On this morning’s dog walk, the random five songs that my iPod offered for my morning listening pleasure were Bruce Springsteen’s “Jesus Was an Only Son,” Buddy Holly’s “Rave On,” Garbage performing “The World is Not Enough,” Emmylou Harris and Spyboy singing “Deeper Well,” and Parliament’s “Funkentelechy” (“You may as well pay attention; you can’t afford free speech”).
As I was listening to “The World is Not Enough,” I reflected (again) on the genre of James Bond theme songs. “TWiNE” is near the top of my list in that category, along with the early classics such as Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger.” The most recent entry, though — Madonna’s “Die Another Day” — would rank right up there except for the staggeringly banal exclamation about Sigmund Freud. Is there a remix that edits out just those four words? It would improve the song incalculably.
It would be funny how inflexible headphone wires get in subzero windchill, if it weren’t so hard to untangle them. Can’t do it with gloves on; and once you take gloves off, naked fingers gradually lose their dexterity. Add to that an immobilized right thumb, and a dog pulling on her leash, and the whole thing is simultaneously quite amusing and intensely exasperating.
And even the songs inspired by the Bond themes aren’t bad. Propellerheads’ “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is often in my iTunes most played list. And that album also contains a Shirley Bassey collaboration.
… and then you realize the damned foam cover has fallen off one of the earbuds, you look around on the ground in vain, then haplessly try to listen without the foamless bud falling out (with a stiffened wire that’s just about impossible). Of course, I live in Edmonton and this happened in -20 degree Celcius temperatures a couple of nights ago.