Another way to die

Another way to die
Jack White & Alicia Keys
publication	September 19, 2008 ( Download ) September 30, 2008 ( Vinyl USA) October 20, 2008
length	4:23
Genre (s)	Soundtrack , alternative rock , James Bond song
Author (s)	Jack White
Producer (s)	Jack White
Label	Third Man Records
Award (s)	Satellite Award
album	Quantum of Solace and As I Am: The Super Edition

Another Way to Die is the theme song of the 22nd film in the official James Bond film series Quantum of Solace , sung and composed by Alicia Keys and White Stripes front man Jack White . The song is the first duet in Bond music history and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Music Video , Best Song at the Critics' Choice Awards, and won a Satellite Award in the same category . It was released worldwide on September 19, 2008 as a download , and was then as vinyl - and CD - Single released.

description

The song builds on the reorientation of the film series that began with Casino Royale : Just like its theme song You Know My Name , Another Way to Die also has significantly less obvious influences of the big band - soul , with which John Barry the music of the James Bond Had a lasting impact on films. Instead, the song is based on contemporary alternative rock , of which Jack White is one of the key representatives. Nevertheless, White quotes a few Bond songs in his piece: There are references to Monty Norman's James Bond theme , the bass figure in the verse comes from John Barry's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the intro is reminiscent of that of its direct predecessor You Know My Name . In addition, typical Bond strings and brass complete the arrangement .

The vocal melody consists mainly of only two tones, whereas there are diverse instrumental motifs and also tempo changes within the piece. White's shift in focus in favor of the instruments is also evident in extensive instrumental passages and not least in the 40-second intro - the longest of all (sung) Bond theme songs to date. White's origins as a drummer cannot be denied, because all instruments are used very strongly percussive . Although both interpreters sing in the same pitch and thus closely approach each other vocal, this song reflects the different characteristics of the artists: The song is generally not far from the rough guitar music of Jack White up to a solo of his unmistakably distorted electric guitar - in call and response with scat vocals by Alicia Keys, whose piano is used as well as the characteristic belting . The song was written in E minor and recorded at 138 bpm . The singing ranges from E ₃ to F sharp ₅ .

In coded imagery, the individual, unconnected verses describe various properties or situations that are particularly related to Bond. White sings from an antagonistic position, whereas Keys' lyrics always show Bond as a lover. The duality of the alternating male and female voice supports this dichotomy even further. Nevertheless, the text is made up regularly: Each verse begins with "another" and includes multiple domestic and pile rhymes . The resulting rhythmically complex, but melodically reduced singing sometimes brought the piece comparisons with hip-hop . The quiet stanzas are now followed by a common refrain, which White understood as “lamenting and shouting”. In the end, there are even solo and duet vocals facing each other. While the text, according to his own statement, takes up the themes of the film mistrust and paranoia in encrypted form, the film title is only indirectly present after You Know My Name (“Another tricky little gun giving solace to the one that will never see the sunshine”).

background

Choice of artist

The choice of White and Keys was preceded by a multitude of speculations that went back two years: Even before the premiere of the previous Bond film Casino Royale in 2006 , it was Amy Winehouse who was considered the ideal cast and who remained until Another Way to Die was announced held as a favorite. Their album Back to Black , which is strongly based on the soul of the sixties and with its dark mood, is quite similar to previous Bond themes. It also received early public approval from film composer David Arnold , who composed the soundtrack for Quantum of Solace . As later became known, she was also scheduled for the theme song - despite critical media reports about her public appearance - but was unable to complete a recording in the given time: Arnold began creating the soundtrack early on and sketched for Winehouse and her producer Mark Ronson a song in the "contemporary 60s style" based on a motif from it. Ronson worked this out into a demo recording and Winehouse made notes for the text. They both continued to work on the piece for a while, but Winehouse couldn't find any inspiration based on the guidelines. Ultimately, Ronson labeled Winehouse as "not ready" and no recordings were ever made. According to reports, Winehouse then completed at least one composition on his own. After announcing Another Way to Die , Winehouse announced that they would release their proposed theme song at the same time: "I want to prove that [the producers] made a big mistake" because their song will be "a worldwide hit". She didn't succeed: she never worked with Ronson again, and for later recordings she turned to the producer of her debut Salaam Remi . Nevertheless, she remained Arnold's dream cast until her untimely death.

