Author Description
Starting With 1964's Goldfinger, Every James Bond Film Has Followed The Same Ritual, And So Has Its Audience: After An Exciting Action Sequence The Screen Goes Black And The Viewer Spends Three Long Minutes Absorbing Abstract Opening Credits And A Song That Sounds Like It Wants To Return To 1964. In The James Bond Songs Authors Adrian Daub And Charles Kronengold Use The Genre To Trace Not Only A Changing Cultural Landscape, But Also Evolving Conceptions Of What A Pop Song Is. They Argue That The Story Of The Bond Song Is The Story Of The Pop Song More Generally, And Perhaps Even The Story Of Its End. Each Chapter Discusses A Particular Segment Of The Bond Canon And Contextualizes It In Its Era's Music And Culture. But The Book Also Asks How Bond And His Music Reflected And Influenced Our Feelings About Such Topics As Masculinity, Race, Money, And Aging. Through These Individual Pieces The Book Presents The Bond Song As The Perfect Anthem Of Late Capitalism. The Bond Songs Want To Talk About The Fulfillment That Comes From Fast Cars, Shaken Martinis And Mindless Sex, But Their Unstable Speakers, Subjects, And Addressees Actually Undercut The Logic Of The Lifestyle James Bond Is Sworn To Defend. The Book Is An Invitation To Think Critically About Pop Music, About Genre, And About The Political Aspects Of Popular Culture In The Twentieth Century And Beyond.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how the evolution of the James Bond theme song reflects broader shifts in the history of pop music and the cultural landscape of the late twentieth century. Authors Adrian Daub and Charles Kronengold utilize their expertise in musicology and cultural criticism to argue that the Bond song serves as a microcosm for the development—and potential decline—of the pop song as a genre. By analyzing the musical and lyrical components of these tracks, they demonstrate how the franchise's music functions as an anthem for late capitalism while simultaneously subverting the values of the lifestyle it depicts.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A chronological analysis of the James Bond film music canon starting from 1964.
- A framework for interpreting pop music through the lens of political and cultural history.
- Critical examinations of themes including masculinity, race, wealth, and aging.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on the musical and cultural significance of the songs rather than the technical production history of the films themselves.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Critics and scholars identify this work as a sophisticated cultural analysis that elevates the study of film music beyond mere trivia. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous framework for understanding the intersection of popular music and political ideology.
Page Count:
224
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
ISBN-10:
0190234539
ISBN-13:
9780190234539
Music
Non-Fiction
Film Studies
Pop Culture