Anyone like myself who was coming of age when Nirvana's Nevermind was released in 1991 is probably a bit stunned at the heights Dave Grohl has reached in his career. I don't say that because he isn't deserving or hasn't worked harder than most. Think about it......how many stories are there of drummers stepping out from behind the kit to front a band......then going on to sell over 10 million records....and then going on to direct films? Oh....and collaborate with Sir Paul McCartney on live television? Yes....he deserves all the success he has earned.
I'm sure 19 year old Dave Grohl wouldn't even be able to process it, or even want it. That young kid drumming in Scream, a Virginia punk band would probably look at the success of Foo Fighters and accuse of "selling out". Boy, have times changed. Grohl is fighting to keep a center in the current state of the music industry; which lives in the left, follows formulas to create hits, and insists that a drum beat must snap to a grid on a computer screen to sound "right". Heck, most bands now record their drum parts and then the engineer copies and pastes perfect drum hits over all the imperfect ones as though the differences in drum hits are some sort of flaw or weakness.
Hence, Grohl's newest project, "Sound City". A documentary film about the legendary music studio in the Los Angeles Valley that recently closed. As the film explains, studios popped up all over America in the late 60's, and through no rhyme or reason.....certain buildings became the environment where our greatest rock records were made. Sound City stayed the course with analog recording throughout the digital revolution, largely due to the legendary Neve recording console that it features. At the time, sticking with analog tape, tubes, and transistors seemed stubborn and limiting. In truth, the limitations of analog often force the musicians to focus on a great performance rather than laying down parts and "fixing it" later on a computer screen. I have been working towards a live recording culture at Spur of the Moment Media....although it ain't a cheap undertaking. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of using a Neve console and recording to 2" tape in college.... but now it is 15 years later and I have yet to do either again. Who has $50,000.00 to set up even the most basic of analog studios? What band can afford to pay a studio bill when their songs are being sold online for $0.0004 per play? I feel torn between these 2 worlds.
If you watched the 2012 Grammy's, you may remember Dave Grohl accepting an award for the Foo Fighters' album Wasting Light. In his speech he mentioned the human element in musical recording, and I wondered that night who was hearing this statement and understanding its meaning. What Grohl was trying to describe in a 33 second acceptance speech is now explored in detail with Sound City.
One point that is made in the film is that in todays world, many musicians would never make music if it wasn't for the ease and accessibility of recording to a computer. Bands can record themselves and release an album digitally at little to no cost. So what is more important......the human element of analog, or the ability for more musicians to make music? How many of today's bands would not exist if they needed a $10,000 budget to release a record?
Grohl is saying that there is a place for both....but again how relevant is this message outside of his world? After all, Grohl grew up in an era where a record label would cut a $60,000 cheque to a virtually unknown band and send them to a studio to craft an album.
In the end, this is a great documentary for any fan of Grohl's, or anyone who has an interest in what magic happens in the analog music studio. I'm not so sure about how the average music lover will appreciate or enjoy this film due to the extensive chat about the equipment and studio elements, but it is worth the effort either way.
Sound City is an important view into an era that is fading away, and I truly believe that analog recorded music must be preserved as an art form.
One point that is made in the film is that in todays world, many musicians would never make music if it wasn't for the ease and accessibility of recording to a computer. Bands can record themselves and release an album digitally at little to no cost. So what is more important......the human element of analog, or the ability for more musicians to make music? How many of today's bands would not exist if they needed a $10,000 budget to release a record?
Grohl is saying that there is a place for both....but again how relevant is this message outside of his world? After all, Grohl grew up in an era where a record label would cut a $60,000 cheque to a virtually unknown band and send them to a studio to craft an album.
In the end, this is a great documentary for any fan of Grohl's, or anyone who has an interest in what magic happens in the analog music studio. I'm not so sure about how the average music lover will appreciate or enjoy this film due to the extensive chat about the equipment and studio elements, but it is worth the effort either way.
Sound City is an important view into an era that is fading away, and I truly believe that analog recorded music must be preserved as an art form.
I love the fact that recording music is so much easier to do now, but at the same time I think it makes for less polished music and has flooded the industry and everyone's music players with substandard music in many ways. People think because they CAN record music so easily then they SHOULD.....which isn't true in most cases. How many bands have that first AMAZING album, because they spent 10 years writing it while they learned to play before someone would even listen to them let alone record them. That doesn't really exist anymore.
ReplyDeleteBTW, great post as usual, I now plan one watching that docu for sure.