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Quantum of Solace

quantumPut me down as a major fan of the James Bond reboot that started with 2006’s Casino Royale — the Bourne-ification of the series, if you will. The new film, Quantum of Solace, owes even more to the Jason Bourne series than the previous one, and you’ll get no complaints from me.

Gone are the invisible cars, jet packs and watches that double as machine guns. Gone, too, are villains with dastardly plans to cut the world in half from outer space with a laser or wipe out the planet’s human population with a virus. The new villains are in it simply for the money, and Bond battles them using simply his brawn and his wits.

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Song of the Day #115: ‘Stratford-On-Guy’ – Liz Phair

phairLiz Phair went from the ultimate indie rock goddess to the ultimate sell-out in the course of ten years.

Her debut album, 1993’s Exile in Guyville, was a barrier-smashing success that shook up the all-male independent music scene with its fresh sound and frank sexuality. Songs such as ‘Fuck and Run’ and ‘Flower’ were shocking both for their explicit lyrics and the deadpan manner in which Phair sang them. The album (which received a 15th anniversary reissue just this year) is deservedly considered by critics as one of the best albums of the past few decades.

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Lucinda Williams – Little Honey

littlehoneyLucinda Williams has been on a tear in recent years. After releasing a total of four albums during the first 18 years of her career, she has released another four in the past seven. Her latest, Little Honey, follows right on the heels of 2007’s West.

Her most notorious dry spell was the six years between Sweet Old World and Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, when her perfectionism got the better of her and she refused to release Car Wheels until it was just right. And I can’t argue with that, because it is a perfect album… one of the few in my collection about which I’ll say that without reservation. But still, six years is a long time.

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Song of the Day #114: ‘Last Goodbye’ – Jeff Buckley

buckleyI’m glad I didn’t really know anything about Jeff Buckley until he was dead. He was a special talent and it must have been heartbreaking for his fans to lose him so soon after he entered the scene.

His debut album Grace (the only album released before his accidental drowning death) is a sublime work of art… a mix of soaring guitar work, poetic lyrics and other-worldly vocals. It contains the definitive version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah,’ which has since been covered by just about every alternative artist with a recording contract (as well as an American Idol contestant). But his original songs, including ‘Grace,’ ‘Lover, You Should Have Come Over,’ ‘Lilac Wine,’ and today’s song, ‘Last Goodbye,’ are where he really shone.

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Song of the Day #113: ‘Another Way to Die’ – Jack White & Alicia Keys

keysTo 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.’

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