New Bond Theme Song 'No Time To Die' by Billie Eilish

I don't mind this song, even though I am not a fan of her music.

 

That has nothing to do with your post. If you want to be her personal trainer, then you can volunteer. But she'll still be popular regardless.

 

The Man With The Golden Finger?

 

Just a guess, that's probably a very foreign sound for you anyway.

 

I criticize a young musician’s vocal style and you resort to personal insults?

 

I listen to this song once a day to justify following this thread.

I agree with anyone stating we can't properly judge the cinematic effect of this song which was written for a movie.

I think the hook doesn't fit the rest of the lyrics.
I love the line, "Was it obvious to everybody else?"

My problem here is that this is actually the first industry-generated song-writing task Billie/Finneas has had to take on and it suffers because of that overall 'template' thing. If Daniel Craig had a say, then a whole line of middle-people had a say. The song may not make a good listen by itself. If it fits the film, then it does it's job.

We just don't live in a John Barry world anymore. Nostalgia is a poor position from which to generate critical analysis, IMO.

 

But you didn't criticize her vocal style. You said her voice sounds malnourished and she needs to eat and go cycling, which is not even a legitimate criticism. It's just taking shots at that point. I have no problem with people not liking her vocal style. No one voice is going to please everybody. But your post was ridiculous.

 

No, no, no. You miss the point about director Terence Young. Yes, Guy Hamilton did a fine job with GOLDFINGER, but the template of Bond was already in place due to Terence Young. Young was a man of sophistication and class and upper crust living. He's the one that smoothed the extremely rough edges of truck driver Sean Connery and turned him into the suave debonair James Bond. Young literally taught Connery how to eat, talk, walk, dress like a debonair spy. Terence Young laid out the entire style of the cinema's James Bond. Many on those early films have said that Terence Young WAS James Bond. His personal manner actually became Bond's.

 

Someone at a pop music website started a pool about when Billie Eilish is going to OD. I thought that was morbid. Who does things like that?

 

The best way to understand is to go out and get the soundtracks
to "FRwL", "Goldfinger" and "OHMSS". "DAF" is another goody.

 

Time will tell whether my criticism or your devotion is ridiculous.

 

Fair enough, nice info too, but Goldfinger is still the best Bond movie.

 

Not only that, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice are pretty much the templates for the majority of Bond films that came later. Dr. No was a simple adventure film, From Russia With Love a serious spy thriller with all the good action backloaded and Thunderball did little new following the trend setting Goldfinger. However, I credit Lewis Gilbert and Roald Dahl (of all people) for giving the truest template of cartoony Bond with YOLT which would be copied again with The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Tomorrow Never Dies and Spectre. There is a good reason Mike Myers mainly picked on that film, and that Blofeld. It is the epitome of Bond.

 

Oh, behave!

 

I love all the early ones including YOLT, but that Roald Dahl script has holes you could park an Aston Martin in.

 

It is my favorite of the Connery films, and the question is really, can you park a Toyota 2000GT in the plot holes? Goldfinger is fantastic, save for the fact that Kentucky is our location and Bond spends the majority of the film in captivity. Plus plot holes like, why explain your plan then gas the people in the room? FRWL I can give and take, as short as it is, it could be shortened to 90 minutes easily by cutting out the unnecessary Gypsy subplot. Even then, not much suspense about a heist that gets planned and then goes as planned, until they get to the main setup train ride which in in the 2nd half of the film. Thunderball is just too long and at times boring. Dr. No is quaint. I would say the ultimate Bond directors were Guy and Lewis, moreso the latter for never making a subpar Bond movie (yes, Moonraker is awesome.) Peter Hunt gets a shoutout for being THE Bond editor who made the film that most inspired the Craig Bonds.

 

A fair assessment, and yes you're right, I parked the wrong car for YOLT. Maybe if I had just happened to have the perfect gadget for the job about my person I would have been more accurate, like a safe cracking device or sucker pads for my hands & knees to walk across ceilings.

And Goldfinger is a megelomaniac. Of course he would take pleasure in explaining his plans before gassing them all.

 

Those people are idiots. Billie doesn't do drugs and never has. Won't even take prescription medications for her depression and night terrors. Instead she uses her music and the images in her videos (many of which come from her dreams) as a form of catharsis. And she says it's working.

 

I will say this for Billie, this is definitely a track that builds when you look at the audio wave. No other Bond tracks look like that.

 

Good to get this thread back on topic!

As a companion thought to yours I wanted to mention that one of the things I really like about her singing on this track is the way she slides her voice up into the opening note on several lines ("I should have known", "We were a pair"). This legato technique works so well here, imparting a feeling of dreaminess and anticipation to things as the song builds its slow burn up to full fire towards the end. Subtle but very effective.

At times her vocal delivery reminds me of another young Billie from ages past: Billie Holiday. Both artists quite adept at utilizing a vocal affectation to great effect.

 

Granted it's Esquire but they ranked all the Bond Themes from worst to best. They rank the Billie Eilish song higher than I do but I can see that.

All James Bond Songs Ranked - 24 Best James Bond Theme Songs

I don't really disagree too much but wasn't a fan of Live and Let Die - or generally male singers singing the Bond theme - for me it has to be a female to sex it up.

I also think different eras view things differently and Billie's song fits the Daniel Craig era. Frankly most of the Bond songs have generally been pretty weak.

I would rank them as follows though it could change next week:

1) Goldfinger
2) Nobody Does it Better
3) License to kill
4) Diamonds are Forever
5) For Your Eyes Only
6) You Only Live twice
7) No Time to Die
I haven't cared for the others enough to bother ranking them.

I understand the appeal of the powerhouse vocal but those probably don't fit the Craig Bond or his movies and paying attention the lyrics this could be a dark and brooding film.

With lyrics

Lastly I think Billie has demonstrated a solid vocal range.

I enjoy watching vocal coaches react to singers like this because they usually convey some of the intricacies of singers who are not the standard "belters" that people of a certain generation are used to hearing. Billie sings in pitch and has quite solid control. She is not a Celine Dion belter but she is has this sort of wispy quality that I recalled from Eliie Goulding pre-famous days.

So have a view of Billie on Howard Stern being evaluated by a vocal coach. I think this coach does a good job of explains why here voice is better than one might think.

Voice Teacher Reaction to Billie Eillish - When the Party's Over LIVE

Second vocal coach Vocal Coach Reaction to Billie Eilish | When The Party's Over | Live | Ken Tamplin

And I think she demonstrates her vocals better here

Billie Eilish performs for NYLON

Having said all that it doesn't mean you will LIKE this sort of voice or her interpretation or singers who sing it softly softly. I like it - but I also like the power house Shirly Bassey.

 

Blending the first Craig!Bond theme with the last: (sort of!)



Billie Eilish - No Time To Die in the Style of Chris Cornell

 

Upon hearing it a few more times, it kind of grew on me along with Sam Smith's song. However, No Time to Die fails in concept because the song is a constant buildup and towards the end you hear Billie finally bringing some volume making you anticipate a huge raspy wail......and the song calms down again. Such a bummer really, so close and yet so far. Could have used another measure or 2 of her trying her best modern impression of Bassey's larynx frying climax of Goldfinger before chilling again.

 

I feel like the song ends the way it does because it's full of remorse, regret, sadness - mourning a relationship that withers and dies. Speaking of which due to coronavirus, the film has been delayed till November.

 

It gives them time to get a new title song sorted out! Ouch! That is not meant to be a dig at Billie. I am sure that she has plenty of fans out there. I'm just not convinced this is a Bond theme.