What song would you love to shoot?

[sweathog]

I know that may sound like an odd question, but let me explain.

I've often heard people say how they are inspired by a certain piece of music, certain style, or lyric etc.
Then today, I'm walking along, and the Zen kicks me onto Roxanne by, of course, Sting & The Police. I'm listening to it and think to myself "This would make a great series of photographs."

So do any of you have a song that you would, if it were a real event, love to photograph?

Tom

[venchka]

It didn't go very far.

You're reading my mind. A photo essay based on a song. I got a million of them banging around in my cranium.

Bob Seeger-lots of them. Hollywood Nights, Down on Mainstreet, Night Moves, etc.

The Eagles-lots of them too. Hotel California, I think this should eb a movie. Several of their early songs are quite visual.

Keep the ideas flowing.

[FrankS]

Rolling Stones: Angie, Wild Horses (moody, B+W, guy+girl, bitter-sweet, sadness)

unknown group: Super Freak

[sweathog]

Frank, are you talking about the recent dance number, Super Freak? That could be fun...

[ClaremontPhoto]

Pretenders 'Stop Your Sobbing', most Elton John, most Shania Twain, and some Elvis Costello and Sting.

From Sting 'Fields of Gold' would be my first choice.

[ferider]

Some of Grace Jones' and Madonna's songs come to mind ....

[nightlight]

great thread!
For me it would be echoes by pink floyd... or probably any song of Dark Side of the Moon.

[sweathog]

Crocodile Rock by Elton John would certainly be fun.
50's clothing, rock 'n' roll music and a lot of hairgel!

[ferider]

great thread!
For me it would be echoes by pink floyd... or probably any song of Dark Side of the Moon.

How about Breakfast in LA on the UG ?

:)

[rover]

HA!!!!

How about some Meatloaf?

Paradise By The Dashboard Light

"Stop right there......"

[FrankS]

HA!!!!

How about some Meatloaf?

Paradise By The Dashboard Light

"Stop right there......"

Great song/story!

[photophorous]

I'm with Nightlight on this one.

Pink Floyd, Time, is where I would like to start, but I doubt it would make sense to anyone other than me.

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time has gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say"

[spiderfrank]

Paolo Conte

[mw_uio]

Tangerine Dream: "The Dream Is Always The Same" from the Movie sound track "Risky Business"

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/210GPm%2BEyNL.jpg


Also some Pink Floyd: "Wish You Were Here"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7b/WishYouWereHere.jpg/200px-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj1L5jxlY4U

Gotta love Pink Floyd!!

Cheers :D

MArk
Quito, EC

[trittium]

Of Montreal, anything off of "Hissing Fauna are you the Destroyer"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VeIL7juFE0

probably cross process for added "trippiness"

[JimL]

How about some Tom Waits?
Pony, Lucinda, Buzz Fledderjohn and $29.00 spring to mind, but his music offers a wealth of possibilities. Poor Edward in particular would be interesting, and quite possibly a little disturbing!

[erikhaugsby]

The entire Pink Floyd album Meddle. You've gotta want to shoot a song called San Tropez!

and The Decemberists, anybody? "The Mariners Revenge Song" would be a riot to shoot along with.

[sweathog]

Paper Cuts by The Boy Least Likely To.

The protagonist lists all his flaws, and longs for the girl. Except a lot better than I can put it.
http://www.prolyrics.com/lyric/41666/papercutslyrics.html

[Creagerj]

Crystal Baller: Third Eye Blind

Do any of you guys do concert photography?

[GeneW]

Windmills of my mind ...

Gene

[nico]

"Thunder Road" and "Bobby Jean" just to quote a couple from Bruce Springsteen, "Who'll stop the rain" from the genius of John Fogerty, a random couple from Tom Waits for sure...(like "Postcard from a hooker ..." and "The heart of saturday night"). Can't forget "Brown Sugar" from the Stones.
Last but not at least, as Spiderfrank, Paolo Conte "Bartali"

[mtbbrian]

I have always wanted to put Bob Dylan's "Desolation Road" to photographs.
Do a whole series, make a photograph for as many of the individual phrases from the song as I could.
I like Tom Waits too, but he would be a bit of a challenge, I think anyway.
Brian

[mwooten]

"Leave the Capital" by the Fall

[sweathog]

I remember once I planned a shoot, using every line of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.
Might actually have to do it someday.

[Bryce]

Jim L- you beat me to it, Tom Waits paints some pretty good pictures.
Coming immediately to mind-
"Heart Attack and Vine"
"Sixteen Shells From a 30-06"

[Keith]

I would love to do a series of street photographs to the Doobie Bros song ... "Takin' It To The Streets." :)

[charjohncarter]

I'll tell you what I wish I had shot: Fats Domino singing 'My Blue Heaven' in 1957. I left my camera at home, no flash. Or how about Ray Charles with his whole orchestra playing 'One Mint Julep' in December of 1962. Now, I settle for shooting my son-in-law (ex Sublime) playing with his Long Beach home town band. Actually, for today I think 'spiderfrank' has the right idea.

