Darkroom Music

[VoidoidRamone]

let me guess Grant, you listen to the Ramones....

lee\c

You guessed right, how'd ya know? Also I forgot to mention how much I like the Talking Heads. Another interesting fact I have about them is that this summer while I was at RISD my residence assitant spent his fresman year in the same dorm room as David Byrne did, pretty cool stuff. -Grant

 

[Jim Chinn]

Actually I don't need any music. Lately my negatives sing to me. And sometimes I hear voices coming out of the enlarger. If I listen really carefully and sneak up on them I can hear all the different brands of paper arguing about who is the best.

Just the other day I heard tiny voices coming out of the chemistry cupboard. I could swear it was the bottles of HC-110 and Pyrocat HD solutions saying "use me, use me"!

I am sure none of this is news to any of you. I mean this happens to you, right?

 

[rogueish]

"Shut and play your guitar", "Shutup and play your guitar some more", and of course "Return of the son of Shutup and play your guitar".

 

[VoidoidRamone]

"Shut and play your guitar", "Shutup and play your guitar some more", and of course "Return of the son of Shutup and play your guitar".

What a coincidence, that's what I'm listening to right now... any favorite songs? -Grant

 

[mfobrien]

I just have a radio in the darkroom...I keep it on our local jazz station, WEMU. However, I agree Zappa would be great to listen to while I am working there!

 

[rogueish]

Favorites? They have names?
I tend to not look at labels, just throw it on, and press play...

 

[VoidoidRamone]

good point, all 3 albums flow together so nicely... I don't even think I know the names of the songs off the top of my head

 

[harveyje]

I currently listen to "Pathetique" as that is what has been in the player for several weeks - whatever I listen to, it is most often "Classical". When I was little (decades ago!) my parents listened to the classics and I have preferred them since - but I also like big band because I played in one in high school.

 

[James Bleifus]

I find that I can't listen to anything that's too energetic in the darkroom. So rock is out. It has a way of amplifying my frustration when things aren't going well. Gregorian chant, Windham Hill and soft classical all keep me in the right state of mind.

Cheers,

James

 

[TPPhotog]

I find that I can't listen to anything that's too energetic in the darkroom. So rock is out. It has a way of amplifying my frustration when things aren't going well. Gregorian chant, Windham Hill and soft classical all keep me in the right state of mind.

Cheers,

James

Hope that includes the Gregorian Rodinal Chant

 

[James Bleifus]

Hope that includes the Gregorian Rodinal Chant

I've been listening carefully and it turns out that they're chanting AMIDOL. Go figure

 

[Leon]

Just a little tidbit I have to add whenever someone mentions the band Cream. A few years ago I used to take druming lessons from Ginger Baker's son, Kofi Baker. It was so amazing to watch him play. Unfortunately I never got to meet his father, but he had some good stories about him. -Grant
ps- I'm glad to see how many people like Frank Zappa!

zappa is cool - your story is very cool.

I forgot to add one more band , and how could I forget, the Chemical Brothers (very apt, dont you think), or maybe Black (and white) Sabbath?? Philip Glass (plate)? any more amusing darkroom-relevant band / music names ...

 

[127]

Gregorian chant, Windham Hill and soft classical all keep me in the right state of mind.

The only Windham Hill stuff I have is Mike Manring's solo albums... That certainly 'aint soft, new agey or relaxing - at least the stuff after Drastic Measures (which is awesome). Actually they stoped putting his stuff out under the windham label when he got the drummer from Primus, and the guitarist from Testament as his standard lineup. "Thonk" (much recommended) is unlike any music you ever heard - as best I can describe it would be New Age jazz played by Primus and Zappa (seems to be a LOT of fans of Frank here). The albums after that start to get a bit strange...

Ian

 

[papagene]

My darkroom music choices:
Monk, Mingus Miles, Trane, The Jazz Messangers, MJQ, Dizzy, Bird, Pres, - real good Jazz
Albert Collins, Albert King, Freddy King, BB King, Buddy Guy, Little Ed & the Blues Imperials, Little Charlie & the Nightcats - rollicking Blues

Did anyone mention Philip Glass's "The Photographer"?

