1942 replies to this topic

[RMc2]

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

[marktmurphy]

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

In 88 years he thought he was the first openly gay man in showbusiness to get one? He's not exactly razor sharp. You'd think even he would have heard of Elton John!

 

Who's Thom Yorke again?

[DaveBond21]

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

He has already said in interviews that he didn't write it in 20 minutes and that he was wrong to say he had.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

[AMC Hornet]

Should've been Lady Gaga.

 

Not that I don't like WOTW, but Til It Happens to You had more power and relevance than does just another Bond song.

[RMc2]

 

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

He has already said in interviews that he didn't write it in 20 minutes and that he was wrong to say he had.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

That's good to know

 

I think my comment came across much harsher than intended. For the record, I don't think it's a bad song.

[DaveBond21]

 

 

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

He has already said in interviews that he didn't write it in 20 minutes and that he was wrong to say he had.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

That's good to know

 

I think my comment came across much harsher than intended. For the record, I don't think it's a bad song.

 

 

Here's one of those interviews by the way.

 

http://deadline.com/...iew-1201701674/

 

I quote:- "I made up I had written the song in 20 minutes which was not the case"

 

 

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Double-Oh Agent]

I'd even go so far as to say it's not Smith so much that bugs me than specifically the way he sings it. He certainly could have sung it differently, he just set out to do it in his trademark style; that's what makes it such a tough piece for me...

Totally agree. When he sings in a normal voice, he does a really good job and the song is enjoyable and is a worthy entry in the Bond canon. It's only when Smith goes to the falsetto that he and the song hit the skids and the result is an unsatisfactory effort that leaves the listener wanting something more and/or different. Take out the falsetto and you could have something really special. As it is, the song is mediocre--but apparently an Oscar-winner.

[tdalton]

 

 

 

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

He has already said in interviews that he didn't write it in 20 minutes and that he was wrong to say he had.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

That's good to know

 

I think my comment came across much harsher than intended. For the record, I don't think it's a bad song.

 

 

Here's one of those interviews by the way.

 

http://deadline.com/...iew-1201701674/

 

I quote:- "I made up I had written the song in 20 minutes which was not the case"

 

 

Still, he can't be surprised that people latched onto that comment.  Much like Craig's ignorant comments during the promotion of Spectre, Smith's 20-minute comment was fair game because he's the one that put it out there.

 

The difference being that Smith deserves some leeway to backtrack where Craig doesn't.  Smith is essentially a hired gun or a private contractor, hired to do a relatively small piece of work on the film.  Craig is now a producer on the films and should be expected to conduct himself accordingly.

[dtuba]

Well, congrats to Sam on the Oscar. Did he deserve it? In contrast to the other nominees, I would say yes.

 

Gaga's performance was pretty great, but the song itself seemed less of a song and more of a preachy After School Special (remember those?) about being a victim of sexual violence. Necessary, yes, but not that enjoyable.

[marktmurphy]

 

 

 

 

In fairness, he said he thought he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

 

He's totally wrong, of course, and should have done his research. But hey, he wrote WOTW in 20 minutes, right? Genius knows no forethought.

 

He has already said in interviews that he didn't write it in 20 minutes and that he was wrong to say he had.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

That's good to know

 

I think my comment came across much harsher than intended. For the record, I don't think it's a bad song.

 

 

Here's one of those interviews by the way.

 

http://deadline.com/...iew-1201701674/

 

I quote:- "I made up I had written the song in 20 minutes which was not the case"

 

 

Still, he can't be surprised that people latched onto that comment.

 

 

He's a prize berk and seems to be in a constant state of surprise about the world around him.

[AMC Hornet]

To be fair, he was nobody two years ago and now he's an award-winning superstar. I'd be surprised by the world around me too in such a rarified atmosphere.

 

But remember, Sam - you're only the flavour of the month. Don't go buying a mansion, expecting to pay for it with next year's earnings.

[Matt_13]

Happy for Smith.

He has the same number of Oscars as Leonardo Dicaprio.

[Surrie]

Happy for Smith.

He has the same number of Oscars as Leonardo Dicaprio.

 

It's a cruel world.

