# What are some of the best songs for an iPhoto slideshow?



## gmark2000

My Brother-in-law is celebrating his 50th birthday and I am putting together an iPhoto/iDVD slideshow with around 150 photos of him through the years. This will be shown at a surprise party for him.

What are some good songs to use as a soundtrack to this presentation? I am gonna use Green Day's "Time of Your Life" at the end and start the early school age with Paul Anka's "Times of Your Life". I need some good tunes in between.

As well, what is a good app to "mix"/"cross-fade" songs so that I'm only playing the best snippets?

Thanks.


----------



## CN

gmark2000 said:


> My Brother-in-law is celebrating his 50th birthday and I am putting together an iPhoto/iDVD slideshow with around 150 photos of him through the years. This will be shown at a surprise party for him.
> 
> What are some good songs to use as a soundtrack to this presentation? I am gonna use Green Day's "Time of Your Life" at the end and start the early school age with Paul Anka's "Times of Your Life". I need some good tunes in between.
> 
> As well, what is a good app to "mix"/"cross-fade" songs so that I'm only playing the best snippets?
> 
> Thanks.


Hmm...well, here's some songs that I would consider using (it really depends on your/his taste in music etc. though), although some of them just because they are good songs (you might want to be careful what people will take from the lyrics :lmao: ), not in any particular order:

-Picture Book by The Kinks (*)
-A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles
-Yesterday by The Beatles
-Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan
-Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
-Clocks by Coldplay
-Speed of Sound by Coldplay
-Times Like These by Jack Johnson (*)
-I've Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash (*?)
-Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel
-Shine on You Crazy Diamond lmao: )
-Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones
-I Can't Get No Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
_Beautiful Day by U2 (*)
-Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (*)
-I Can See For Miles by The Who
-My Generation by The Who (*)
-The Real Me by The Who
-Hey Jude by The Beatles
-Wild Thing by The Kinks lmao: )

Okay so some might not be so appropriate, but could be funny if they accompany the right image set.

And then at the end if you could get an action shot and play the Bat Man theme! Okay, maybe not...

:lmao: OR if your brother-in-law became deaf, dumb and blind at a young age (and may or may not have found a miracle cure by now) and is a pinball wizard, I suggest you use a chronological montage and just play the entire Tommy album (by The Who).


----------



## gmark2000

Thanks for that. Some great ideas. He's definitely a baby boomer but he's going to heavily influenced by 70s rock - not as much Brit stuff there.

I have a bunch of pics of him coaching softball so I thought that Jon Fogerty's Centerfield would be great there.

BTW, any ideas on how to mix tunes - how do they do those montages on Jack-FM?


----------



## mac_geek

With a Little Help From my Friends - Beatles or Joe Cocker


----------



## gwillikers

Cross fades are often a good option, but a lot of work to get right. If I had to pick one...
Foo Fighters-Learn To Fly


----------



## duper

gmark.

Always start off with something funnier, then sappier toward the end. I'd avoid Green Day's "Time of Your Life." Personally, I find it a bit too literal, plus I've seen it in so many slideshows before.

If you have any funnier photos, I'd start off with: R.E.M. - End of the World as we know it.

A few others, more sentimental:

Oasis - "Sad Song"
U2 - "One"
Dream Academy - "Please please please Let Me Get What I Want" <- Beautiful and haunting, with no lyrics.
Ben Folds - "You to Thank"


----------



## TrevX

I would do the whole slideshow in iMovie rather than iPhoto. I'm pretty sure you can only use one piece of music in an iPhoto slideshow, and its limited to one kind of transition, as well. Use iMovie, you have many more transitions to choose from, you can add titles, and mixing/cross-fading music can be done as well. I've done many of the same kinds of DVDs you're proposing, and its much much easier in iMovie.

Trev


----------



## kps

You can use more than one piece of music by creating a new play list (in iTunes) and then choosing that play list, but there is /was a delay between songs which translated into dead silence between slides. Maybe that was fixed...not 100% sure.