Furthermore, were Beyonce and Annie Lennox brought with the song in conjunction. Duran Duran brought up a second theme song after A View to a Kill (1985) with Winehouse producer Mark Ronson. It was also reported that talent show -Gewinnerin Leona Lewis from her producer Simon Cowell has been proposed. Welsh singer Duffy was also named for the theme song. When asked about it, she only replied: “A lady never reveals her secrets.” Just like Winehouse, she is part of a wave of young, self-determined artists, influenced by the soul of the sixties and seventies. One week after the premiere of the film Quantum of Solace , their single Rain on Your Parade was released from an expanded version of the debut Rockferry . With strong echoes of John Barry's style , it aroused speculation that this may have been Duffy's submission for the theme song. This was further supported by the music video, the color and symbolism of which is strongly reminiscent of the opening credits of the Bond films - including the iconographic dancing silhouettes. However, she was never officially asked for a song.

The Last Shadow Puppets mentioned Jack White for the first time on June 17, 2008, only to jokingly refer to themselves as the title artist shortly thereafter. Alicia Keys was listed as a contender on July 10th. On July 29, 2008, Alicia Keys and Jack White were officially announced as the performers of the song Another Way to Die for the film Quantum of Solace in a press release .

David Arnold produced the album The Performance by three-time James Bond interpreter Shirley Bassey the following year . For the song No Good About Goodbye on it, Arnold resorted to the motif from the soundtrack of A Quantum of Solace , which was already intended for Winehouse's theme song. Arnold finally finished the composition on his own. The lyrics were written by Don Black , who has worked on Bond songs with John Barry. Among other things, he also wove lines from a discarded theme song from Die in Another Day . Due to the distinctive character of a Bond song and its relation to the film, speculations immediately arose that it was originally composed for Quantum of Solace . Arnold himself later made it clear: The song could be understood as his variant of the title song, but it was only created after the film, especially for Bassey's album. In the context of the film “it would have been a completely different song”.

Composition & recordings

Keys publicly announced their interest in working with the White Stripes, Whites Band, in a telephone interview on May 23. At this point the first discussions between the two took place. White had also considered a collaboration a long time ago, but only Quantum of Solace offered the right opportunity.

When the originally planned Amy Winehouse failed, the producers turned to various music agencies at short notice. Jack White was also asked. A big fan of the film franchise, he enjoyed playing John Barry soundtracks before the White Stripes' early concerts . His favorite is the subject of On Her Majesty's Secret Service . He did not hesitate long to accept this "responsibility". Keys and White first gathered ideas based on the script and made special reference to the themes of suspicion and paranoia in it. White finally completed the composition in the tradition of past theme songs: "I didn't want to imitate anything [.] It just had to feel like Bond ." Because of the tight time frame, there was great freedom in the composition.

Another Way to Die was recorded in White's native Nashville with the participation of the Memphis Horns , the brass section of the classic soul label Stax Records . It is the first James Bond theme song recorded in analog format in a long time, as White prefers this recording technique. At the same time, however, due to the complexity of the arrangement, White still had to use the Pro Tools software , which he otherwise rarely uses. His bandmate Jack Lawrence von der Raconteurs recorded the basics with White on guitar and drums before Keys came into the studio to sing. White mixed the track while watching the opening credits of the series. It is particularly noteworthy that Another Way to Die contains the Keys typical piano, but she does not play it herself. Laura Matula came into the studio for the pianos. In retrospect, Jack White considers the recordings with Alicia Keys to be very inspiring: "It gave me a new voice".

publication

In September 2008, the website of the British newspaper The Guardian and the Brazilian blog Brainstorm # 9 simultaneously published an advertisement for the soft drink Coke Zero , which was renamed "Coke Zero Zero Seven" for promotional purposes in reference to Bond's well-known code number. According to his own statement, the music in the commercial, which is held in the style of the Bond opening credits, is a composition by Jack White. White publicly distanced himself from this spot because he wrote a song "for James Bond, not for Coca Cola". So the background music of this spot was indirectly confirmed as an excerpt from Another Way to Die . This advertisement has since been seen worldwide.