[Orion]

As contrasting thanks speech's go...

[mattjoes]

To my surprise, even with Sam Smith's voice, WOTW is now my favorite theme of the Craig era; better than YKMN and Skyfall, and infinitely better than AWTD, the worst song of them all. And I can live with Smith's voice because the theme he and Napes composed is so damned good! I was happy to know it won an Oscar, not because it was necessarily the best song, but because others share an appreciation for it.

Edited by mattjoes, 12 March 2016 - 07:21 AM.

[Walecs]

And I can live with Smith's voice because the theme he and Napes composed is so damned good!

 

Exactly. The melody itself is so beautiful (just listen to karaoke version, it's very poignant) that it makes Smith's voice tolerable, and after repeated listenings, it makes you understand how great a song it is.

 

Also, the lyrics. They're wonderful. You can really feel Bond being haunted by his past, every time he got close to his happy ending something took it away ("I've been here before, but always hit the floor"). So far the only aim of his life was surving and getting away, but now he's found someone with whom he may be happy, but he's unsure whether to risk or to play it safe ("I never shoot to miss").

[Professor Pi]

There are much better Bond songs than this, ("Nobody Does It Better", "Live and Let DIe", "You Only Live Twice"), but the Academy competition this year was weak, and WOTW was better than the other nominees (but not better than "For Your Eyes Only" which lost, rightfully, to "Arthur's Theme" by Christopher Cross in 1981.)  I can live with it in the Bond canon, but it's not making me buy any Sam Smith CDs either.

[SecretAgentFan]

Well, to be fair, no Bond song made me buy more music from the performer.

[sharpshooter]

Well, to be fair, no Bond song made me buy more music from the performer.

Same experience with me. I'm usually a fan of the particular performer to begin with, eg. Paul McCartney, Madonna, etc.

[Walecs]

There are much better Bond songs than this, ("Nobody Does It Better", "Live and Let DIe", "You Only Live Twice"), but the Academy competition this year was weak, and WOTW was better than the other nominees (but not better than "For Your Eyes Only" which lost, rightfully, to "Arthur's Theme" by Christopher Cross in 1981.)  I can live with it in the Bond canon, but it's not making me buy any Sam Smith CDs either.

 

You don't have to be a fan of Sam Smith's music to like WOTW. Infact, I love Writing's on the Wall but absolutely hate any other song he's made.

Edited by Walecs, 14 March 2016 - 02:46 PM.

[mattjoes]

Also, the lyrics. They're wonderful. You can really feel Bond being haunted by his past, every time he got close to his happy ending something took it away ("I've been here before, but always hit the floor"). So far the only aim of his life was surving and getting away, but now he's found someone with whom he may be happy, but he's unsure whether to risk or to play it safe ("I never shoot to miss").

And let's not forget, "if I risk it all, will you break my fall?" Best part of the song; infused with a sense of tragedy but also of hope. Another highlight: the instrumental section accompanied in the film by the brilliant image of the Spectre members sitting down at the meeting.

[Walecs]

 

Also, the lyrics. They're wonderful. You can really feel Bond being haunted by his past, every time he got close to his happy ending something took it away ("I've been here before, but always hit the floor"). So far the only aim of his life was surving and getting away, but now he's found someone with whom he may be happy, but he's unsure whether to risk or to play it safe ("I never shoot to miss").

And let's not forget, "if I risk it all, will you break my fall?" Best part of the song; infused with a sense of tragedy but also of hope. Another highlight: the instrumental section accompanied in the film by the brilliant image of the Spectre members sitting down at the meeting.

 

 

Exactly, and well said. "Sense of tragedy but also hope".

[S K Y F A L L]

Finally voted. The songs great IMO and my favorite of the Craig films. Least favorite: QOS. I didn't like the song the first time I heard it but it has grown on me. 

 

I"m not entirely crazy about the title sequence though. CR and QOS had their owns themes and ran with them but SF and SP seem all over the place. There isn't an overall theme that ties the sequence together IMO. I miss the simplicity of the more 2D title sequences, CR had cards and QOS had the dessert but SF and SP seem like one of those media player light effects IMO with the visualizations just set to random.