In no particular order!
'The World is Not Enough', Garbage. The most 1999-sounding theme imaginable. Reaching for the future, stuck with its ankle caught in the door of late-90s strings and soggy synths.
'Skyfall', Adele. Because come the fuck on. When someone isn't Miss Shirley Bassey but still belts out a Bond theme that carries all the hallmarks of a classic from its earliest era without sounding kitsch? Glorious.
'From Russia With Love,' John Barry. The instrumental is a thing of beauty. It wanders in, humming a sweet tune about distant lands and pleasant sunsets, then up and belts you across the face with the occasional blast of shrieking brass.
'Goldfinger,' Shirley Bassey. Look, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but if you want to disagree with me on this I'm allowed to come to your house and rearrange all the mugs in your kitchen so you're fucked up trying to make a coffee for the next three weeks. Don't fucking argue with me on this. It's a classic for a reason. We all know it.
'You Know My Name,' Chris Cornell. Did he know he was doing a Bond movie? No, seriously. Was he aware this was gonna be a Bond song? Because I can't tell whether or not the brief was clear when Mr. Cornell started drumming his fingers on his desk and writing, and it's all the better for it. "Arm yourself because noone else here will save you" set the tone for the rest of Daniel Craig's run. Shame it wasn't all as good as this song.
'Live and Let Die', Paul McCartney & Wings. Now, this is an odd choice, because I actually don't like it. But I like what it was. It's jarring. Soulful, then frantic. Discordant, busy, strident and bombastic without any real substance. Do you think Paul McCartney met Timothy Dalton and realized how fucking cool he was? I don't. It's the only excuse for this. But it is, somehow, still up there for just how hard it went.