[Morca007]

"Hang dog" by Drag the River.
Regret, dusty road, one guy, looking rather haggard. Inside of a bar, dim, gritty, drinking.

[eli griggs]

For me, a long time YES fan, "Starship trooper/Yours is no disgrace", which I've always considered one piece, would be a great piece to document with a camera just don't drink the kool-aid.




Sister Bluebird flying high above,
Shine your wings forward to the sun.
Hide the myst'ries of life on your way.
Though you've seen them, please don't say a word.
What you don't know, I have never heard.

Starship Trooper, go sailing on by,
Catch my soul, catch the very night.
Hide the moment from my eager eyes.
Though you've seen them, please don't tell a soul.
What you can't see, can't be very whole.

Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember,
Setting up of other roads, travel on in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water, the proud sons and daughters that,
In the knowledge of the land, spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

Mother life, hold firmly on to me.
Catch my knowledge higher than the day.
Lose as much as only you can show.
Though you've seen them, please don't say a word.
What I don't know, I have never shared.

Loneliness is a pow'r that we possess to give or take away forever.
All I know can be shown by your acceptance of the fact there shown before you.
Take what I say in a diff'rent way and it's easy to see
that this is all confusion.
As I see a new day in me, I can also show if you and you may follow.

Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember,
Setting up of other roads, travel on in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water, the proud sons and daughters that,
In the knowledge of the land, spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar's Palace, morning glory, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no disgrace

Battleships confide in me and tell me where you are
Shining, flying, purple wolfhound, show me where you are
Lost in summer, born in winter, travel very far
Lost in losing circumstances, that's just where you are

Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar's Palace, morning glory, silly human, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no, yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace

Death defying, mutilated armies scatter the earth
Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals, their morals disappear

Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar's Palace, morning glory, silly human, silly human, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no, yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace

Battleships confide in me and tell me where you are
Shining, flying, purple wolfhound, show me where you are
Lost in summer, born in winter, travel very far
Lost in losing circumstances, that's just where you are

Eli

[nasmformyzombie]

Heartbreak Hotel

Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
It's down at the end of lonely street
at Heartbreak Hotel.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

And although it's always crowded,
you still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
do cry away their gloom.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Well, the Bell hop's tears keep flowin',
and the desk clerk's dressed in black.
Well they been so long on lonely street
They ain't ever gonna look back.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
and you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
to Heartbreak Hotel.

[John Rountree]

For me it would have to be most anything by Frank Zappa. That genius wrote songs with some amazing imagery. BTW, about 10 days ago I saw Dweezil and his band play 2 hours 45 minutes of Frank's music... brilliant!

[erikhaugsby]

I'll tell you what I wish I had shot: Fats Domino singing 'My Blue Heaven' in 1957. I left my camera at home, no flash. Or how about Ray Charles with his whole orchestra playing 'One Mint Julep' in December of 1962. Now, I settle for shooting my son-in-law (ex Sublime) playing with his Long Beach home town band. Actually, for today I think 'spiderfrank' has the right idea.
Your son-in-law was in Sublime?
You lucky father-in-law, you! (Well, unless you have an acute distaste for their music. But even then lucky you! :p)

[matt fury]

Every time I hear it: "Set the Twilight Reeling" by Lou Reed.

[gb hill]

John Prine, his songs usually tell a humorus yet sometimes sad story.

[steamer]

Urban Spaceman--Bonzo Dog Band
Lost in the Supermarket--Clash

[Krosya]

I'd stick with the classics - The Beatles and The Queen

[thomasw_]

Rolling Stones: Angie, Wild Horses (moody, B+W, guy+girl, bitter-sweet, sadness)

unknown group: Super Freak that is rick james, i think?

this going to sound weird but here goes.

i would like to capture the scene relayed in that old byzantine hymn entitled "let all mortal flesh keep silence" and to take portrait shots of the women who inspired beethoven to compose "für elise"...

[schrackman]

Summertime Blues, with Rush dressed in hippie garb.

[nikon_sam]

Billy Joel's "She's always a Woman" and "Piano Man"...
Janis Ian's "At Seventeen"...
The Eagles "The Last Resort"

[NB23]

Aznavour's La Bohème

[alcaraban]

To name a few, Eagles' "Tequila sunset", Animals' "San Franciscan nights" or Linkin Park's "Bleed it out", in no particular order. I love many Pink Floyd songs, but I don't imagine how to shot them.

[peot]

"The Weight" by the best band ever...The Band

[Never Satisfied]

Sister Havanna, Urge Overkill in old Tri-X or The wind cries Mary by Jimmi Hendrix in some cross processed slidefilm.

