Top 10 Songs That Rock Photographers

By Ray Silcox

Times have really changed for photographers. Less than a decade ago, most of us were still hand processing black and whites in a darkroom. Today, all but very few hard core film fanatics have switched to digital photography.


Reminiscing about those old days in the lab got us thinking about the music we listened to back then. Together with my teenage son and his friends we gathered up the best photo related tunes we could and found those “oldies” still rock.

As a teenager, we all made fun of that early 60’s crap our parents listened to. Our parents would fire back by telling us to wait until we have kids. Well guess what mom? Our kids like our music! So while Kodachrome is losing the battle in this digital age of photography… our music lives on.

Here are our top ten songs for photographers that still rock — from the classics to a couple of newer releases.

1) Paul Simon – Kodachrome
“Kodachrome gives us those nice bright colors, gives us the greens of summers, makes you think all the world’s a sunny day.”

2) The J. Geils Band – Centerfold
“Years go by I’m lookin’ through a girly magazine. And there’s my homeroom angel on the pages in-between.”

3) J. Geils Band – Freeze Frame
“There were no defects to be found, snapshot image froze without a sound.”

4) Def Leppard – Photograph
“Gotta photograph, picture of passion killer.”

5) Duran Duran – Girls On Film
“Lipstick cherry all over the lens as she’s falling.”

6) Nickelback – Photograph
“Look at this photograph. Every time I do it makes me laugh.”

7) The Who – Pictures of Lily
“Hey mister, have you ever seen, Pictures of Lily?”

8) Cars – Let the Good Times Roll
“Let the photos be old. Let them show what they want.”

9) Filter – Take My Picture
“Could you take my picture? Cuz I won’t remember.”

10) The Cure – Pictures of You
“I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you that I almost believe that they’re real.”