The song had its official radio premiere on September 18th on the Jo Whiley Show on the British radio station BBC One . At this point in time, some other European broadcasters had already played the song, including excerpts from the Spanish radio station Radio 3 in the program Siglo 21 , the first two minutes of which was broadcast on the Internet on September 13th. At the same time as the radio premiere, the song was also made available on the homepage of Jack White's music label Third Man Records .

The song was released on the iTunes Store the day after the radio premiere - but not until September 23 in North America. Originally, the only physical release was supposed to be a 7-inch vinyl single limited to 6000 copies , which was sold in America on September 30th. This is typical for White, who has also offered many other own recordings exclusively in this form. The British release date was pushed back from October 6th to October 20th, 2008 in order to be able to produce a normal CD single, which could now be released worldwide.

The song is also part of the official soundtrack, which was released the day before the film's world premiere on October 28, and in an extended version ("The Super Edition") of Alicia Keys' 2007 album As I Am . In 2012 Another Way to Die was included in the new edition of the sampler The Best of Bond… James Bond , first published in 1992 , which compiles all of the James Bond theme songs. It was made available for download on November 7, 2008 for the Guitar Hero World Tour video game .

reception

Another Way to Die polarized the fan base. The "dark, daring title song" was recognized as a "suitable background for Daniel Craig's Bond". The extent to which the song fits into the canon of the previous theme songs has often been questioned - especially in the context of film reviews. Winehouse producer Mark Ronson found the song "great". Film composer David Arnold was in the picture from the start and praised the “dirty but very sexy” atmosphere of the piece.

“Potboiler [that] recall [s] the franchise's musical golden days”

"Ripper [who] evokes the golden times of the film series"

- Craig McLean : The Guardian

"Short on melody and high on attitude"

"Poor in melody and rich in attitude"

- Neil McCormick : The Daily Telegraph

“A dramatic, lushly tune that's very much arranged in the tradition of past theme songs”

"A dramatic, lavishly arranged piece that is deeply rooted in the tradition of past theme songs"

- Brian Hiatt : Rolling Stone

“It's a step in the right direction. But it is a missed opportunity. "

“It is a step in the right direction. But it's a missed opportunity. "

- Paul Stokes : New Musical Express

On October 5th, the song entered the UK charts at number 26, based on downloads alone , and climbed to number 6. In Germany, the single was listed at number 8 for a week, making it Jack White's second most successful song after Seven Nation Army . Another Way to Die also made it into the top ten (# 2 and # 4) in Austria and Switzerland, as well as in five other countries. In Finland the song even reached number one. In the home of White and Keys, the USA, however, only achieved an 81st place.

The song won a Satellite Award for Best Song and was nominated in the same category at the Critics' Choice Awards . Director PR Brown was nominated for the Grammy in the category Best Music Video .

Use in film

As the title song of a James Bond film, Another Way to Die plays about the distinctive title sequence of the respective film, the tradition of which was established by title designer Maurice Binder . For Ein Quantum Trost she created MK12 , which have already worked on other title sequences for films by director Marc Forster and are replacing Daniel Kleinman . For the first time one sees completely three-dimensional surroundings, which at the same time play with the typical symbolism of the Bond films and A Quantum of Solace in particular. A shot by Daniel Craig's James Bond leads to the opening credits and he finds himself in a desert landscape that anticipates a main plot of the film. The dunes are slowly changing into the iconographic female silhouettes that were missing in the previous Casino Royale . In the further course the sand becomes a night sky and navigation lines and firearms can be seen. The writing also remains largely true to the film canon with references to the pistol barrel of the intro and the dot pattern from Dr. No . Only the faster cut breaks with the familiar. The opening credits are black, blue and orange.

