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March 24, 2009 · 3:10 PM

Faves: Bond Theme Songs

Song Lyric of the Day:


Another tricky little gun giving solace to the one that will never see the sunshine / Another inch of your life sacrificed for your brother in the nick of time / Another dirty money, heaven sent honey turning on a dime

Jack White & Alicia Keys / “Another Way to Die“

In honor of the latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, coming out on DVD today, I thought I’d list my top five favorite Bond movie theme songs. Of course, me being a child of the ’80s, you’re not going to find Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger” on this list. Although I do have a blast singing along with it: “GollllllllddddddddfinGUHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

“For Your Eyes Only” – Sheena Easton
Recorded back when she was still something of an ingenue, years before Prince went and sexed up her image and before she married Sonny Crockett, Sheena Easton tackled theme song duties for Roger Moore‘s fifth outing as James Bond. Movie theme aside, I think the song still stands well on its own as a great ballad.

“Another Way to Die” – Jack White & Alicia Keys
The first duet recorded for a Bond movie, this song earned an almost immediate backlash for being too disjointed, for not having an obvious hook/refrain, and for basically being so different from all the previous Bond themes. Which is exactly why I like it so much — it’s catchy without being catchy, which is no small feat. And if you’ve seen Quantum of Solace, it’s hard to argue with how well this song plays to the opening credits.

“You Know My Name” – Chris Cornell
I’ve never been a die-hard Chris Cornell fan — I like him well enough, but he can be a bit too screamy for me at times. But his distinct style made for a great theme song for Daniel Craig‘s first outing as James Bond, Casino Royale. The movie series was in desperate need of a reboot, and not only did it accomplish that (and then some), but Chris Cornell helped drag it into modern times, kicking and screaming to a hard rock beat the whole way.

“The World Is Not Enough” – Garbage
If you know me at all, you know I’m a massive Garbage fan. Despite that — or maybe because of it — I think the group’s theme song for the Pierce Brosnan Bond outing, The World Is Not Enough, stands as one of the best Bond theme songs ever. The song’s lyrics have fun describing the life of a secret agent (“People like us / Know how to survive”) while the video is a beautifully filmed mini-movie featuring its own deadly agent. And really, I just think Shirley Manson kicks ass in any capacity.

“A View to a Kill” – Duran Duran
Did I mention I’m a child of the ’80s? It was a toss-up for me whether Duran Duran’s titular song for Roger Moore’s last Bond movie would get my top spot or whether it would go to Garbage’s “The World Is Not Enough.” You can see who won (although it was neck-and-neck). Childhood nostalgia aside, this video shows Duran Duran doing what it does best: setting a memorable song to an equally memorable video. Spies? Check. International locale? Check. Band members wearing guyliner and sporting big hair? Check and check. Bonus: the accordion bit at the end of the video, which is not part of the radio single.

Now for full disclosure: After Sean Connery, Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond portrayer. What can I say? I prefer the real, tough men’s men to the pretty boys. That, and the blue bathing suit didn’t hurt.

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February 12, 2009 · 6:01 AM

Faves: ’90s Music

Song Lyric of the Day:

I search myself / I want you to find me / I forget myself / I want you to remind me

The Divinyls / “I Touch Myself”

A while back I blogged about some of my favorite ’80s music videos. And while it’s true that I listen to ’80s music a lot, I also listen to a lot of music from the ’90s. Whereas ’80s music defined my childhood, ’90s music defined my high school, college, and young adult life; it was the music I listened to as I figured out who I was, what I wanted to do in life, where I wanted to be. Maybe I’ll blog in the future about music from the year 2000 on. Otherwise known as the music I listen to while I figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

I’ve excluded some songs that are really obvious and cliched (buh-bye, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) and wasn’t able to include some due to disabled embedding (honestly — who doesn’t allow embedding these days?). I’m also sparing you my long-dead love-of-all-things-grunge: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and the rest of their ilk. Regardless, here are some of my favorite songs and videos from the ’90s.

10. “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” – US3
As a non-jazz fan — a fact that I’m surprised hasn’t caused my father to disown me — I love US3’s jazzy, peppy, and wholly original “Cantaloop.” And all these years after its release, I still think the voice at the start of the song introducing “a recording from Blue Note Records” sounds a lot like a young Gary Coleman. Don’t ask me why.

9. “Enter Sandman” – Metallica
Metallica is probably the first heavy metal band of which I was really a fan (okay, after Def Leppard in their glory days). This is the video that convinced me I just had to hear more from them; I even attended a concert they put on here in Knoxville. I doubt I’ll ever see a coffin-shaped stage again.

