Duran Duran Girls on Film Motor Drive Sound: Which one

[Fintan]

Depeche Mode - Photographic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUP5W10wGEA

 

[Kirk Keyes]

I don't have any Nikons, but I do have 3 of the 4 synths that Nick Rhodes typically used in those days - the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 (seen in the video for "Girls on Film"), the Crumar Performer (used for string sounds), the Roland Jupiter-8 (think the arpegiated notes in "Rio". Some day, I hope to find a Fairlight, one of the first digital samplers which they bought while recording Rio, and used to make that backwards cymbals sound used as the mirror breaks in the video as the start.

By the way, one of Nick Rhodes hobbies is photography. I understand he has a darkroom and he also took the photos used on the cover and inside their latest album, "Red Carpet Massacre". The photos are of 4 very beautiful Russian models...

 

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is an avid Leica shooter. He mentions it in his website. I am no sure if he has a darkroom.

I invited him to come use my darkroom if hey ever plays near NYC. I hope he shows up!

 

[Ian Tindale]

I've got an ARP 2600 in my attic, with the name "ROGER GLOVER" stencilled across the outside. Must get round to fixing it one day - it's only partly functioning. There's also a Korg Mono/Poly and a Roland SH-09 still up there. The Korgies got sold some years ago (the MS-20, MS-10 and SQ-10) together with my old TR-808.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

Ian - very cool. I loved Machine Head.

And I have an ARP 2600 in my attic (well, third floor) as well. No cool names written on it as far as I can tell. As close as I have to a famous person is that my Prophet-5 is 10 serial numbers away from Peter Gabriel's P-5, both Series 1 machines with only 176 or so of them made.

I did get a set of official ARP patch sheets with it. My favorite one shows how to make that cool synth sound from Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein". Sadly, the VCO 1 on my 2600 is non-functioning at this time.

I'm not really a Korg person, but I do have an EX-800. And I'd love to get an MS-20 or 10. One of my favorite bands uses 3 of the new MS-2000s on stage - Ladytron. I just bought my tickets for when they come to the States this summer.

And while I'm at it, I've got a Roland D-50, a Minimoog, an Oberheim OB-8, and on indefinite loan from a friend, a Chroma (APR descendant) Polaris and a Yamaha DX-5 - a monster of a synth which is the equivalent of 2 DX-7s in one keyboard. It does the Taco Bell sound really well, but it just doesn't have that great vintage analog sound like the Jupiter-8, the OB-8, the Arp or the Minimoog. Oh yeah, and I have a LinnDrum LM-1, as heard in the Human League's "Don't you Want Me, Baby". Such a classic sounding drum machine - so distinctive.

 

[Bandicoot]

Then of course there is "Kodachrome" by Simon and Garfunkel. I wonder what other cameras / film songs are out there. probably a lot. I wonder if there is a german ode to a Rollei or a Leica someplace out there on a 45 or LP.

Off the top of my head:

"Photograph" by Def Leppard,
"Pictures of Lily" by The Kinks,
"Photograph" by Air,
"Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)" by A Flock of Seagulls,
"A Photograph of You" by Depeche Mode,
"The Camera Eye" by Rush,
"Photograph" by Astrud Gilberto,
and "Camera" by Editors​

all come to mind, as well as "Kodachrome" and others already mentioned.

Then there's the bands "Aztec Camera" and "Camera Obscura".

All of which got me thinking and a little digging turned up masses more, including songs called "Photograph" by artists as diverse as Nickelback, Jamie Cullum and Ringo Starr. Apparently there's at least four bands that have recorded songs called "Leica", and a band called Hi-Standard that did a song called "Pentax". (I shall refrain from any stupid jokes about "Canon" and Bach, Pachelbel, etc.) That quick search was just on titles, there must be many more songs that mention photography in the lyrics without it being in the title. Seems we have a good range to choose from in looking for a theme song...

I'm sure Ian Anderson can't be the only musician also to be a photographer, but I don't know of others. OK, Phil Collins did photograph the audience from on stage at the recent Genesis reunion, but I'm not sure if that really counts!

And I suppose the other J Geiles Song - Angel was a Centrefold - is sort of about a photograph (I had to mention that, because it actually happened to me.)


Peter

 

[Kirk Keyes]

And I suppose the other J Geiles Song - Angel was a Centrefold - is sort of about a photograph (I had to mention that, because it actually happened to me.)


Peter

You're not Peter Wolf are you?

Also, you could mention "Camera Club" which had Thomas Dolby and Bruce Woolley. And a song called "Camera" by ex-Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos.

 

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

Brian Adams (singer from Canada; Hope I spelled his fist name right) is quite the photographer. If memory serves, he had an exposition. I have also noted that Leica M6 and M7's are "arm candy" for movie stars. I can't remember who had it; I think it was Brad Pitt?

 

[Andy K]

I think Johnny Depp has been seen with a Leica.

 

[Bandicoot]

You're not Peter Wolf are you?

LOL, no...

(Though I have had many different nicknames over time, the only animals I've ever been named after have been pigs and horses. It's a long story...)

Brian Adams (singer from Canada; Hope I spelled his fist name right) is quite the photographer. If memory serves, he had an exposition.

I think he's a Bryan. Yes you're right, I'd forgotten about his photography: it was quite good as I recall.


Peter

 

[Fintan]

All this talk about synths makes me want to try to play a Yamaha CS6x that I was given. I've no idea if its a good synth or whatever but I like 80's electronica a lot.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

The CS6x sounds like it's worth playing - it's from 1999 and Depeche Mode has been known to use it.

