Die Another Day

"Die Another Day"
Single by Madonna
from the album Die Another Day (Soundtrack) and American Life
Released	October 22, 2002
Format	12", CD
Recorded	2002
Genre	Pop, Dance, Electropop
Length	4:34 (Album Version) 3:30 (Radio Edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Producer	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Certification	2xPlatinum (CRIA)[1] Gold (ARIA)
Madonna singles chronology
"What It Feels Like for a Girl" (2001) "Die Another Day" (2002) "American Life" (2003)
James Bond theme chronology "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) "Die Another Day" (2002) "You Know My Name" (2006) Audio sample file info · help

"Die Another Day" is the theme to the James Bond film of the same name recorded by Madonna. The single was released in late 2002, marking Madonna's 20th career anniversary, and peaked at number eight in the United States^[2] and #3 in the United Kingdom selling 167,863 copies, making it the most successful Bond theme since Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill." The song was later included on her 2003 album, American Life.^[3] Stylus Magazine called it "a great slice-and-dice hit of fucked-up electroclash".^[4]

Song information

The song was co-written and co-produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzai in the key of C minor^[5] with string arrangements written by Michel Colombier.^[6] 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.^[7] 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 aged 24 and under voted it their number 1 favorite 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 instrumentals 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 ^[8] and used it as a video interlude in the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008). A live performance of the song is included on Madonna's documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005).

Music video

Madonna in the "Die Another Day" video.

The music video was directed by Traktor, a Swedish directing team, and filmed from August 22 - August 27, 2002 at Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California. The video features references to Honey Ryder (from 1962's Dr No), Rosa Klebb and Blofeld's white Persian cat (from 1963's From Russia With Love), Oddjob and Jill Masterson (from 1964's Goldfinger), Francisco Scaramanga and 1974's The Man With The Golden Gun, as well as a spacesuit, a fencing battle in a Venetian glass factory, and a Jaws-like man with metal teeth, all referencing 1979's Moonraker, and even contains a reference to Luke Skywalker's lightsaber battle with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. And from the film of the same name, the opening titles torture scene with General Moon, a portrait of the then-Bond Pierce Brosnan from a fight scene with Gustav Graves, and the dual role (in black and white fencing costumes) played by triple agent Miranda Frost, herself a protege of Verity, played in the film by Madonna herself. The very end of the video has sparked some discussion as Madonna appeared 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.^[9] The video ended with the gun barrel sequence. The total production costs for the video were over $6,000,000, making it the second most expensive music video ever made, after "Scream" by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.^[10]

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

Track listings and formats

UK 2 x 12" promo vinyl (SAM 00721)^[11]

US 2 x 12" promo vinyl (PRO-A-101005)^[12]

• A "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Main Mix) - 10:08
• B1 "Die Another Day" (Thee RetroLectro Mix) - 6:59
• B2 "Die Another Day" (Deepsky Remix) - 7:27
• C "Die Another Day" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) - 9:25
• D "Die Another Day" (Thee Die Another Dub) - 8:26

UK 2 x 12" vinyl (W 0595 T)^[13]

US 2 x 12" vinyl (42492-0)^[14]

EU 12" vinyl (9362 42492-0)^[15]

• A "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Main Mix) - 10:08
• B "Die Another Day" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) - 9:25
• C1 "Die Another Day" (Thee RetroLectro Mix) - 6:59
• C2 "Die Another Day" (Deepsky Remix) - 7:27
• D "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Dub) - 9:10

US 7" vinyl (7-16684)^[16]

• A "Die Another Day" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
• B "Die Another Day" (Album Version) - 4:38

US CD single (5439-16681-2)^[17]

1. "Die Another Day" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Main Mix) - 10:08

EU CD single (9362 42494-2)^[18]

1. "Die Another Day" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) - 9:25
3. "Die Another Day" (Thee RetroLectro Mix) - 6:59

US Maxi-CD (42492-2)^[19]

Japanese CD single (WPCR-11398)^[20]

EU Maxi-CD (9362 42492-2)^[21]

AU CD single 1 (9362-42492-2)^[22]

1. "Die Another Day" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Main Mix) - 10:08
3. "Die Another Day" (Thee RetroLectro Mix) - 6:59
4. "Die Another Day" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) - 9:25
5. "Die Another Day" (Deepsky Remix) - 7:27
6. "Die Another Day" (Brother Brown's Bond-Age Club) - 7:51

German CD single (9362 42495-2)^[23]

Australian CD single 2 (9362-42495-2)^[24]

1. "Die Another Day" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Dirty Vegas Main Mix) - 10:08
3. "Die Another Day" (Deep Sky Edit) - 4:06

Official versions

• Album Version (4:38)
• Radio Edit (3:30)
• DJ Tiësto mix (8:55) (Unreleased)
• 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)
• 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 Radio Edit (3:36)

Charts

References

External links

• Mad-eyes.net - "Die Another Day" Single Page