 

[VoidoidRamone]

The only Windham Hill stuff I have is Mike Manring's solo albums... That certainly 'aint soft, new agey or relaxing - at least the stuff after Drastic Measures (which is awesome). Actually they stoped putting his stuff out under the windham label when he got the drummer from Primus, and the guitarist from Testament as his standard lineup. "Thonk" (much recommended) is unlike any music you ever heard - as best I can describe it would be New Age jazz played by Primus and Zappa (seems to be a LOT of fans of Frank here). The albums after that start to get a bit strange...

Ian

Speaking of Primus, some of the Les Claypool albums are pretty darn good! Anyone heard of Steve Vai? He's one of the best guitarists I know. The trouble with listening to all these fabulous musicians is that they can really blow your mind with all the talent they have, and then ruin your concentration... I mean geez, why are some musicians so good?! -Grant

 

[lee]

Elizabeth Cotton

Is this the famous Elisabeth Cotton of the folksong "Freight Train"?

lee\c

 

[Quinn]

For me, music is very similar to photography (conceptually). Because of that, I listen to a lot of blues, jazz, americana, gospel, a.k.a, Roots & Blues Music. Here's a short list of some of my favorites:

R.L. Burnside
James McMurtry
Paul Thorn
Robert Johnson
Glenn Kaiser
John Lee Hooker
Skip James
Blind Willie Johnson
Ella Fitgerald
Etta James
Koko Taylor

 

[scootermm]

my musical taste are as well similiar to my photography taste/habits

Brian Eno - the inventor of ambient
sigur ros - wonderful icelandic musicians
Godspeed! you black emperor - spacey ambient music
silver mt. zion - more spacey ambient (similiar to Godspeed)
yume bitsu - ditto
polyphonic spree - weird branch Devidian sized group
the bad plus - wonderful modern jazz

and lots and LOTS of Tom Waits - eclectic carnivalesque music

 

[Magic Rat]

I usually go with Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, maybe some Floyd. Lately it's been The Flaming Lips. I just picked up the soundtrack to the movie 'Ray'. By the middle of the first song my 5yo was bobbing back and forth. By the middle of the third song she looked at me, with CD case in hand, and said, "I love this". I guess I'll be hearing it quite often now.
The Rat

 

[Flotsam]

If you have a computer that you can pipe into the darkroom, check out radioparadise.com. I just ran across it last week and have been enjoying their mix. Good music, no commercials and you can stream up to 128k MP3 for very nice quality.

 

[Eric Mac]

Last darkroom session featured Springsteen live in Cleveland from 78. The definitive boss show.

Eric

 

[Flotsam]

Last darkroom session featured Springsteen live in Cleveland from 78. The definitive boss show.

Eric

The first time that I heard Springsteen was in my darkroom. I remember a year of telling friends about him and being met with blank stares.

WNEW broadcast the Bottom Line concert live. I made a cassette and it was standard darkroom listening until the tape wore out.

 

[rakuhito]

i listen to a lot of different music, but for the dakroom it's got to be something that makes me work -- something that pushes me along, rather than distracting me.

for years i worked in a commerical lab darkroom where AOR stations or classic rock stations or the dusties station was on 24/7. so that stuff just simply means work to me. if i have a lot to get done, need to put my head down and grind out some prints nothing is better than an AC/DC marathon.

but a lot of other stuff works too - van morrison, radiohead, pixies, velvet underground, wilco, roxy music. currently though i'm all Pere Ubu all the time.

once i find an album or a group that works, that's it. just keep hitting replay.

 

[Dorothy Blum Cooper]

When I do go in the darkroom (usually to help hubby out we listen to:

Patricia Barber
Shirley Horn
Miles Davis

One of my husband's standards tho' is Joni Mitchell...loves her music!

I Love older jazz and have lots of it here on local stations (a perk for living so close to the 'Big Easy').

 

[modafoto]

Mostly metal.

Right now it's Satyricon, Nightwish, Mayhem and Rammstein.

Keeping it evil, black and white!

Morten