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IMDbPro

Sound City

  • 20132013
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
13K
YOUR RATING
Sound City (2013)
Dave Grohl directs this documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.
Play trailer2:25
1 Video
42 Photos
DocumentaryMusic
A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
13K
YOUR RATING
    • Dave Grohl
    • Mark Monroe
  • Stars
    • Trent Reznor
    • Tom Petty
    • Mick Fleetwood
    • Dave Grohl
    • Mark Monroe
  • Stars
    • Trent Reznor
    • Tom Petty
    • Mick Fleetwood
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 41User reviews
    • 40Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    U.S. Version #1
    Trailer 2:25
    Watch U.S. Version #1

    Photos42

    Dave Grohl in Sound City (2013)
    Dave Grohl and Butch Vig in Sound City (2013)
    Dave Grohl in Sound City (2013)
    Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, and Foo Fighters at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Stevie Nicks and Rick Springfield at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Stevie Nicks at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Rick Nielsen at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Rick Nielsen and Taylor Hawkins at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Lee Ving at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Butch Vig at an event for Sound City (2013)
    Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic arrive at the premiere of "Sound City" at ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on January 31, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
    Dave Grohl at an event for Sound City (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Trent Reznor
    Trent Reznor
    • Self
    Tom Petty
    Tom Petty
    • Self
    Mick Fleetwood
    Mick Fleetwood
    • Self
    Vinny Appice
    • Self
    Joe Barresi
    • Self
    Robert Levon Been
    Robert Levon Been
    • Self
    Brian Bell
    Brian Bell
    • Self
    Frank Black
    Frank Black
    • Self
    James Brown
    • Self
    Lindsey Buckingham
    Lindsey Buckingham
    • Self
    Mike Campbell
    Mike Campbell
    • Self
    Tim Commerford
    Tim Commerford
    • Self
    Kevin Cronin
    Kevin Cronin
    • Self
    Rivers Cuomo
    Rivers Cuomo
    • Self
    Warren Demartini
    Warren Demartini
    • Self
    John Fogerty
    John Fogerty
    • Self
    Neil Giraldo
    • Self
    Christopher Allen Goss
    Christopher Allen Goss
    • Self
      • Dave Grohl
      • Mark Monroe
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      This film has a 100% rating based on 46 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
    • Quotes

      David Grohl: Why can't it always be this easy?

      Paul McCartney: It is.

    • Connections
      Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.185 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Leyenda
      Written by Isaac Albéniz

      Performed by Andrés Segovia

    User reviews41

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    An obligation for aspiring musicians and those of a well-acquainted musical nature
    One of the greatest unsung treasures of the United States has to be Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, which recorded dozens of artists' hits beginning to 1969 and possessing the energy and following to continue doing it in 2011. This is a surprising feature because of the inherent primitiveness of the recording studio, as we're told, which has a very "secondhand" look, completer with brown-shag carpeting fit for a Volkswagen bus, cheap Velour couches, and other hand-me-down items. Yet what it's arguably most famous for, besides being the home of a dozen dozen records is housing an enormous custom-made soundboard made by engineer Rupert Neve, which was purchased by Sound City owners Joe Gottfried and Tom Skeeter for $76,000. We're told Gottfried's house, at the time, cost only $38,000.

    The film, made by Foo Fighters-founded Dave Grohl, begins with a wordless intro of Grohl setting up the recording studio, getting ready to play, before introducing us to the wealth of history, insight, facts, memories, and legends associated with Sound City. Every artist in the 1970's and 1980's came to record at Sound City, not just because of its simplicity, but because it was known to have a terrific design to it which purified vocals and made electrifying sound quality for its singers' records. Kansas, Slayer, REO Speedwagon, Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham Nicks, Stevie Nicks, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rick Springfield, Neil Young, Pat Benatar, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Barry Manilow, etc were all caught under the Sound City spell, and another huge quality for them that attracted the singers to the lure of the studio was the fact that Gottfried and Skeeter genuinely cared about the music they were putting out. They weren't in it for the power, they weren't in it for their health, they weren't in it for the glory of anything at all, and they sure weren't in it for the wealth.

    The first half of the documentary involves the singers that made Sound City what it was. In-depth interviews with Stevie Nicks, recalling her days with Buckingham Nicks along with Lindsey Buckingham, and Rick Springfield smiling and remembering his fame for his anthem "Jessie's Girl," yet choking up remembering how he left Gottfried to pursue another manager. Of all the interviews, I loved Springfield's the most. Not only a cherishable music talent, Springfield is a collective and inspiring talker who is less about the narcissism and more about the deep and flavorful memories he has treasured for years.

    The second half of the documentary concerns the depressing end of analog recording and the introduction of computers, synthesizes, and heavy machinery other than the soundboard that began to dominate the music business. We see how computers killed the traditional star of the music industry, when high-tech equipment moved from the level of desirable to easily obtainable, which gave many musicians popularity for work that was more than half adjusted thanks to technological advances. I can assume the issue back in the day for musicians who felt they had something to share with the world was they had the heart and drive, but they lacked the materials essential for recognition and success. Today, anyone can easily get the materials, but do they possess that heart and drive that makes them deserve to be heard? Of course, this discussion can easily transcend to the debate of whether the internet and computers was a good or bad invention. Personally, it was an amazing invention, one of the most important the human race has ever seen. The sad thing about it was it made many, many unique things very common. Writing? Whatever. You can easily build a blog from the ground up by using a popular website as your footing. Music? Whatever. There are sites like Band Camp to release your works. Good luck standing out.

    But I digress. The third half focuses on several artists, including Paul McCartney, performing, practicing, and simply rocking-out at Sound City, embracing the loud, boldness of the music and the cutting riffs of the music through its impenetrable walls. This is what, I assume, some people came for. I certainly didn't, but I did anything but discourage it.

    Sound City is a documentary, that I dare say, needed to be made. It depicts a more primitive era in the music industry, when things were more wholesome and less barbaric. When social stunts and outrage attires were secondary stories, with the music being performed at the foreground. If we're losing our moral compass anywhere in the world, it's in the mainstream pop/rap music, where artists like Beyonce, Chief Keef, Ke$ha, and Nicki Minaj can recite their frothy, commercialized music that lacks soul and heart. It becomes a depressing reality when you hear the terrific anthems from yesteryear in this documentary (such as "Landslide" or "Time for Me to Fly") and begin to wish for songs like those again, you question, have we really advanced as much as we thought in some areas?

    Directed by: Dave Grohl.
    helpful•30
    4
    • StevePulaski
    • Feb 10, 2013

    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 18, 2013 (United Kingdom)
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Therapy Content
      • Roswell Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 47 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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