Andrew.

[sweathog]

Well, the good thing is I've learned I'm not alone in my madness.
It would be tempting to make this into a massive project (if the money and legal issues werem't... issues).

[ernstk]

Steely Dan. 'Rikki Don't Lose that Number' and 'Babylon Sisters'. The possibilities are endless, particularly with the latter.

Ernst

[eric mac]

I'd like to do the Darkness on the Edge of Town album by Springsteen. A lot of images pass thru my mind every time I hear that album.

Eric

[venchka]

I'm glad this idea finally took off.

[Freakscene]

The Triffids 'Wide Open Road'.

Marty

[spyder2000]

Kodachrome.

[feenej]

I shot "I never talk to strangers" Took me a long time about six months of hanging out at the martini bar.

[charjohncarter]

erikhaugsby, I don't know, I've never heard or listened to them (Sublime). But he did get a couple of Platinum Records out of it. I'm lucky to have him, but not because of Sublime.

[shadowfox]

Wow, excellent thread!

Here's one of my favorite album:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/The_Concerts_in_China_Jarre_Album.jpg


Anybody else like Jean Michel Jarre? There is one song in this album in which a very somber/mellow tune are overlaid with dialogs in chinese and ... shutter sound. Sounds weird, but very good and soothing.

[shadowfox]

I'm glad this idea finally took off.

I know, I keep nodding, "ah, yes! that one, ooh, ya, that one too", as I read this thread.

Very good thread in a while that is not filled with angst, ego, and eye-glazing minutia.

Wayne, I miss your original thread, but this one is good also. Thanks Tom!

Just to reiterate some of my favorites in this thread and a couple of addition:

The Eagles - "Hotel California" indeed should've been a movie.
Most songs by Meatloaf
Queen (of course) - "Bohemian Rhapsody" what else? :)
Sting - "Englishman In New York" would be very fun
Some hits by Heart
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" ... wait, this one IS a movie :)

and many many more...

[BSchall]

What! Noboby wants to do Jimmy Buffet "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw". We all must be fine art photographers, not 'art' photographers.

[steamer]

That's something I'm more likely to do than photograph and I don't think it's anything somebody else might want to view.

[charjohncarter]

ChrisPlatt, I don't understand, but Ray Charles maybe dead, but Fats Domino isn't (extant). If they are a metaphor, it is for cool, camp, soul (not soul music), and original. And they are (were) worth photographing. I have never heard their music but Eric thinks Sublime fits in that the camp (different meaning) too. When I see Fats Domino or Ray Charles (images), I hear 'My Blue Heaven' or 'One Mint Julep.' Maybe Eric sees something that Sublime did.

[Nando]

Easily The Beatles' "I am the Walrus".

Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" would be interesting.

[cmedin]

I'd love to shoot "My hump"--shoot it DEAD. Ugh...

Though Alanis did a wonderful cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO9Xx_NZa20

Never cared much for her before, but I dig this. :)


(I suppose I got this whole thread wrong, eh) Serious answer: Dream Theater's "Change of seasons", all 23 minutes.

[TimBonzi]

"Love Shack" by the B-52s....

[bobkonos]

Monk's "Straight No Chaser", Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues", and Elton John's "Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters"

[Carzee]

I have a video on my myspace corner...

http://www.myspace.com/camerajuice

...and its by another north american band. Titled "We're All On Drugs", whoever shot that video had a good eye for lighting. In the "Fire Dept At Work" finale scene the lead singer is framed by smoke and alarm lights very nicely.


It's really such a great lyric and drugs really ARE everywhere, even in your food and your clothing it seems. They are integral to the productivity of modern society. Not to worry though, and don't get anxious about things like this for a second -just relax and take some Prozac or whatever.

[wlewisiii]

Oh, this could be quite fun. A few possibles if I had the chance:
"4th of July" X
"Hardly Getting Over It" Husker Du
"Let The Day Begin" The Call
"Welcome To The Black Parade" My Chemical Romance
"The Ledge" The Replacements
"Common People" Pulp

;)

Man, I'd love to win the lotto just to finance a bunch of people doing this project...

William

[thomasw_]

And just how do you photograph a metaphor?

Chris Or perhaps like this:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3793/1209/1600/clear.cut.this.0.jpg

[victoriapio]

Debussy: Concierto for Harp and Orchestra (or was it Faure?)
Brahms: Op 118
Vaughn Williams - Job

OC

[mike goldberg]

Circle of Life from the Lion King, sung by Elton John:

But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps the great and small on the endless round

On the path unwinding
In the Circle, the Circle of Life.

Mike

[JimL]

"The Ying Tong Song" by The Goons.

[UnclePaul]

Husker Du - "Eiffel Tower High"

[peterc]

Crumbling Land by Pink Floyd or Elemental Child by Marc Bolan.