8. “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand” – Primitive Radio Gods
All-around cool and probably the only real hit for which the Primitive Radio Gods are known, my ears perked up when I heard this during the movie The Cable Guy. The slow, trippy beat does a great job of complementing the B.B. King song it samples, “How Blue Can You Get?”.

7. “Happy When It Rains” – Garbage
This song pleased the mopey, pessimistic goth girl within to no end, and I’ve been a fan of everything Garbage has done since. I was thrilled to finally see them in concert a few years ago in Norfolk, VA, because lead singer Shirley Manson not only has an amazingly strong voice in person, but because she’s an all-around talented badass. And the band as a whole rocks. Here’s hoping they decide to make some new music again.

6. “Buddy Holly” – Weezer
Weezer’s blue album was played nonstop in my college dorm room; their music was a very bright, peppy contrast to most of the darker music I listened to at the time (see: Garbage, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Depeche Mode, et al). Fun videos and great music — both of which they still continue to produce — are what’s kept me a loyal Weezer fan all these years.

5. “I Touch Myself” – The Divinyls
One of the best songs to sing along to if you want to make other people uncomfortable. Brought renewed attention to that niche of specialty music: the ode to self-love. See also: “Shock the Monkey,” “She-Bop,” “Turning Japanese,” etc.

4. “Lightning Crashes” – Live
I fell in love with Live’s music beginning with “Selling the Drama,” but it was the insta-classic “Lightning Crashes” that convinced me the band would be around for the long run. I’m still a fan, and singing along with the crowd to this song at their concert in Virginia Beach a few years ago was a moment I’ll forever treasure.

3. “Freedom” – George Michael
Long before he started hanging out in public restrooms as a hobby, George Michael was known for making music. Really good music. “Freedom” was his ode to the downside of music stardom, and he went the ironic route by choosing not to appear in the video at all, instead having well-known models lip-sync to the song. At least his leather jacket from “Faith” made an appearance.

2. “Deeper Shade of Soul” – Urban Dance Squad
Who would’ve thought that a Dutch band sampling Ray Barretto‘s classic song, “A Deeper Shade of Soul,” and setting it to a hybrid sound including hip-hop, ska, funk, and rap would result in such a fun song? I love this song so much it almost makes me giddy, I think it’s so much fun to listen to. And sing along to. And dance to. Also to avoid being caught singing or dancing to (that’s for the spouse). Now if only I could get my hands on an MP3 of it, my music library would be complete.

1. “Me Myself & I” – De La Soul
A classic any way you look at it, this was one of my anthems (if you will) throughout the ’90s. It’s that rare song that cheers me up every time I hear it. Also notable for what is quite possibly the shortest Q-Tip cameo I know of (three words long). This is another essential song I need to add to my iTunes library.

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January 8, 2008 · 8:05 PM

Not a Whole Lot Going On

Song Lyric of the Day:

Standing in line and it’s cold and you want to go / Remember a joke so you turn around / There is no one to listen so you laugh by yourself

She Wants Revenge / “These Things“

10:08PM.
After a weekend full of family, first at Kirk and Lindsey’s wedding*, then hanging with both my sisters on Sunday, I’m still pooped. The fact that I keep shouting as I fall asleep every night, thereby waking both myself and the agitated spouse up, isn’t helping matters. Maybe if I’d been recorded shouting during my sleep study I wouldn’t still be doing it. Who knows?

Anyhoo, Rich and I have spent the last couple of nights putting Christmas decorations away. I took all the ornaments off the tree and packed them away last night, getting the stink eye from Caleb the entire time. Why? Because no more tree means no more presents. His greediness has made him very smart in that regard. Now, with the tree gone, we once again have this big empty space in the living room, so we’re thinking it’s time to play with furniture arrangements. Anyone have recommendations for how to rearrange furniture when you’ve got a spiral staircase in the middle of the room? That one huge, immovable obstacle tends to limit what we can do.

Before I forget, I chose today’s Song Lyric of the Day based on the fact that I caught the video the other day (at a store with a name that rhymes with Cleave & Garry’s), and who did I notice in it? Shirley Manson of Garbage. So, as a Garbage aficionado, it’s my duty to post the video here. The song (by She Wants Revenge) is actually pretty cool in and of itself. (The video’s about a year old, but it’s new to me.)

*My wedding recap is temporarily stalled due to issues with getting things organized on my external hard drive vs. my actual hard drive. So once I’ve got my pics organized, I’ll publish it. And, yes, I’m aware I haven’t posted photos in my Flickr albums lately. Hence the organizational process.

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