Since a ballad by Amy Winehouse was originally intended as the title song, MK12 designed the opening credits accordingly slowly and fluently. They only heard Another Way to Die while filming and had to adapt their drafts to the unexpectedly fast and energetic song. This resulted in the very frequent cuts, which are unusual for a James Bond opening credits. As with GoldenEye , the song was a bit too long for the opening credits and was therefore shortened. Part of the intro, the last verse and some instrumental parts within the song are omitted. The film version is thus much more focused on the vocals than the full version. Furthermore, gunshot noises were incorporated into the opening credits.

With the introduction of a theme song (1963, Greetings from Moscow ), it was always woven into the film's soundtrack. Usually both were composed by the same person. In the score for Ein Quantum Trost , composer David Arnold quotes, among other things, the bass line and the concise piano chords from Another Way to Die . The soundtrack is dominated by another motif, which Arnold had planned for a possible Winehouse theme song, as Another Way to Die was only completed while the composition was in progress.

Music video

The song's music video was filmed in Toronto from September 5 to 7, 2008, because both performers were attending the Toronto International Film Festival at that time - Keys due to their collaboration on the film The Beekeeper , White thanks to his contribution to the electric guitar documentary It Might Get Loud . PR Brown was able to be won as director after he and his team from MK12 designed the title sequence of the film, which left a lasting impression on White and Keys. For his work on the video, he was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Music Video .

The first excerpts could already be seen on September 29 in a montage with highlights from a previous American football game on the American broadcaster ESPN , but the video was only premiered in full on the One Show on the British television channel BBC One one day after it was seen on the Yahoo! Internet portal a few hours earlier . The video is also included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases.

In the video, White and Keys interpret the song together in a highly stylized, black and white art landscape. A lot is played with the ornamentation of the films such as the iconographic pistol barrel beginning. In the course of the intro and chorus, both find themselves in a desert that, bathed in twilight, is modeled on the Atacama desert from Quantum of Solace . Keys plays the piano in evening dress during the video, White can be seen on guitar and drums. His clothes are reminiscent of those of James Bond on the official movie poster for Casino Royale with a classic suit and open bow tie . The latter also enters the desert with his gun drawn in the last few seconds and thus closes the music video for Another Way to Die with a direct reference to the film A Quantum of Solace .

Track list of the single

page	title	length
A.	Another way to die	4:23
B.	Another Way to Die (Instrumental Version)	4:23

Remarks

• Although the character James Bond is perceived as quintessentially British , the theme song was mostly sung by Americans - as did Keys and White.
• Three weeks before Another Way to Die , Jack White already released another duet: his band The Raconteurs recorded the track Many Shades of Black with Adele , White's successor as Bond singer.
• Adele's Debut 19 , published in the same year, produced, among others, Mark Ronson, whose Quantum Solace title song for Amy Winehouse was never completed.

