All over the world, the coronavirus scare has every man, woman, and child praying and taking necessary preventive steps so there would be no time to die. However, for most countries struggling with the new normal because of the increasing number of infected, people ironically have time to kill as events are being canceled everywhere, dramatically transforming the most populated cities and tourist destinations into ghost towns.
The concert scene has taken a hit worldwide. According to Billboard, world tours have pushed the emergency cancelation button.
“More than 20,000 music events between January and March have been canceled or postponed in China and Hong Kong, costing 2 billion yuan ($286 million) in ticketing and box-office losses, according to the China Association of Performing Arts,” read a story on the leading music website.
In the Philippines, Green Day, Slipknot, and Avril Lavigne have since announced that they are postponing the Asian legs of their 2020 concerts. British singer Yungblud called off dates in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore while Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Ciara, and Madonna has parked performance schedules as well in different parts of the world.
For our music fix, we would all have to rely on our mobile phones to stream our daily soundtrack, one that provides a temporary escape from World War C.
In other news, Billie Eilish, music world’s most recent Grammy sweetheart, just entered the elite James Bond theme song club. But how does her “No Time To Die” stack up against the roster of 007 theme songs?
No Time To Die has the pace of Adele’s “Skyfall” but is bereft of the classic soul and grand arrangement build-ups previous James Bond themes spoiled us with. Think “Diamonds Are Forever” vs. “The World Is Not Enough,” Eilish’s song leans towards the latter.
If you listen to “No Time To Die,” you can almost segue to the chorus of “The World Is Not Enough” but also hear elements of the relatively unknown Matchbox 20 track “You Won’t Be Mine” from the 2000s.
Somehow though, “No Time To Die” pulled off a slow-burning, haunting yet quiet drama that actually works paired with the young singer’s signature vocals.
Eilish’s Bond turn offers tighter lyrics though; better than Adele’s unclear story for “Skyfall.” The new song could easily be your next breakup anthem starting with stanza one: “I should have known/I’d leave alone/Just goes to show/That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe/We were a pair/But I saw you there/Too much to bear/You were my life, but life is far away from fair.”
The primer sets to motion that lump on your throat as it breaks into betrayal: “That I’d fallen for a lie/You were never on my side/Fool me once, fool me twice/Are you death or paradise?/Now you’ll never see me cry/There’s just no time to die.”
Somehow, it still lacks recall from the old Bond songs. We still sing “Nobody Does It Better” or “Live And Let Die” or “For Your Eyes Only” or belt out the chorus of “Diamonds Are Forever.” But do we find ourselves reaching for “Skyfall” or “You Know My Name” or “Die Another Day” on karaoke?
It’s as if Bond theme songs were sliced to two halves: the before and after “Goldeneye.” The old Bond songs have the brooding 007 imprint written all over; you’d know right away when it’s a Bond song. Somewhere after “Goldeneye,” you will hear them theme songs and would not be able to place them to the movies they opened credits for.
On the bright side, “No Time To Die” is way better than “Writing’s On The Wall,” “You Know My Name,” and “Another Way To Die.”
The downside, however, is that the release of the latest Bond movie and Daniel Craig’s last turn as 007, has been pushed back to November in response to worldwide threat of the coronavirus.
Initially scheduled for an April theatrical run, MGM and Universal, alongside Bond franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced in a statement that “after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of ‘No Time to Die’ will be postponed until November 2020.”
The author is a former entertainment reporter and editor before shifting to corporate PR. Follow @kayevillagomez on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.
Image credits: AP/Chris Pizzello