Watch Radiohead’s Version of the ‘Spectre’ Opening Credits

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This year saw the release of Daniel Craig’s (possible) last James Bond film, Spectre. With its globe-trotting plot and timely talk of NSA-esque world surveillance, the movie was a bit of a mess. Even more of a mess, though, were the opening credits, scored by Sam Smith’s “Writing on the Wall.” This weekend, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke revealed that his band was actually approached to compose the official theme for the film. Obviously, director Sam Mendes and co. decided to pass on the song, but Yorke went ahead and uploaded Radiohead’s proposed theme for the film anyway. Simply titled “Spectre,” it is, without a doubt, far superior to Smith’s.

The track on its own is a pretty thing, filled with Yorke’s falsetto and strings and tuned percussion out the wazoo, but an intrepid YouTube user put the song behind the visuals for the opening credits, and the combination trumps the version that appeared in the film, which was so cloying when paired with Smith’s saccharine vocals that members in my screening actually laughed throughout.

You can watch the fan-made clip below, via Vanity Fair :

As for other music from Radiohead, the group was in the studio a while ago, so hopefully some new material will surface soon.