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Making The “Another Way To Die” Video , mi6.co.uk. October 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} EDITORIAL REVIEW: Quantum of Solace (David Arnold). In: filmtracks.com. November 22, 2008, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jack White on James Bond song , USATODAY.coms Listen-Up-Blog. August 21, 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jack White and Alicia Keys: Bond's New Duo , Rolling Stone . October 2, 2008. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. 
5. ↑ Tobias Kniebe: License to Trumpet. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 11, 2010, accessed April 3, 2014 . 
6. ^ Nick Levine: Winehouse wanted for a new Bond theme. In: Digital Spy . June 20, 2007, accessed April 1, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Bond song is not used? , intro.de. May 27, 2008. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved on September 20, 2008. 
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Alexander Ulloa: Quantum of Solace. Interview. In: Art of the Title. January 24, 2011, accessed August 28, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Interview with David Arnold (mp3; 16.9 MB) Stage and Screen Online. November 2008. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Jack Sheppard: Amy Winehouse was originally going to sing the James Bond Quantum of Solace theme song. In: The Independent . November 24, 2015, accessed March 6, 2019 . 
11. ^ Winehouse working on 'Bond theme'. In: BBC News . April 28, 2008, accessed March 6, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Mark Ronson talks about his abandoned 'Quantum of Solace' theme song. In: MI6-HQ.com. September 29, 2010, accessed March 31, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Sean Michaels: Ronson terminates Winehouse Bond rumors. In: The Guardian . May 5, 2008, accessed March 6, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Amy Winehouse back on track for Bond theme song. In: Daily Mirror . May 24, 2008, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
15. ↑ Amy's Bond song comes anyway , look in the evening . August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on August 23, 2008. Retrieved on September 20, 2008. 
16. ↑ Exclusive: Amy Winehouse ditches Mark Ronson on new album , The Daily Mirror . September 4, 2008. 
17. ↑ Matt Mueller: Amy Winehouse Still Tops Bond Composer David Arnold's 007 Wishlist. In: IndieWire . July 8, 2011, accessed June 8, 2019 . 
18. ↑ Beyonce to Record James Bond Theme , Just Jared. May 22, 2008. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. 
19. ↑ Annie Enters Bond track race , The Sun . 4th July 2008. 
20. ^ Duran Duran to collaborate with Mark Ronson for James Bond theme? , New Musical Express. July 2, 2008. 
21. ↑ Leona Lewis to Sing Bond Theme Tune? , Showbiz Spy. June 9, 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. 
22. ^ Duffy's a good bet for Bond , The Independent . July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. 
23. ↑ ^{a b} Duffy for Bond theme? , BBC 6 Music . June 17, 2008. 
24. ^ Duffy: Determined to keep a level head in New York , The Sunday Times . November 23, 2008. 
25. ↑ Alicia Keys to Take On James Bond? , Entertainment Online. June 10, 2008. 
26. ↑ "Another Way To Die". In: mi6-hq.com. July 29, 2008, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
27. ^ In Conversation With David Arnold. In: mi6-hq.com. July 29, 2007, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
28. ↑ `No Good About Goodbye` was not a rejected theme for` Quantum of Solace`. In: MI6-hq.com. November 12, 2009, accessed October 3, 2012 . 
29. ↑ David Arnold : Tweet. In: Twitter . March 13, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019 . 
30. ↑ Alicia Keys Talks Possible White Stripes Collaboration , Rolling Stone Online. May 23, 2008. 
31. ↑ Christian Wolf: Quantum of Solace Rejected Theme on YouTube , accessed March 6, 2019.
32. ↑ ^{a b} Number One! on ZDFkultur from October 1, 2012
33. ↑ Alicia Keys Interview And Theme Song To James Bond Film Now Online , Black Voices. September 19, 2008. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. 
34. ↑ Paul Tingen: I love analog! Interview with Jack White. In: Sounds & Recording . tape 9 , 2012, p. 28 .
35. ↑ Jack White's management team responds to Coke Zero ad , prefixmag.com. September 12, 2008. 
36. ↑ ^{a b} James Bond theme gets first play. In: BBC News . September 18, 2008, accessed March 6, 2019 . 
37. ↑ ^{a b} Neil McCormick: Quantum of Solace: Jack White helps Alicia Keys put a bomb under James Bond. In: The Daily Telegraph . September 24, 2008, accessed March 7, 2019 . 
38. ↑ QUANTUM OF SOLACE - "ANOTHER WAY TO DIE". Jack White and Alicia Keys bring the grit back to Bond. In: IGN . September 23, 2008, accessed March 7, 2019 . 
39. ↑ ^{a b} Elisa Bray: First Listen: Another Way To Die, James Bond Theme, Jack White and Alicia Keys. In: The Independent . September 19, 2008, accessed March 7, 2019 . 
40. ↑ Quantum of Solace. A movie review by James Berardinelli . In: reelviews.net. 2008, accessed March 7, 2019 . 
41. ↑ Mark Ronson Approves of New James Bond Theme , Showbiz Spy. September 26, 2008. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved on October 2, 2008.  (web archive)
42. ↑ David Arnold Gives Verdict On 'Another Way To Die' , CommanderBond.net. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. 
43. ↑ Craig McLean: Pop review: Jack White and Alicia Keys, Another Way to Die. In: The Guardian . September 14, 2008, accessed March 7, 2019 . 
44. ↑ Chart statistics from “Another Way To Die” on acharts.us
45. ↑ Chart statistics from "Seven Nation Army" on acharts.us
46. ↑ Alicia Keys, Jack White plan video shoot , jam.canoe.ca. September 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008.