To celebrate today’s release of Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond film, I have selected as my Song of the Day its theme song, ‘Another Way to Die.’
The song was written by Jack White (of The White Stripes) and he performs it with talented singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It’s the first duet in the Bond series’ history.
My favorite Bond song has to be ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,’ Carly Simon’s theme from the film of the same name, with Paul McCartney’s ‘Live and Let Die’ a close second. And of course I love to sing the chorus of Shirley Bassey’s entry in the series… “Gold-fingah!” And those who know about by infatuation with Shirley Manson of Garbage won’t be surprised to hear I’m a fan of their Bond song, ‘The World is Not Enough.’
I think this is a pretty good entry. The music seems to borrow a lot from the Bond theme, which is a nice touch. It feels like a Bond song, as opposed to a song stuck on the front of a Bond movie. White and Keys sound good together and the guitar/scat break in the middle is cool.
I’m looking forward to sitting in a theater tomorrow night with my hand in a tub of popcorn, hearing this in full surround sound while naked silhouettes and slo-mo bullets float across a giant screen. Bond is back!
Meet Me In Montauk 
Someone forgot to tell White to put a HOOK into this song. This tune may work with the film images, but it is entirely forgettable as a song– a bit screaching in parts with no discernable melody or chorus. Instrumentation is cool, along with the Bond theme sprinkled in…but overall.. not so good.
And, while I hope you enjoy the hell out of your popcorn movie…I am completely over the Bond franchise.. Gee, let me guess, this film will have 4 to 5 set action scenes in 4 different cities, only one of which will be remotely necessary to the actual plot, and will run 20 minutes longer than necessary, mostly due to at least one of the aforementioned stretched out unnecessary action sequences.Let me know when they put the humor and charm back into the series, and the hooks into the theme songs…until then, I’m out!
Don’t be a hater, man! Casino Royale was the best Bond in decades.
I love the idea of the Bond songs. Such a great concept to have a new musical great create a song for each subsequent film in the series. Can’t believe no other franchise ever picked up on it. My favorite Bond songs are the ones you listed and “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton.
On first listen, this one isn’t doing much for me, though I agree that adding the Bond theme music is a nice touch. I’m not crazy about the way their voices sound together. Yeah, this one I don’t like so much. But I’m sure it will be helped by the classic Bond graphics on a big screen with a tub of popcorn. Enjoy 🙂
A song I discovered recently that I think would make a terrific Bond song is ‘I’ll Be Around’ by Neko Case. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s so incredibly sexy she could be a Bond girl herself.
Here’s a live clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssyYGpvtMF0