The best James Bond themes balance themoody with the meta; they portend danger, while winking directly at the camera.Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, themes by Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, and TomJones created a haunting signature sound that combined Vegas bombast withinternational mystery. For a while, in the ’90s and aughts, they took a wackyturn. Bono and the Edge wrote a song for Tina Turner; Jack White and Alicia Keysdid a duet; Madonna’s “Die Another Day” featured glitched-out vocals andelectronics. The franchise returned to its roots with Adele’s “Skyfall,” anupdate of the old Bond sound for a new era; the song’s producer referenced themusical code of the series and Lia Vollack, Sony Pictures President of Music,namechecked Shirley Bassey. Adele’s Oscar-winning performance evoked Bondtradition while capturing its changing spirit, and the two Bond themes since,including Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die,” are playing by its rules. 最出色的詹姆斯·邦德主题曲都很出色地平衡了情绪和情绪之上的东西;它们散发出危险的气息,又不失冲着镜头眨眼的俏皮。六七十年代期间,Shirley Bassey、Nancy Sinatra和Tom Jones演唱的几首主题曲创造出一种过耳难忘的标志性听觉体验,一种揉合了拉斯维加斯的浮华气息与异域神秘气息的感觉。而到了90年代,主题曲则开始转向了奇怪的走向。一首是Bono和The Edge写了交给Tina Turner演唱;一首是Jack White和Alicia Keys的合唱;还有一首麦当娜的《择日而亡》则用了电子乐和杂音效果的人声。而随着Adele演唱的《大破天幕》这一新时代复旧邦德之古的作品的到来,宣告这一系列又回归了曾经的根源;这首歌的制作人延续了之前的音乐元素,索尼影视音乐总裁Lia Vollack谈及该主题曲时也提到了Shirley Bassey。Adele在奥斯卡获奖典礼上演唱该歌曲时既展现了邦德系列的传统,又契合了当下的时代精神,之后的两首邦德主题曲,包括Billie Eilish的《无暇赴死》都体现了这一标准。
The dour and somber themes reflect theDaniel Craig era with minor key piano and sweeping orchestral flourishes. Thisbackground is well-suited to Eilish’s strengths. Her voice communicates dreadwithout sacrificing its beauty, and her songs play with the concept of grimness.Her debut album channeled the frights and shudders of her night terrors, andshe wrote a song from the perspective of the monster under the bed. The lyricsreflect the betrayal hinted at in the film’s trailer and embody the tension ofespionage. “Fool me once, fool me twice/Are you death or paradise?/Now you’llnever see me cry/There’s just no time to die,” she coos, leaning into the bit.She hovers just above the strobing keyboard work of her brother FINNEAS like afog rolling through until the song swells into a flurry of strings. As it opensup, her singing crescendos ever so slightly, and she manages to strike thetenuous tone with a ruthless precision, while never refusing to sacrifice herdistinctive qualities. Her performance on “No Time to Die” carries the Bondlegacy into a new generation. 这首冷峻阴翳的主题曲体现了丹尼尔·克雷格时期常用小调钢琴和宏大管弦乐铺陈的特点。而这恰好契合了Eilish的优势。她的声线展现惊惧的同时也不失美感,而且她的歌曲主题大多数时候都是阴暗的。她的首张专辑就向人们展现了她噩梦中的恐惧和惊悚,她还以自己床下怪物的视角写了一首歌。而这首歌歌词中提到的背叛暗合了电影预告片中的情节,也体现了间谍活动的紧张刺激。“你一而再再而三地愚弄我/你究竟是死亡还是天堂?/但今后你再也不会看到我哭泣/我无暇赴死,”她轻声唱道,然后被器乐包裹。她的声音盘旋在哥哥FINNEAS摇曳的键盘之上,如同迷雾一般翻滚着,直到整首歌在一阵弦乐中膨胀开来。当到达高潮时,她的声音渐渐增强,精准地在薄如蝉翼的声线边沿攀升,也不失她的个人特质。她演唱的《无暇去死》会将邦德的传奇带入一个新的时代。