My Favorite Rock Docs – Sound City
- Published in: My Favorite Rock Docs
- Written by Dave
- Permalink
Sound City is a love story between a grunge hero and…a mixing board.
Nirvana drummer (turned Foo Fighters front-man) Dave Grohl directs this homage to the storied recording studio that birthed the album Nevermind, brought Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to Fleetwood Mac and was the place where two generations of great rock albums were recorded.
From Rick Springfield to Tom Petty to Trent Reznor, a who’s who of rock royalty passed thru the doors of this little studio that could (and are a part of the movie).
What made Sound City so special? By all accounts it should not have been a great sounding room. But tucked in the control room was one of the few recording consoles designed and built by Rupert Neve. Grohl buys the Neve board and moves it to his home studio, then invites musicians who recorded at Sound City to make new music.
What to watch after Sound City
Dave is a man of many talents. Who knew film-making would be one of them? If you liked this movie he has other projects to check out:
- Sonic Highways is an 8-part companion to the Foo Fighters album of the same name. The Foos travel cross-country to 8 influential studios and create a new song in each one. Even won a couple of Emmys for sound mixing. Still waiting for the international follow up Dave promised.
- Foo Fighters: Back and Forth tells the story of the band’s first decade & a half. Formed by Dave Grohl after the death of Kurt Cobain, the story of the Foos is surprisingly interesting even for non-fans.
- Classic Albums – Nirvana: Nevermind is the full story of the band’s breakthrough album, just a chapter in this amazing series that I will have more to say about.