Who do you want for Bond 24's theme song?

Based on all the buzz for Sam Smith, I checked out one of his videos. While he's not awful, he is simply not Bond material and should be kept far, far from the movie.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Based on all the buzz for Sam Smith, I checked out one of his videos. While he's not awful, he is simply not Bond material and should be kept far, far from the movie.

Agreed.

Most of my mates don't even know who he is.

bitchcraft wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Based on all the buzz for Sam Smith, I checked out one of his videos. While he's not awful, he is simply not Bond material and should be kept far, far from the movie.

Agreed.

Most of my mates don't even know who he is.

From Wikipedia: "Sam cites Amy Winehouse as an influence.[27] He further lists Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey as influences. Sam said about a diva quality to his voice: "It's all I listened to. I actually didn't listen to male vocalists until about two years ago. I just listened to Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan. Massive voices." [28]"

Yeah, no. I think I'm good. Let's move along and find someone else. I pray that the decision has not been made to go with this guy. He's as wrong as Jeffrey Wright was for Felix Leiter.

Watch you talkin' 'bout Willis?

Largo's Shark wrote:

Watch you talkin' 'bout Willis?

Are you the President of the Gary Coleman fan club?

bitchcraft wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Watch you talkin' 'bout Willis?

Are you the President of the Gary Coleman fan club?  

Gary Coleman. The greatest Felix Leiter who never was.

Honestly, I'm just asking Gravy what's wrong with that Wikipedia quote.

Because Sam Smith has bad role models for musical influences. Gravy cares more about a singer's reputation. Why do you think he objects to Rhianna?

I'm all for Sam Smith.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Because Sam Smith has bad role models for musical influences. Gravy cares more about a singer's reputation. Why do you think he objects to Rhianna?

Correct. I care more about their reputation, ultimately, than I care about their talent. What's wrong with that? If talent alone should be the sole determining factor, I bet I could find plenty of people whom you would find repugnant and disgusting that could fill the job of title song singer. I mean, is there no limit on what a person can have done that would disqualify them in your eyes? I suspect if EON were to hire a person active in the Klu Klux Klan, or voted against gay marriage bills, you'd not be happy with the decision. Wrong? I mean, you tell me, because I don't know. Sometimes in life personal conduct SHOULD trump professional opportunities...like, you know, not taking a million dollar payout to sing for the family of terrorists like Mommar Qadafhi (Rolling Stone)

It's why I actively root against the Florida State Seminoles every weekend: because I can't stand Jameis Winston.

My original comment about Sam Smith was in regard to his weird lack of attention to any male vocalists prior to 2 years ago, and with all of his "influences" being women. On paper, being influenced by great vocalists such Whitney, Chaka, Beyonce, or Mariah isn't a bad thing, but those are ALL of your influences??? No Jimi Hendrix? No Rolling Stones? No Beatles? No U2? No Elvis? No Roy Orbison? No Jeff Lynne and ELO? No Muse? No Slash or Guns and Roses? No BOSTON? Just Lady Caca?

I mean, I get Beyonce or Mariah or Whitney or Chaka; they have/had immense talent. But saying Lady Caca is one of my influences is about as deep as saying I groove to the musical stylings of Selena Gomez....or Justin Bieber....or Demi Lovato....or Mandy Moore. Seriously, will any of their music be remembered 5-10 years from now? Not a single song worthy of rememberance to be found in any of them; their music won't stand the test of time, so for him to claim Caca as an influence is very troubling.

I mean, my favorite female artist is Pat Benatar, but I have a wide variety of artists, male and female, that I like. I find it odd that any one at EON who knows anything about marketing would take one look at Smith's resume and determine he's mainstream enough, and talented enough, to connect with audiences and push air play and digital download sales and help promote a new Bond film. Vocally, he's entirely unsuitable for the job, and commercially I think his prospects are nil. We don't need another song in the style of a lounge singer; we've had that multiple times with Sheryl Crow, K.D. Lang, and Adele.

