Required Viewing.

Sound City: Real to Reel.

This movie produced by Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters should be viewed by every aspiring musician/"producer"/engineer. There are things here that can only be explained by the people who etched their mark in the history of music.

There is something to be said for performance. Interaction between musicians. Grohl keeps mentioning the human element. It's so true. When people are playing off of each others vibe there is something in the air that you have to experience. It's not tangible but it's real. If you've ever been in a small club with a band that just mesh so well together. Their performance is so good you wish you had a bottle to capture it so that you could experience it again and again. That is what Sound City is about.

There's something else. There is the Neve console. No ordinary console. This is one of 4 in the world. I've had the privilege of having touched one but unfortunately, as my mentor said it, I was unable to appreciate it at the time. He was right. Now having heard and compared Neve pres and eqs to other more current  products, I wish I had been able to spend more time with that desk.

They take the time to isolate the drums in the video. They do sound so sweet. You would be hard pressed to get that sound out of another console. Not without some work would it come. That console and two inch tape. It's a magic formula that could not be easily attained.

But, these are not the only components to the Sound City vibe. It was the producers who made the atmosphere and the musicians who performed their music together in that sound stage.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against technology. I think it's great that the average joe can go into his bedroom and "produce" a song with almost zero budget. Let's face it. 95% of those kids don't buy their software. They steal it. Never the less, just about anyone can cut and paste a song together these days. The problem I have with that is that it's sterile.

Where is the talent? Put that kid in front of a piano, a drum kit, give him a trumpet, a mandolin and what can they do? Is their talent there?

Maybe.