Sound City (2013)

The Worst Film Ever

Such a frustrating disappointment

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

When he left Seattle with his band Nirvana in the early 1990s, drummer Dave Grohl was initially excited his group would be recording their first major label album at famous Sound City recording studios in Van Nuys, CA...that is, until he saw the place. Described by many as "a real s***hole," the cluttered, crowded studio--downwind of a brewery!--was considered outdated by 1992, but was about to experience a resurrection after Nirvana's "Nevermind" went to number-one. Now closed for business, Sound City's history is fascinatingly laid-out by director and co-producer Grohl, who charts the studio's early successes beginning in 1973 with help from the artists who were there (Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Rick Springfield). Grohl--who purchased Sound City's revolutionary analog mixing console, the Neve 8028, and moved it into his home studio--proves to have a surprisingly sentimental side for the ramshackle place and its colorful crew, but comes up short on narrative (at one point, engineer Keith Olsen defects and opens his own studio "next door," but we never see the studio and aren't told of its fate). The documentary's third act, with Grohl and his all-star friends recording a hard-rocking tribute album to Sound City using the Neve, is stretched out too far and stalls the nostalgic momentum, but otherwise this is a respectful, thoughtfully-composed and moving musical journal. *** from ****

The first half of the movie is great. It documents a slummy old studio that produced some of the greatest music ever, in part because of a finely crafted analog audio mixer. Director Dave Grohl interviews some big names, who have great stories from this little studio. This is what the entire film should have been.But maybe halfway through, everything changes. Suddenly Grohl goes from interviewer (often times on camera conducting the interviews) to the interviewee. He's the director, so is he interviewing himself? Usually in documentaries, the crew documents something without getting involved. Here, he's feeding himself soundbites for the movie he's making. Keanu Reeve's role in Side By Side, about digital filmmaking, is a good example of how it's supposed to be done. This just seems like as a filmmaker, he decided he's not getting what he needed, so he jumped in front of the camera to do it himself.The last half hour forgets about Sound City and just becomes Grohl making a movie about himself looking good and recording music. He buys the soundboard from Sound City and starts his own studio, where he and his bandmates bring in big names and play with them (are you required to play with Grohl if you record at his studio?). One song cuts between Grohl rocking out on guitar, and Grohl behind the glass banging his head to what's being recorded. The song ends with him declaring, "That was f'ing awesome. That was so f'ing beautiful." He might as well write his own reviews for the film too.This documentary starts out strong, but slowly rolls downhill into one big Dave Grohl self-congratulation. If you're interested in the history of Sound City and the evolution from analog to digital music recording, there is some good info in here. You just have to separate it from all the times Grohl is telling you how great he is.

It does not get any better than this. Musicians are not magical creatures, they do not have superpowers, they cannot fly.But man, can they use their creative brains and considerable chops to do things nobody thought you could do. An improbable bunch of "professionals", semi-pros, amateurs, hangers-on and gut-trusting people made this place and this music. Dave Grohl will be given rock sainthood for having the brains and guts to tell this story and save that desk. Bottom line - you trust your instincts, every so often take a winger, and go with what works. I am floored by this and will be watching it again to get the little in-between things that make this work and are often the difference between grinding out formula music and "blowing the roof off the dump" as they say.

It's quite an interesting documentary with a rather sad development. I can see how the first half is interesting and of historic value, but the second part is not short of watching Grohl pleasuring himself. I find it very unfortunate that so many bands made so much money after recording there and nobody had the decency to help them out and keep the place running so other young people can experience Sound City. Instead, Grohl is nothing but an opportunist, who prays on Sound City's misfortune in order to get their unique console for himself. In 2011, after parting with lot's of their equipment the studio leases the space to Fairfax recordings.