What we need is a good, hard rock anthem the likes of which could be supplied by MUSE or ONE DIRECTION. If they want a singer with a broad vocal range that is fresh on the scene, they could go with HOZIER. Christy Lane would be a fantastic choice to sing a Christian & Gospel themed Bond song if SONY wanted to reach out to faith-based viewers, but Sam Smith is 100% out of the question.

While I agree with you GS that Sam Smith shouldn't sing a Bond theme, I don't agree that Surrender and Skyfall were "lounge" tunes, and One Direction also should not sing a Bond theme. They aren't ballsy enough either for Bond either. For male artists in Bond tunes, we've had Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, A-ha and Matt Munro… I don't believe One Direction or Sam Smith have anything on those lads… Not yet anyway.

The Muse idea amuses me because it's been mentioned before (from the Casino Royale days?), with Arnold - the James Bond composer - backing the idea, and it hasn't happened. Don't think it ever will, to be honest.

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My original comment about Sam Smith was in regard to his weird lack of attention to any male vocalists prior to 2 years ago, and with all of his "influences" being women. On paper, being influenced by great vocalists such Whitney, Chaka, Beyonce, or Mariah isn't a bad thing, but those are ALL of your influences??? No Jimi Hendrix? No Rolling Stones? No Beatles? No U2? No Elvis? No Roy Orbison? No Jeff Lynne and ELO? No Muse? No Slash or Guns and Roses? No BOSTON? Just Lady Caca?

He's an effeminate gay dude. They often have female role models - his happen to be divas.

My point is that if a lezza like KD Lang can sing a Bond song, why not Sam Smith?

Because he's not suitable. If we're getting a token(?) gay singer, I'd rather get Elton John. He'd do a great job regardless of his sexuality.

Too old. Regardless of sexuality, EON are looking at current singers.

I don't want MUSE. They're boring, like their proposed Bond song "Supremacy". I'd actually love something completely different. Say what you want of "Die Another Day", but it was a very ballsy song for EON to go with and it's one of those aspects of the film that puts it ahead of the doldrums of TND and TWINE.

FieldsMan wrote:

While I agree with you GS that Sam Smith shouldn't sing a Bond theme, I don't agree that Surrender and Skyfall were "lounge" tunes, and One Direction also should not sing a Bond theme. They aren't ballsy enough either for Bond either. For male artists in Bond tunes, we've had Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, A-ha and Matt Munro… I don't believe One Direction or Sam Smith have anything on those lads… Not yet anyway.

The Muse idea amuses me because it's been mentioned before (from the Casino Royale days?), with Arnold - the James Bond composer - backing the idea, and it hasn't happened. Don't think it ever will, to be honest.

"Lounge" tune isn't a criticism; if someone else had sung TOMORROW NEVER DIES, it may have been my favorite song of all time. Crow is sultry at times, but like Cornell, can't carry the higher notes when called upon. Cornell and Crow would have been better served writing the song and letting someone else with better range sing it. My biggest criticism of YOU KNOW MY NAME is that Cornell's vocals aren't that impressive.

I also agree with you about MUSE, with a caveat; if they don't get picked this time around, they're unlikely to at all. I understand why Adele was picked because she was still up and coming, but MUSE have been around a while; almost long enough to have outlived their usefulness as a promotional tool. By this point EON must have heard of MUSE, know what they're capable of, and if they don't pick them next they never will.

Obviously my bias runs towards rock and roll. I don't think Christian, Gospel, or Country themes would be appropriate for Bond. But my favorite songs do tend to be rock: LALD, AVTAK, and TLD rank among my favorites, along with WHERE HAS EVERYBODY GONE. For the sentimental ballads, I like MOONRAKER and ALL TIME HIGH.

But if I were given the choice, I'd be choosing a rock band every other film; or at least put out a soundtrack with a couple of options like we had with TLD and LTK.

Largo's Shark wrote:

He's an effeminate gay dude. They often have female role models - his happen to be divas.

My point is that if a lezza like KD Lang can sing a Bond song, why not Sam Smith?

Didn't know he was gay. I couldn't get past the first 60 seconds of his video(s), so I had no idea. His voice is just all wrong for Bond,like he's mumbling the words to his song.

