturbing image of a sand clock. And YKMN doesn't get any better even if it's played to the imagery of naked females

[Harmsway]

And this is also why that thematic material works as a song as well as in the underscore. And, the last piece of the chain, this is why the film composer for a Bond film should always write the title song. If my memory serves me correctly, all this "give it to a famous person" hysteria began with the Brosnan era. And, alas, that's where the problems with the songs began.

Arnold did collaborate on "You Know My Name" and will feature it throughout his score. I'm very excited to hear the instrumental version of it (Arnold's orchestrations in the background are my favorite part of the song).

[bernsmartin007]

Bond isn't rock or heavy metal or hip hop, Bond is Bond. And You Know My Name isn't Bond, it's metal. It's your average metal song that happens to be featured in a James Bond film. It might have been written for it, but it surely doesn't sound like that.

What IS Bond then? Easy Listening? (Matt Monroe)...Jazzy Instrumental? (OHMSS)...Bombastic crooning? (Bassey, Jones etc)...Rock? (TLD, AVTAK, LALD)...Techno Pop? (DAD) among others...

Which is Bond? All of those but not the new one?..because it's new and not been done in Bond before? Do Bond songs now suddenly have to replicate old ones to appease old stuffy fans who can't accept change and modern styles?

I think this song suits Daniel Craig as 007, a modern Steve McQueen style lean and mean Bond with a hard edge. It will fit really well firing up right after Daniel Craig fires down the gunbarrel shot. Just needs a good title sequence.

Edited by bernsmartin007, 22 September 2006 - 03:55 AM.

[Bryce (003)]

Time to weigh in on this.

Having now listened to it more than a few times, it has grown on me.

Not what I expected, but that doesn't equal disappointment.

This could just work.

I'm not loving it, but I am "off the fence" and do like it.

It's got a punch to it and the lyrics do quite well for the overall theme of the film IMO.

It's a new style of Bond title music, but with a new Bond and reboot, it might just be what the doctor ordered.

Now, just give me some cool opening credits and a music video and I'll take it in stride.

To each their own, but that's how I feel at the moment. Although I will say that everyone, pro or con, has some very strong and well stated points throughout this thread.

Now, just PLEASE for the sake of all, quit posting links or starting new threads just to do so. We MUST cover our and the sites collective butts on this and happily (albeit frustrating for those of you that have yet to hear it and want to) so far, we haven't had either Eon or Sony after us, but they damn well could be or could have been down our throats on this. You've no idea what the Team's been going through in the last 24 hours in terms of "damage control". C'mon, wouldn't it suck to have CR open and CBn closed?

[JimmyBond]

I think this song suits Daniel Craig as 007, a modern Steve McQueen style lean and mean Bond with a hard edge.

Indeed, that's precicely why I love this song. It's not like anything we've had before, and on top of that (I think) it's good

[Blofeld's Cat]

YouKnowMyNameIsNotABondSong.com

LOL!

Never thought I'd EVER say this, but Madonna's DAD song is a Bond song compared to this....this...this....THIS!!

[Publius]

That's a big contradiction right there. If there's no template for Bond themes, how could you tell the difference then?

No. Saying there's no template means there's no narrowly-defined objective standard for a Bond-worthy song, as evidenced by the very different songs we've had so far. Recognizing that difference is part of being able to say there is no template.

Frankly, saying the legacy of James Bond title songs doesn't have an identifiable texture is a little too far out there; you might not make it back.

Please. You're telling me you can group Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, A View to a Kill, Licence to Kill, and Die Another Day altogether and call them similar? To do that, you're going to have to go "a little too far out there", and while you're there, you may as well group You Know My Name in with them. It'll be just as easy.

See, that's the huge and most important difference between "now" and "then": "then", Bond songs were different in a sense that they were not only inseparable from the corresponding movie, they were also something special because they were *good songs*, you know, musically.

And so is this one. You know, musically. Amazing that we can disagree...could that imply it's an opinion? I think so.

And whether it's inseparable from the movie, you kinda have to see the actual movie, don't you?

"Now" they are different in a sense that the connection to the film is very loose, and the identification with the rest of the music world is very strong.

I don't see how the Brosnan themes were "very strongly" connected to the rest of the music world. DAD got a lot of airplay, but that doesn't say anything. I never even heard the others on the radio, so I don't quite know what you're getting at.

That's the point you're missing, and it's an important one: Bond isn't rock or heavy metal or hip hop, Bond is Bond. And You Know My Name isn't Bond, it's metal. It's your average metal song that happens to be featured in a James Bond film. It might have been written for it, but it surely doesn't sound like that.

What kind of a point is "Bond is Bond"? I can just as easily say that, then call YKMN "Bond". Just because it falls into an outside genre doesn't detract from its ability to also be Bond. LALD was a rock song. AVTAK was pop. DAD techno. The others had their own genres. Yet you still recognize them as "Bond" but not YKMN, because it too has its own genre? Where's the logic in that?

And I'm not talking about lyrics, I'm talking about the sound of it. That was a misunderstanding. When I say it has no thematic quality whatsoever, I'm not talking about the lyrics, I mean that musically. If the lyrics didn't relate to Casino Royale, I would have thought this whole song was a big hoax.

There was no misunderstanding. I was also talking musically. And I still disagreed with you on that point.

James Bond songs do have "templates", so to speak. John Barry defined Bond music as well as 007's title songs. For one, Bond songs always pick up one aspect of the film and translate that into music (again, I'm NOT talking about lyrics), which gives it a certain mood and ties it inseparably to the movie. And more important, they take this specific mood and translate it into a strong theme. That combination is the reason why people connect a certain theme with a certain movie the second they hear it.

