Sam Smith sings James Bond Song: What were you thinking? – SPIEGEL ONLINE

It is the new -James Bond song, clearly. You hear after the first few bars of Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall” (Spotify user can listen to it here). Today published eagerly awaited as any Bond songs. The strings and horns of a large orchestra pile up those chords that signal for over 50 years: respect, Bond song! Even the piano, which committed then, still going. Only drama, now subject.

But raising as Smiths voice, the magic is over: “I’ve been there before,” Smith sings “But always hit the floor / I’ve spent a lifetime running / And I always get away”. If he is not even deceiving since. With this song he will not get through. Is it the tremolo in his voice? The effort that Smith gives himself? The surplus of momentum?

Smith tried to dampen expectations

All the great Bond songs lived on a mix of glamor and coolness depraved. None of this can be found here. “Writing’s On The Wall” is closer to the Euro Vision Song Contest as the agent of Her Majesty. And the ESC is a competition in which the British do so for many years reliably the last place.

Smith tried expectations in advance to dampen and said in an interview with the BBC he did not believe that the song “Number One friendly” is. That should be a hopeful understatement.

“Writing’s On The Wall” is one of those what-have-it-yourself-just-here-thought-moments, of which there are in the long history of Bond songs yes some are, especially in recent years. After all: as bad as Chris Cornell’s “Casino Royal” piece “You Know My Name” or “Another Way To Die”, the duet by Alicia Keys and Jack White on “Quantum of Solace”, “Writing’s On The Wall” is then not. But also not much better.

It really is difficult to write a good Bond song. Each artist who is trying to overload the story of these songs, and you have already Adele be (made the “Skyfall”, the grand final Bond song) to have the confidence to subscribe to the portrait gallery of the songs at the same time can, taking into account the historical models and still put its own accent. To let dräuen Only an orchestra in the mood, it does not just take.

Bond as a reflection of Western men image

It was the first Bond film still no song – there was John Barry’s immortal “Bond Theme” the until today the mood for the Bond song pretends. “James Bond Dr. No” was the one he had in the same week of November of 1962 its premiere, in which also the first Beatles single “Love Me Do” was released.

What fits: With this double whammy, the British liberated from its post-imperial depression and began to compensate for the loss of their empire by the rule in the virtual worlds of pop culture. Just globally, only peacefully. With the last major victory, the. About Germany and the supervillain from the Führerbunker as eternal frame of reference

From this perspective, the question: “What were you doing just thinking?” not unimportant. Bond reflected and reflects the image of men in the western world. Pithy and glamorous with Sean Connery. Postmodern with Roger Moore. Perplexed with Pierce Brosnan. Muscular and vulnerable at Daniel Craig. Where is Bond now?

In fact, raged in the British media in recent weeks, an interesting controversy as to who could take over from Daniel Craig as Bond actor if Craig does not want one.

Craig himself had said years ago in an interview that he could easily imagine a black Bond, Idris Elba could play it well. Anthony Horowitz, author of the new Bond novel “Trigger Mortis” now said, Elba was too “street” for the role – which was seen as a polite way of saying “too black” and therefore caused a bitter dispute, Horowitz then rowed also quickly returned and said, he did not mean, Elba have the wrong skin color, if you look at his previous roles look he was simply unsuitable as actor type for the role of the 007th

Now, Sam Smith one of the most prominent openly gay Stars Britain. “In The Lonely Hour”, its most single and Grammy award-winning album-revolves around the unrequited love for another man.

If one wants from “Writing’s On The Wall” so be sure to derive anything else than that the song is one of the weaker Bond songs, you might say: to accept a black James Bond, is still difficult. A gay no longer James Bond song singer.