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I like it too.
I'd be satisfied writing it off as a "out of the box" approach to a Bond song for the film, but it's in no way close to the best.
I understand that many people feel it isn't suitable for Bond at all, and that's fair.
As a standalone song I enjoy it. It's the opposite of WOTW, which I only like in the film. Radiohead is a suitable Radiohead standalone.
Apples/oranges comparison, really. The Radiohead track is more like a demo. Had it been selected, more work would have been done to refine it. So you're comparing Smith's completed version to Radiohead's rough cut. Not fair.
Smith's song has a decent melody, yes, but his falsetto grates so badly. The more I listen to Radiohead's "Spectre," the more I regret it wasn't the official choice. Oh well.
The only refinement that could change my opinion would be the removal of Thom Yorke.
Agreed as well. With more finishing this could have been a far superior Bondian effort to what we finally got. Even as it is (a standard Radiohead song) it is more listenable to me purely because Smith's annoying (and for me, upsetting) voice is no where to be found.
Radiohead are not the band for this gig though - commercially speaking, and likely were just Craig's preference and brought in due to his influence from what I've read.
Smith was the more commercially appealing choice, and Sam Mendes had the final say.
What exactly do you expect from s/o whose last band record was called "The King of Limp"? :D But joking aside I am surprised they spread out this far this time. Maybe something they learned after Amy Winehouse's effort.
Search your feelings, as a Radiohead fan you know this to be untrue. This is how they sound now. This is the same kind of recording they filled their last record with. After OK Computer they live in their own dimension dissolved by everything that is considered pop music. The defy a standard melody for 20 years now and therefore are completely unsuitable for a contemporary Bond track... For GoldenEye they would have been a daring and defining choice but no way any later. This doesn't mean they became bad... but different.
That being said SPECTRE is such of a mess of a film and having truly great song attached to it would have been that more frustrating. SPECTRE more than likely got the theme tune it deserved.
Nice to see @RC7 back to his old ways, at least he wasn't referring to Radiohead fans as see you next tuedays this time round but clearly still can't help himself from insulting us.
Look I respect your views on films you clearly know what you are talking that much more than me and I'll gladly listen to you in that department but please butt out of trying to seem knowledgeable about music.
You clearly have no real passion and any insight into this subject stick to films that's your arena.
You're absolutely correct, I tend to listen to film scores more than individual artists/bands. I do have a passion for music, but of an age gone by, Roy Ayers, Gil Scott Heron, people like that. I have no real interest/knowledge of modern experimental stuff, so no, I wouldn't listen to me either. I do still think it's pap, however!
AVTAK is a mess of a film but the song is great and has stood the test of time.
I like this rendition of it by Amanda Cole better:
Somebody took her version of it and used it well in this fan tribute to Bond/Lucia from SPECTRE:
All of those artists you've mentioned I appreciate and some I own and I have good selection of scores and soundtracks on vinyl.
I'm particularly looking forward to receiving Ennio Morricone's score to The Hateful Eight soon.
I have Hateful Eight on order too, very much looking forward to it.
Edit - Neither artist was really an appropriate choice for a Bond theme.
Where the whole thing went wrong was when Mendes told the artists they were looking for a love song. Especially in a film that didn't really deal with a great relationship between Bond & the leading lady. I've always preferred the stronger sounding Bond themes though - might be why I like Cornell's YKMN so much. I'd still love to see the Killers get a shot at a Bond theme.
I too feel that the emotion in the final song did not fully translate on the screen (the impromptu & unexpected passionate sex in the train notwithstanding) but at least said lyrics helped to convey what was going through either Bond or Swann's mind (it's still debatable which person it's referring to).
Without that the audience might have been even more confused as to why Bond decided to throw the gun away & ostensibly leave the service.
Let me first say that I am not a fan of Radiohead, but I do like a small percentage of their stuff. I should also mention that I generally don't listen to pop, so my tastes may be able to handle some of the more unusual stuff than most.
That said, I think the Radiohead's theme is superior to Smith's theme. It is not a song for the radio and I'm sure it wouldn't have charted well. But...it is far more haunting and musically interesting. The verse sections are indeed weak, but man, that bridge is freaking awesome. The use of strings and brass...just awesome. AND I love how the meter isn't your basic 4 beat whatever.
I may be one of a very few, but Radiohead > Smith.
Radioheard, oh my, it's growing on me (cant wait for someone to place it on the intro from the film)
I can definitley hear/see the instrumentals in the film itself. Works really well (6th time now). The only reason Sam's works is because his song was more of a love story, which was the direction which Mendes wanted.
Love it, haunting like @JamesStock says. (7th time)....someone do a youtube already and swap out sams for this! Please!!
Listening again to it 11th time...I hear bits from The Living Daylights, the first 10/11 secs anyway. Timothys JB has/waiting for the chic and her chello (i think) the those parts do come in throught out the movie... listen
Someone already did a few pages ago. Check back.
Cheers @JWESTBROOK
It worked specially when he sings Spectre is coming for me with the shot of the villian sitting down on the long table.
Wow - Did Mark Ronson release the the track Amy Winehouse did?
I would love to hear that Amy Winehouse theme too. Was it released/
Anyone remember Scott Walkers unused theme for TWINE? "Only myself to blame"
Isn t that heard in the bar scene?
In the end, both songs are terrible. Sam Smith's is probably a little less so than the Radiohead effort, but neither are good. Then again, this just continues a trend that's been in full swing since Tomorrow Never Dies.
I have to say, seeing it over the titles for the film, that it feels very much like a TV opening -- and that is in no way a bad thing.
I think TV titles have gone very artful, looking at Mad Men, True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc, and I feel like Radiohead's song works well over the titles when compared to those of television.
Of course this is a movie, and I'll repeat that I'm confident the song would have worked if chosen, if only as an out-of-the-box approach, but worked nonetheless in our modern context.
They commissioned Radiohead to try a song, and they got a Radiohead Bond song.
They commissioned Sam Smith to try a song, and they got a Sam Smith Bond song.
I see no issue with either, as they both fulfill expectations based on this^.