The band Chris Cornell said should never make a James Bond theme
Chris Cornell always dabbled in various lyrical styles. While some of his songs leaned toward the abstract, others were deeply personal, bringing a folk-style approach to heavy music. It was an unlikely combination, but one that resonated deeply with fans, who became obsessed with this new angle being explored by Soundgarden.
One of the tracks that was most evident was ‘Black Hole Sun’. While they had had success prior to this song, ‘Black Hole Sun’ was the track that really put the band on the map, as it was a worldwide hit that saw new fans adopt Soundgarden and existing fans welcome in a new side to the band they loved.
“We’d had singles before. But that was easily our biggest hit,” said guitarist Kim Thayil when discussing the track, “That was more singer/songwriterish. Chris went in that direction of singer/songwriter guy, and the band was more accepting because of the success of singer/songwriting stuff as opposed to more guitar-oriented rock. It was more vocal accompaniment rock, some guitar. So, we started utilising a little bit more of that.”
While Cornell had managed to make a name for himself as a prolific songwriter after the release of this track, he was asked on numerous occasions to provide lyrics for different artists. One of his most significant writing roles came in 2006 when he was asked to write the theme for the James Bond movie Casino Royale. In doing so, he created ‘You Know My Name’, an exciting song with lots of double meaning about living life on the edge and gambling.
“Lyrically, it was really easy,” admitted Cornell, “It was the only book where Ian Fleming wrote this vulnerability into the character, not yet this invincible super spy. On one hand, I was unlucky that I was given this film that had a really shitty title to write a song to, not like Thunderbird or Live And Let Die.”
Cornell was happy to have the opportunity to write a James Bond theme and liked the song he created. Equally, however, he doesn’t think that every artist who has the chance to write a James Bond theme should take it. In an interview, he discussed Sam Smith being appointed to write the new Bond theme and rumours that Radiohead was considered for the position. Despite being a fan of the band, Cornell didn’t believe Radiohead had anything to gain from writing a theme.
“I don’t think they should do a Bond theme. They have nothing at all to gain and everything to lose by doing so,” said Cornell discussing the possibility of Radiohead producing a track for the franchise, “They’ve spent years creating and carving out their own corner, so why would they poke their heads out of that world? I do think that were they to do a Bond theme it would be great, but I just can’t see the point in them doing so.”