Or it could be because the songs usually feature the name of the movie and are referenced at length in the score over the course of the movie. We won't know if that's case until November, shall we?

And, of course I speak for myself, don't really see how the title sequence plays a huge role. OHMSS didn't get worse because of the disturbing image of a sand clock. And YKMN doesn't get any better even if it's played to the imagery of naked females

And I'm sure I speak for myself, but most of the Bond themes work better when they're synchronized with the titles or there are thematic similarities. I can barely listen to even LALD on its own, but the way it "plays" with the imagery there makes it stand out much more and gives it the impression of being better than it is.

I'll concede it doesn't work that way for GF (mediocre song for mediocre titles = no net effect) or OHMSS (the titles are "meh" and the piece works far better during the course of the movie) and TND (although had it been the superior Surrender, it would have surprisingly also worked there). However, in the case of all the films, the themes are always magnified when referenced in the score.

[Icephoenix]

The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Honestly, I think it's more likely "the coldness burns through my veins" as G.S. had it. It's especially clear when he sings it right before the bridge.

I'm with Wade on this one, it sounds much more like "The coldest blood runs through my veins" than anything else.

I've straind to make it out as "the coldness burns through my veins" but if that's the case it sounds like "the coldness buruuuns through my veins".

[Mjbartanis]

Im sorry but this song belongs more to Timothy Daltons first outing than Daniel Craigs! What the heck?! It sounds like a "Rocky" theme or something. Definetely 2o years too late. Im not saying they shouldnt have tried something new, but what the heck does this song have to do with the movie?! High stakes gambling? More more like "quarters" at the frat house. I love everything else Ive heard about the movie so far and I especially love Daniel Craig but I guess I just had "Layer Cake" techno in my head and not this. If I could live through Madonna however Ill live through this. Its not like anyone gives a damned about my opinion anyway.

Im cranky now, and I blame the song.

[gkgyver]

What IS Bond then? Easy Listening? (Matt Monroe)...Jazzy Instrumental? (OHMSS)...Bombastic crooning? (Bassey, Jones etc)...Rock? (TLD, AVTAK, LALD)...Techno Pop? (DAD)

It's Bond as soon as it has a strong connection with the movie. When it captures the mood, the atmosphere, the emotional aspects. And that depends on how well it's written.

And, like it or not, James Bond songs have always had outstanding thematic quality. In the end, that's what it comes down to, compositional skill. And if it wasn't for Arnold's occasional brass outbursts here and there, YKMN would be wholly unidentifiable as part of a 007 film.

Are you in all honesty saying YKMN has great thematic qualities? Where? Those three opening notes? Come on, in my parallel life as a hobby composer I've scrapped ideas more sophisticated than *this*.
What about the, hmm, 3:50 minutes in between?
You can always pull a Batman Begins and play two random notes; it's simple and intuitive, but that doesn't automatically make it good or fitting.

At some point during music discussions, opinion doesn't matter anymore. You can look at a Miklos Rosza piece, compare it to one of Hans Zimmer's, and objectively say that Rosza's are more sophisticated. There's no discussion needed, it's just there.

[bernsmartin007]

The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Honestly, I think it's more likely "the coldness burns through my veins" as G.S. had it. It's especially clear when he sings it right before the bridge.

I'm with Wade on this one, it sounds much more like "The coldest blood runs through my veins" than anything else.

I've straind to make it out as "the coldness burns through my veins" but if that's the case it sounds like "the coldness buruuuns through my veins".

It is "The coldest blood runs through my veins, you know my name"

Firstly it makes sense unlike "the coldness burns through my veins"

Secondly if you listen he changes tone, he is saying "blood runs" with a soft "d" flowing them together.

[JimmyBond]

It's Bond as soon as it has a strong connection with the movie. When it captures the mood, the atmosphere, the emotional aspects.

Then it works, for me. If that's the criteria you're using. I feel this song perfectly captures the mood of the film, it'll work out better than you think it will.

[bernsmartin007]

What IS Bond then? Easy Listening? (Matt Monroe)...Jazzy Instrumental? (OHMSS)...Bombastic crooning? (Bassey, Jones etc)...Rock? (TLD, AVTAK, LALD)...Techno Pop? (DAD)

It's Bond as soon as it has a strong connection with the movie. When it captures the mood, the atmosphere, the emotional aspects. And that depends on how well it's written.

And, like it or not, James Bond songs have always had outstanding thematic quality. In the end, that's what it comes down to, compositional skill. And if it wasn't for Arnold's occasional brass outbursts here and there, YKMN would be wholly unidentifiable as part of a 007 film.

No because it has excellent potential to be worked into the score as an instrumental (which Arnold said he is doing a la Goldfinger, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang etc), the lyrics are some of the best for a Bond song so far and have a strong connection with the film and it fully suits Daniel Craig as 007.

Finally, like it or not, it IS now a Bond song and in a number of years time that will be imprinted on Bond fans memories just as Daniel Craig will be as Bond.

[Harmsway]

The coldest blood runs through my veins.

Honestly, I think it's more likely "the coldness burns through my veins" as G.S. had it. It's especially clear when he sings it right before the bridge.

I'm with Wade on this one, it sounds much more like "The coldest blood runs through my veins" than anything else.

But he never really says "blood," there, at least to my ears. No matter how much I listen, I can never hear that word in there.

I've straind to make it out as "the coldness burns through my veins" but if that's the case it sounds like "the coldness buruuuns through my veins".

I think that's exactly how it is.

It's a weird way of saying it, but he never makes the right sounds for "blood," neither the vowel nor the consonants. He slurs whatever is there right through, and there's a distinct "urr" sound. It's very clear the second time he sings it through.

If he is saying "blood runs" he's slurring it so much that it's indistinguishable.