I went to see the new James Bond movie Quantum Of Solace the other day with low expectations. I know the new movies are about Bond’s early days, but the modernized Bond has lost all the things that made Bond unique in the action adventure genre, and now it’s become just another Mission Impossible, Die Hard standard film. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but it lacked the unique entertaining qualities Bond used to have, and without Q and his gadgets, it’s a tough sell really. (I really loved John Cleese as Q and miss him a lot)

What was really appalling though was the theme song for the intro credits that every Bond film has with the dancing silhouettes and Bond pointing his gun and all. This song, “Another Way To Die” performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, was just atrocious and a terrible choice for a Bond film that in the past have had very strong themes to introduce the film, a trademark of the series. That a song this bad and poorly suited to the film could be placed in such a major release is a sure sign of the record industry’s demise (It was coordinated by Warner Bros). Just my opinion, but I thought it was a lame choice.

But for me this goes a lot further than opinion, and is really all about what makes a good song, something the record industry seems to have forgotten. Luckily, the Do It Yourself movement and the new music industry, which is putting music business back in the hands of artists, is going to be all about the quality of the song, and of music in general, something that has been a long time coming.

Call me old fashioned, but these are songs worthy of a Bond movie (ignore the retro visuals…):

Duran Duran: “View To A Kill”

Sheena Easton: “For Your Eyes Only”