Agree that iMovie could be used to do the the sound track, if not the whole slide show. Easy to do mixes/cross fades with imported tracks in iMovie.

Songs are great, but if you're a .Mac member you could download hundreds of free music soundtracks each in multiple lengths. Apple offered quite a collection from FreePlay Music.


----------



## Greenman

Some 'different' choices... from the 70's


Leon Redbone - Think of me thinking of you

Tom Waits - I don't want to grow up

King Crimson - I talk to the wind, 21st century schizoid man

YES - Mood for a day (instrumental), Roundabout 

Zappa (not to everyone's taste) - Peaches en regalia (instrumental), Dancin fool (anti-disco theme song)

Jethro Tull - Teacher

Dr John - Right place wrong time, Such a night

Leon Russell - A song for you, Magic mirror, This masquerade

Little Feat - Rock n roll doctor

Traffic - Glad (instrumental), Stranger to himself

Dave Mason - Only you know and I know, Look at you look at me

Electric Light Orchestra - Ma-ma-ma belle

Johnny Winter - Still alive and well


----------



## gmark2000

Thanks again everyone for the fantastic tips. 

Per Trev, I will now use iMovie HD to make this movie now. Looks like it will be more full featured and I can mix tunes too. Thankfully the Ken Burns is feature in iMovie.

For the presentation order, I was going to be chronological through the childhood and school years, then do themes of love (his wife and childhood sweetheart), parenthood (his child - now grown) parties, family, sports etc...

This is where the music will be fairly creative. The Paul Anka tune gets really sappy and I didn't want to play the whole tune either. This is where a variety of music will be great.


----------



## AppleAuthority

You could crossfade into different parts of 'Echoes' by Pink Floyd. The piece is so long and has such variation that it could even use it multiple times. I'd use the 'jam' section for his early years.

You could also use Shine on You Crazy Diamond (as mentioned above), in parts one through five, though some of the lyrical content may not match up.

A _few_ notable songs:

This Heaven - David Gilmour
When I Come Around - Green Day
Taking Care of Business - BTO
Jamming - Bob Marely
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (perfect for pictures from that era)
Should I Say or Should I Go - The Clash
Crossroads - Cream
Life In The Fast Lane - The Eagles
Next Year - Foo Fighters
The Best is Yet To Come - Frank Sinatra
Last Ride In - Green Day (good instrumental)
Can You See Me - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
Popcorn - Mad Caddies
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
Time - Pink Floyd
We Are The Champions - Queen D)
Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
The Logical Song - Supertramp


Those are some that come to mind.  You could crossfade between them. You don't have to necessarily play the whole song.


----------



## djstp

AppleAuthority said:


> This Heaven - David Gilmour
> When I Come Around - Green Day
> Taking Care of Business - BTO
> Jamming - Bob Marely
> Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (perfect for pictures from that era)
> Should I Say or Should I Go - The Clash
> Crossroads - Cream
> Life In The Fast Lane - The Eagles
> Next Year - Foo Fighters
> The Best is Yet To Come - Frank Sinatra
> Last Ride In - Green Day (good instrumental)
> Can You See Me - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
> Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
> Popcorn - Mad Caddies
> Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
> Time - Pink Floyd
> We Are The Champions - Queen D)
> Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
> Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
> Superstition - Stevie Wonder
> The Logical Song - Supertramp



for such a young man... all i have to say is...



There are two "s" 's in class my friends, and you have them both!


----------



## AppleAuthority

Thank you, djstp. 

As a lead guitarist and vocalist in a rock band, my influences are easily shown here. I constantly am told by others that my guitar playing is Gilmour-like. And I'm proud of it .


----------



## djstp

AppleAuthority said:


> Thank you, djstp.
> 
> As a lead guitarist and vocalist in a rock band, my influences are easily shown here. I constantly am told by others that my guitar playing is Gilmour-like. And I'm proud of it .


i would be very  interested in hearing yer work!

( sorry for the thread hijack)


----------



## AppleAuthority

You'll hear some soon enough.


----------

