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I love that song, but Adele’s pronunciation is very particular. I remember when it was released there being a few ‘is this a song about scaffolds’ jokes.
That's not really recent: it goes all the way back to the start of pop music. Matt Monro and Tom Jones aren't exactly sounding hugely British in their Bond songs for instance.
There's an argument that if you're doing, say, Blues music, then an American accent is part of the equipment as much as an American blues guitar is because they invented the sound. See Jagger.
Not everyone did it of course, and there is quite a funny recording of a pre-fame Bowie doing a cover of the Beatles' Penny Lane where he affects a sort of cod Liverpudlian accent!
‘Apple crumble,
We will stand taaawl
and face it all together,
A scaffold…
Ok, maybe she doesn’t sound quite like that!
I am reminded of that demo of Bono performing Goldeneye in his best Quentin Crisp accent
Never heard of that before listening to it now! Very weird...
If Bono had kept that style of voice and was striving for something more in line with the actual Goldeneye script, he could have knocked up something like ‘Boris’ Exploding Pen’, in the style of ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’.
Credit to ChatGPT for the following:
**(Verse 1)**
Boris had a pen, a funny little pen,
Kept it in his pocket, never knew when
Click one, click two, just for fun
But three’s the charm and the trouble's begun
**(Chorus)**
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Made a mess, time and again
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Nobody knew quite when
**(Verse 2)**
Boris in the office, trying to impress
Clicked his pen twice, no one could guess
Colleagues all around, chatting so free
Clicking once more, then calamity!
**(Chorus)**
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Made a mess, time and again
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Nobody knew quite when
**(Bridge)**
Pen parts flying everywhere,
Paper scattered, ink in hair
Boris grins, he’s got a flair
For the unexpected scare
**(Verse 3)**
Boris at a meeting, with a big-time client
Clicked his pen twice, hoping to be silent
Third time's a blast, ink sprays the wall
Client’s wide-eyed, in the conference hall
**(Chorus)**
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Made a mess, time and again
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Nobody knew quite when
**(Outro)**
Boris laughs and gives a wink,
“Just a pen with a little kink”
But when you see him click two times,
Better cover up, you don’t want to find...
**(Final Chorus)**
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Made a mess, time and again
Bang, bang, Boris's exploding pen
Nobody knew quite when
**(Ending)**
So if you see Boris with that pen,
Remember the tale, my friend
Don’t let him click it, time number three,
Or you'll be part of the hilarity!
Of the Craig era, I prefer YKMN and NTTD. SF I find slightly overrated, or maybe just overplayed (not unlike GF).
None of these, except for GF, however, can touch NDIB, LALD, DAF, YOLT, or AVTAK, though.
On this we disagree. I like Adele as a personality far more than I like her music. For me the lyrics of SF feel as if the writer watched the opening credits with a dictionary at her side. SF, WOTW, and NTTD all award winners, but feel quite sophomoric.
The lyrics of YKMN are explosive.
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?
as compared to
This is the end
Hold your breath and count to ten (seriously?)
Feel the earth move and then
Hear my heart burst again
or
I've been here before
But always hit the floor (what does this mean?)
I've spent a lifetime running
And I always get away
But with you I'm feeling something
That makes me want to stay
or
We were a pair
But I saw you there
Too much to bear (childlike rhyming)
One of the best lyricists was George Michael. I would have loved his take on a Bond song.
I know the lyrics: Skyfall is the better song. Top ten both sides of the Atlantic, won an Oscar etc. I could write 'what does this mean' after 'the odds will betray you', or 'terrible grammar' after 'You can't deny the prize it may never fulfil you' but it would be nitpicking. Songs don’t have to make literal sense or adhere to grammar to be good; they’re poetic works; and I’d hardly claim that A View To A Kill isn’t a great song just because its lyrics are a total nonsense word salad, which they are.
SF has more soul, more depth, and stunning production. YKMN is a fun tune but never quite takes off; feels like an idea which never quite develops fully and Cornell's voice carries little emotion. I enjoy it, it works in the film but I don't love it, it's quite dad rock.
YKMN is way better
Two different tones, but I love them both equally.
Kudos though to the person who mentioned George Michael, I was and still am a big fan of his music.
I'd also have to admit though, I can appreciate a song with good lyrics for sure, but I wouldn't say a superb tune can be ruined by the lyrics. At least not for me. I can listen to music in Serbian, which I don't understand, and love it.
As far as the actual music score is concerned, I think QOS has the best score of the Craig era.
I agree. YKMN and the amazing Kleinman titles go hand-in-hand. One elevates the other.
Exactly. The two are so much in sync!
To be frank, I usually get that impression. AWTD is not a particularly good song in my opinion ("bang bang bang bang") but along with the not-so-good-either opening titles, it creates an inviting effect that makes me want to stay nevertheless. I was never fond of Madonna's DAD ("analyse this this this this..."), but somehow Kleinman found the proper visuals to "vibe" with the song.
Sure. Regardless, it isn't really a proper rock song; it's all a bit cheesy and the unenthusiastic vocal (Cornell reminds me of his contemporary Dave Grohl: they both shout at the top of their voice but somehow without any passion at all) makes it all very MOR. It's fun, I enjoy it, I'm certainly not going to be silly enough to proclaim either of these songs are terrible or anything when they're clearly both very good but it's not the best (probably the best since GoldenEye though). I agree that Kleinman's superb title sequence elevates it.
AWTD is far more of a proper rock song; the guitars and drumming are superb (probably the best drums on any Bond song), the memphis-ish horns really blare out, and I love the stabs under the chorus. It's got a proper rock drive to it. Doesn't make it a better song, I think it has its problems, but in terms which is MOR and which is closer to proper rock it's clear. If there were some way of combining the best bits from the two I think you'd have a cracker.
The only song I would say I actively dislike in the entire series would probably be WOTW, and even then that has some nice strings. All Time High probably makes a better love theme in the score than song perhaps.
EDIT: I just found this article about AWTD and I think it's a good read. It's quite fair-minded, certainly not praising it as a total success or anything:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/another-way-to-die-bond-theme-b1924787.html
That's fair. I'm similar to yourself.