Die Another Day (song)

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“Die Another Day”
Single by Madonna from the album Die Another Day OST and American Life
B-side	Die Another Day (Thee RetroLectro Mix)
Released	October 22, 2002
Format	12", CD
Recorded	2002
Genre	Pop, Electronica, Dance
Length	4:34 (Album Version)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Producer	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna singles chronology
"What It Feels Like For A Girl" (2001) "Die Another Day" (2002) "American Life" (2003)
Alternate cover
German CD single cover
James Bond theme chronology
"The World Is Not Enough" (1999)	"Die Another Day" (2002)	"You Know My Name" (2006)
American Life track listing
"Mother and Father" (9) "Die Another Day" (10) "Easy Ride" (11)

"Die Another Day" was the theme to the James Bond film of the same name recorded by Madonna. It was Madonna's 20th anniversary of making hits. The single, released in late-2002, peaked at number eight in the United States^[1] and #3 in the United Kingdom, making it the most successful Bond theme since "A View to a Kill." The song was later included on her 2003 album, American Life.^[2]

[edit] Song information

The song was co-written and co-produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzai in the key of C minor^[3] with string arrangements written by Michel Colombier.^[4] The single spent 11 weeks at number one on the United States Billboard Singles Sales Charts and is her most successful title on the sales chart to date. Die Another Day was the most successful Bond theme-song since the 1980s. Critical opinion of the song widely varies as evidenced by the fact that it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song as well as for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song in 2002.^[5] In an official MORI poll in the UK for the Channel 4 program James Bond's Greatest Hits, the song was voted 9th most popular James Bond theme by the general public. Those polled ages 24 and under voted it their number 1 favourite Bond song. Incidentally, while Die Another Day, the film, marked the 40th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, Die Another Day, the single, marked Madonna's 20th anniversary in the music business; Madonna's first single, "Everybody", had been released in October of 1982.

The song peaked #1 in 12 different countries, including an 8 week stint at #1 on the World Music Charts and a then-record 11 week stay at #1 for Madonna on the US Hot 100 Single Sales.

None of Die Another Day's melody was employed by David Arnold in the development of the motion picture score. Instead, the string section of the song's Dirty Vegas mix can be heard during one scene of the film. Some of the remixes of the song feature bonus spoken word vocals by Madonna. She performed "Die Another Day" as part of her 2004 Re-Invention Tour.^[6]

[edit] Music video

Madonna in "Die Another Day" video.

The music video was directed by Traktor, a Swedish directing team, and filmed from August 22-27, 2002 at Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California. Continuing with the violent trend of her recent music videos ("What It Feels Like For A Girl"), the video shows a Madonna that is beaten and tortured, her hands are tied behind her back, her head is shoved underwater, and she is strapped from head to toe into an electric chair, all while sporting bloody clothing, bruises, a split lip and various other signs of extreme physical wear, a re-creation of the opening scene of the eponymous film. Meanwhile, in her subconscious, black (evil) and white (good) versions of herself battle each other with weapons (similar to the fight scene in the movie between James Bond and Gustav Graves at the fencing school) that pay homage to past James Bond movies, fencing foils and eventually swords, axes, razor-rimmed hats (a homage to Oddjob from 1964's Goldfinger), and harpoon guns before the good Madonna triumphs in one fatal blow (Evil Madonna dies in a way that is very similar to Miranda Frost in the movie). The scene also includes a statue of a gold woman (a reference to Shirley Eaton's character in Goldfinger). Other references to Bond films visible in the scene include a golden gun on a pedestal in reference to Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun and a space suit in reference to Moonraker. Also, a portrait of the then-Bond Pierce Brosnan from a fight scene with Gustav Graves in the film is impaled in the chest by Evil Madonna's sword, and an officer seen in some of the torture chamber scenes of the music video has teeth similar to those of Bond villian Jaws from films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. It could also be interpreted on a much simpler level: the evil Madonna represents her ego and her negative past self.Madonna manages to kill her ego before the torturer/villians execute her hence she manages to escape the chair in a timely manner. This entire sequence is inspired by the Venice glass museum fight scene in Moonraker. The very end of the video has sparked some discussion as Madonna appears to escape Houdini-like from the electric chair, leaving behind only a smouldering chair with a Hebrew expression לאו, a phrase that can be interpreted as "great escape" or "freedom," one of the "72 Names of God," used in the Kabbalah.^[7]

On the video and its direction, directors Tracktor said: "The video required two very distinct looks. One, for the fencing sequences, was a glossy, stylish look that needed to be as bright as possible while retaining all of the details. The second was a raw, dirtier look for the torture chamber and the electric chair room."

The video is one of Madonna's most expensive and epic videos, costing more than $6 million USD due to the heavy use of special effects. Traktor explained that "for various reasons, there are effects in almost every shot. It is a testament to the skills of the merry artisans of MPC that you think there are none. As with modern underwear, the best effects are always the ones that don't show through your slacks."

• Director: Traktor (Mats Lindberg, Pontus Löwenhielm, Ole Sanders)
• Producer: Jim Bouvet
• Director of Photography: Harris Savides
• Editor: Rick Russell
• Production Company: Traktor Films

[edit] Track listings and formats

[edit] Official versions

• Album Version (4:38)
• Radio Edit (3:30)
• Dirty Vegas Main Mix (10:10)
• Dirty Vegas Main Dub (9:10)
• Dirty Vegas Radio Edit (4:24) (Promo Only)
• Thunderpuss Club Mix (9:26)
• Thunderpuss Dub (8:00)
• Felix da Housecat/Thee RetroLectro Mix (7:00)
• Felix da Housecat/Thee RetroLectro Radio Edit (3:41) (Promo Only)
• Felix da Housecat/Thee Die Another Dub (8:33) (Promo Only)
• Brother Brown Bond-Age Club (7:51)
• Brother Brown Bond-Age Dub (7:19) (Promo Only)
• Brother Brown Bond-Age Radio Edit (3:36) (Promo Only)
• Deepsky Mix (7:29)
• Deepsky Dub (7:35) (Promo Only)
• Deepsky Radio Edit (4:12)
• Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix (8:52)
• Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Dub (10:08) (Promo Only)
• Richard "Humpty" Vission Electrofried Mix (6:02)
• Richard "Humpty" Vission Electrofried Radio Edit (3:36)
• Music Video (4:27)

[edit] Charts

[edit] References