First the good news: Goldfrapp definitely won't be doing the theme-tune to the new James Bond film Casino Royale. And now the bad news: Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Audioslave will do it instead.
Of course, James Bond producers won't be letting Chris Cornell do the Casino Royale theme-tune by himself – Christ alone knows what that would end up sounding like – instead, long-time James Bond composer David Arnold has teamed up with Chris Cornell to write the song You Know My Name. We haven't heard the Casino Royale theme-tune yet, but our highly-tuned brains tell us that it'll sound half like the theme-tune to Little Britain and half like that dreadful 1994 Levi commercial.
It's good to see that, even though James Bond producers are furiously bigging up the Casino Royale sequel, they're still manage to concentrate on Casino Royale itself a bit. That in itself is a bit of a surprise – they didn't seem to be concentrating when they started filming Casino Royale without a villain or a girl or when they let an angry dwarf punch out Daniel Craig's teeth – but it's a start. Everything is all set for the next James Bond extravaganza – actors, explosions, release-dates and now a Casino Royale theme-tune too.
It's rare for a James Bond theme-tune to be sung by a male, but that's what Casino Royale is going to get; for the first time since The Living Daylights, the theme-tune to the new James Bond film will be sung by a man. And that man is Chris Cornell, the lead singer with bland old rockers Audioslave. It's even rarer for a James Bond theme-tune to have a title that isn't the title of the movie – the last time that happened was with Octopussy – and yet Chris Cornell's effort is titled You Know My Name. The woman in charge of this weird decision, Lia Vollack from the Columbia Pictures worldwide music branch, defends herself thus:
"I've always loved Chris' work, both as a writer and as an artist, and had hoped someday to find the right film to inspire him. His music is both soulful and tough. It was the perfect complement to Daniel Craig and Casino Royale."
Personally, we're devastated by this, since we had a set of lyrics for a song called Casino Royale all ready to roll. It's good too, here's the first verse: "I'm going down to Casino Royale/ I'm going down to the old canal/ I'm going there to meet my pen pal/ Or maybe I won't, I've inflamed my external auditory canal."
But, oh no, the James Bond producers know better than that, and they've gone for Chris Cornell and his stupid facial hair instead. Still, whatever you think about Chris Cornell, just be thankful that he isn't Goldfrapp.
Read more:
Chris Cornell Pens new 007 theme – Spin
[story by Stuart Heritage]
Daniel says
I would like to know what music credentials you have, and I hope that the song that you wrote in this article was a weak atempt at a joke. Chris Cornell is one of the greatest singers and song writers ever to have graced this planet. I personally don’t like every song he has ever written, especially where Sound Garden are concerned, but as for his work with audioslave every song is solid gold. Just taking his voice into account it is among the most powerfull voices ever as proved by songs like “Slaves and Bulldozers”(sound garden), “Cochise” and Shadow on the Sun” (Audioslave). His voice can also be incredibly soft, soulful, melodic and incredibly controlled, as shown by “Zero Chance”(Sound Garden), “Heavens Dead”, “Doesn’t Remind Me” and “The Curse”(Audioslave). If Your name hapens to be Sebastian Bach or Axel Rose then perhaps your opinions (which is all they are) may have some validity. However I don’t think your name is Sebastian Bach or Axel Rose and I bet you can not write songs or sing to even 1 billionth the standard of Chris, Sebastian or Axel. I’m not saying that the song for the new bond film will be great, it could turn out shit, but getting Chris Cornell to sing and co-write with David Arnold has given it the best chance at being something spectacular.
Best Wishes
Danny
Corinne says
I think the Casino Royale theme song is pretty good. It’s a nice change from the previous soundtrack styles and Chris Cornell has great voice. I think he was
an excellent choice. I also think Daniel Craig is an awesome James Bond –SEXY.
Thanks
Corinne