Although it was a huge step down from the absolutely perfect quality of its predecessor Skyfall, I had a lot of fun with the latest James Bond adventure Spectre. I do have to admit that the opening credits sequence, a longtime staple of the franchise, had me almost rolling on the theater floor in hysterics due to its surprisingly perverse octopus imagery and Sam Smith‘s ridiculous and over-orchestrated main title song “Writing’s on the Wall.”

Smith wasn’t the first choice of Spectre‘s producers and director Sam Mendes to perform the Spectre theme tune. Several artists were sought out for the job, one of them being the internationally-renowned British pop-rock band Radiohead. Early in the morning on Christmas Day, Radiohead’s lead singer and songwriter Thom Yorke confirmed the long-standing rumor via his Twitter. As a Christmas gift for their fans, Radiohead has released their unused contribution to 007’s latest cinematic mission, simply titled “Spectre,” which you can listen to here below.

In my opinion, “Spectre” is a much better song that “Writing’s on the Wall” and would have made a better fit for the movie for which it was penned and recorded. It’s also very much a Radiohead song, albeit one with the proper amount of dramatic flourish to make it a winning Bond theme. Unfortunately, it was rejected and Smith’s pedestrian effort (written in twenty minutes by the singer’s own admission) is what we were given instead. Now we have to live with it.

Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre. Yes we were ………..

— Thom Yorke (@thomyorke) December 25, 2015

Music

[Source: @thomyorke via Rolling Stone]