As for KD Lang....she had the physical chops to pull off a Bond song, even though I personally couldn't stand songs like Constant Craving, I could at least acknowledge the talent that she had. But you saw how little commercial viability there was for that song. No video, and it got almost no airplay and was not used for promotional porpoises.

And I don't know any ONE DIRECTION songs, so I couldn't hazzard a guess as to whether they'd be appropriate, but they still appear to much of a teeny-bopper group to me to do it; they lack the gravitas and authority to do a credible song, but maybe that's just me.

What is "authority"? What is "gravitas"? I don't know; I just know when I hear it and see it. I hear it in that song by HOZIER (Take Me to Church); I hear it in ONE REPUBLIC; I hear it in MUSE. WRONG DIRECTION just "seems" like they still belong on the cover of Tiger Beat Magazine, and perception is everything.

It won't be One Direction. I daresay EON have little interest in helping Simon Cowell buy more yachts.

One Direction are for old codgers. It's all about 5 Seconds of Summer now.

CJB wrote:

One Direction are for old codgers. It's all about 5 Seconds of Summer now.

5 seconds is about as long as their career is going to last. They've already started doing porn to get attention; that normally occurs after the studio has cancelled it's contract with you and you can't book a job singing at the local senior living center.

What about THE WANTED? Just as they were starting to get big, and as I was putting up their posters all over my bedroom walls (nothing creepy about that), they quit.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

He's an effeminate gay dude. They often have female role models - his happen to be divas.

My point is that if a lezza like KD Lang can sing a Bond song, why not Sam Smith?

Didn't know he was gay. I couldn't get past the first 60 seconds of his video(s), so I had no idea.

I doubt his being gay would be a deal-breaker anyway.

I wonder how many people thought Duran Duran would be a terrible choice after listening to The Reflex or The Wild Boys, and look how that turned out.

I still don't think Rihanna would be a blight if she's selected.

bitchcraft wrote:

I doubt his being gay would be a deal-breaker anyway.

Agreed. It's a non-issue.

Bitchcraft wrote:

I wonder how many people thought Duran Duran would be a terrible choice after listening to The Reflex or The Wild Boys, and look how that turned out.

I remember liking it immediately, thinking it would work. It was such a brilliant move on EON's part that you can barely believe they made it; I think Cubby needed some convincing.

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I still don't think Rihanna would be a blight if she's selected.

She can sing, but she sent out a horrible message to women about getting back with men who beat them to within an inch of their lives. Maybe by the time the song is officially announced, the heat on her will have died down some. I'd still rather have her than Sam Smith, but I'd prefer MUSE-REPUBLIC over Rhianna-Sam.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I think Cubby needed some convincing.

Is there a story on this? Wiki, and the DD fanbase more or less put it this way.

Duran Duran were chosen to do the song after bassist John Taylor (a lifelong Bond fan) approached producer Cubby Broccoli at a party, and somewhat drunkenly asked "When are you going to get someone decent to do one of your theme songs?"[3][4] This inauspicious beginning led to some serious talks, and the band was introduced to Bond composer John Barry, and also Jonathan Elias (whom Duran Duran members would later work with many times). An early writing meeting at Taylor's flat in Knightsbridge led to everyone getting drunk instead of composing.[5]

Singer Simon Le Bon said of Barry: "He didn't really come up with any of the basic musical ideas. He heard what we came up with and he put them into an order. And that's why it happened so quickly because he was able to separate the good ideas from the bad ones, and he arranged them. He has a great way of working brilliant chord arrangements. He was working with us as virtually a sixth member of the group, but not really getting on our backs at all."

Sounds like Barry and Duran got along much better than Barry and a-ha; they apparently clashed a lot over the TLD theme song. Indeed, their 'Stay On These Roads' album (released the following year) featured a re-recorded version -

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Sounds like Barry and Duran got along much better than Barry and a-ha; they apparently clashed a lot over the TLD theme song. Indeed, their 'Stay On These Roads' album (released the following year) featured a re-recorded version -

 

Album version sounds like complete shit...love the single that charted in the UK Top 5.

As John Barry said, what do you expect when you're a band called A-ha?