Also, Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five is an APUG member I think.

 

[Fintan]

Thats cool. I really like DM. Was listening to the album Telecommunications by A Flock of Seagulls yesterday and, yep I think I'll get the synth out to play

 

[leeturner]

Old synths...... when everybody was buying M1's and the like I managed to pick up a load of old synths for next to nothing. Ended up with a Minimoog, ARP2600, OBX-a, Prophet 5, Roland SH101, TR808, Wurli and Rhodes, a newer Mellotron (called a Novatron), Jupiter 4, Juno 106 and probably a couple more (oh yes, a Super JX-10).

Sold them all at a huge profit several years later and am now down to virtual instruments and a couple of master controllers. Not quite the same. They stay in tune, don't break down and I don't get a hernia carrying them about. I remember breaking out in a sweat many times when you'd start to hear a not going steadily flatter on the Wurli and then wacking the offending key in between songs in order to snap the tine bar. Better no note than a flat one.

 

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

Don't forget the one that started it all (in my opinion), the Yamaha DX-7, the first (I believe) FM mixing snyth. Back in 1984 we had it hooked up to our VAX 11-780 computer (a "freightrain" of a computer, 5 19" rack cabinets) and you could write code and play it out on the DX-7. I can't remember the device but I think it had the word "river" in it.

--Jeffrey

 

[Andy K]

What about the pioneers of electronica? Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream etc? Those guys were using Moogs and Korgs back in the early to mid seventies.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

The Yamaha DX-7 was the Kodak DCS-100 digital camera of it's day. Or perhaps the DCS-100 was the DX-7 of it's day. A landmark in the history of music, or cameras, depending on which one you're referring to.

My friend loved the DX-5 that he loaned me - it's 2 DX-7s in one keyboard. I really love the sound and feel and touch of analog synths, even ones that were hybrid - that is analog wave modifying with a digitally controlled voltage controlled oscillator. Like my Jupiter-8 - lots of knobs and sliders. It's so easy to operate, not like the DX-5. Even my not quite 2 year old likes the Jupiter-8. I've even stored a couple of really cool sounds programmed into it that she's come up with.

By the way - are any of you guys in Europe going to see Jean Michel Jarre? He's doing shows all over Europe for the next few months. I tried to talk my DX-5 friend into going to London to see JMJ play at Royal Albert Hall, but my friend could not swing it. I hear rumour that Jarre will play in New York or perhaps Los Angeles. I'm definitely going to a show in the US if he comes.

I saw Kraftwerk in 2005 - a dream come true for me. Get the DVD they made, it's really captures the feel of the shows. I never thought I would see them. Another electronic band I saw last year was The Human League, that was a lot of fun to see Philip and the girls. And I caught Gary Numan 10 years ago as well, another electronic pioneer.

 

[Fintan]

JMJ is in Dublin soon

[Actually Kirk I've some digi snaps of Ladytron from September last year if you want PM me]

 

[leeturner]

The DX7 dated very quickly and was pretty redundant once Korg launched the M1. Like Kirk I couldn't get into the FM sounds, very flat and plasticky unlike the analog synths with lovely oscillator drift.
Wait a second..... not another analog and digital debate

 

[Ian Tindale]

I've got a VL-70m, physical modelling synth. Photography hasn't got as far as physical modelling yet.

And on the subject of songs about photography, how about Tommy Steele's 'Flash, Bang, Wallop' - it is left as an exercise to the reader to find the lyrics themselves.

 

[leeturner]

Ian, I was just thinking about the Yamaha VL's yesterday (I know, it's a sad life). I used one one stage for a month when the sax player became ill. Fantastic instrument but it was easy to go a bit red in the face blowing the breath controller. Been looking for one for a while now.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

Physical modeling is pretty cool. As far as photography and physical modelling goes, I think the last 3 Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings movies used a lot of it in them. Think Gollum and Jar Jar.

 

[okto]

I've got an ARP 2600 in my attic, with the name "ROGER GLOVER" stencilled across the outside. Must get round to fixing it one day - it's only partly functioning. There's also a Korg Mono/Poly and a Roland SH-09 still up there. The Korgies got sold some years ago (the MS-20, MS-10 and SQ-10) together with my old TR-808.

You keep all that in the attic?!

...Do you want to, em, no longer have it in the attic?

also: Freezepop - Boys On Film

 

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

Talk about a timely subject, I just got American Photographer in the mail and its dedicated to "celebrities" as photographers. The one that impressed me the most was Aaron Eckhart (the biker in "Erin Brockovich"

And I was right, it mentions that B Pitt had an old Leca and that is wife bought him a 4x5 folder for his birthday.

 

[Ian Tindale]

Brian Adams (singer from Canada; Hope I spelled his fist name right) is quite the photographer. If memory serves, he had an exposition.

Bryan Adams.

I went round the National Portrait Gallery, near Trafalgar Square, London, GB, Earth, yesterday morning during a brief gap in my duties. He's got an exhibition there - "Modern Muses" - at the current time, and I was quite pleased to observe really serious attention to the high quality of work and what an eye he has for arrangement, lighting and presentation of the subject.

I would describe the style as "adding nothing superfluous to the essential topic; extracting what is actually there to accentuate the communicative value of the subject; encapsulating and presenting in a manner that works both immediately and over longer-term consumption of the image." and I enjoyed seeing the work.