Rachel, Vincent, Jordan & Jamieson
Introduction
The following movies are documentaries that focus on Music and Sound. The first film shows the rise and fall of famous recording studio Sound City. It describes the importance of music production and the meaning of being a musician. The next film, Searching For Sugar Man, is about the mysterious artist Rodriguez and the search for him. We see the impact and influence music has on many people and the life of an enigmatic artist.
Sound City
Sound City is a 2013 documentary film produced and directed by Dave Grohl, about the history of at taped based recording studio Sound City Studios located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. Sound city is responsible for more than 100 certified gold and platinum albums. This little recording studio was most popular for its unique analog Neve recording console and had a good reputation for recording drums.The film tells the story of the studio from its early days in 1969 until its closing in 2011. During that time many artists from all over such as Nirvana, Kyuss, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty and Slipknot recorded groundbreaking music at Sound City studio. In 1991 Dave Grohl recorded the album Nevermind with the band Nirvana at Sound City Studios. Dave was so inspired he decided to create the documentary after he purchased several items from the studio, including the Neve 8028 analog mixing console, when the studio closed in 2011.
Out of the multitude of issues that were raised in this film, only a select few really stood out among the others. First off, the general principal of what real music is and who real musicians are these days compared to how it was back in the day. Also, how music was recorded just a few years ago was a complete different process that required a much more developed skillset and how the value of it all has gradually disappeared. All these aspects are presented in a variety of ways throughout the entire movie. We are shown the very beginnings of recording music, the tools and devices that were used at that point in time and the amazing evolution of it all. What really made this movie special and possible for us to connect on a personal level is the fact that we are seeing and somewhat experiencing many people’s journey to fame. Witnessing them come through the adversity and accomplishing their dreams and doing something they love. It is something we can all relate to because we all have dreams that we wish to make come true and be successful in what we love doing. Therefore, this adds a certain heartwarming touch to the film. The weekly topic was soundscapes; music, noise and silence. It is quite amazing how those three key aspects can make all the difference in a movie. For example, when each famous musician was being interviewed there was one of their songs playing in the background. It was placed there to try and help the viewer recognize who they were seeing on the screen. Also during the movie when some musicians were on the road driving to Sound City studios, there were some traffic sound effects to help the viewer’s imagination go just a little bit further. The main concepts that were discussed in our class were music and time. We discussed how music and film are the main art forms in which time plays a central role. Film and music are a time-based art. Neither is capable of functioning without it. These concepts are specifically applicable to this film because very frequently in the movie we find ourselves going back in time and seeing footage or images that were taken over 20 years ago. The music that goes along with the image is what really sets us in that time and space. Needless to say, music or sound is irrelevant without time. Sound must exist in time. There is no such thing as still sound like there are still images. I guess you could say time doesn’t only wait for no man, time waits for nothing at all.
The sound city movie is much more than a documentary about small time recording studio in Southern California, its the true story of how great music is made. How some of the greatest musicians of all time started at the bottom and made it to the top. What made sound city so special to these musicians? What lead them to create such wonderful music? There surrounding of the drum room, the relationship and acceptances of each other and their combination of talent lead to many platinum records. Sound city made music history, without it we would not have the great music we have today.
Searching For Sugar Man
Analysis
Within these two movies, we get to experience how music is created, represented, and also influential to people's lives. In Sound City, we see the many musicians and the effort put into the music created in the studio. Everyone in the studio work their best to achieve a sound everybody is unanimously pleased with. They all love what they do and they make a bond with each other. In Searching For Sugar Man, Sixto Rodriguez's music resonates with the environment he grew up in. His songs were stories of misery and sorrow. Elsewhere, the album Cold Fact became a driving force in giving the South African citizens the idea of being anti-Apartheid. These two movies display how powerful music can be to just the right listeners and musicians. We learn, through their actions, that music can be influential to us as it is to them.
Dave Grohl in Sound City speaks of the the human element in music that was hindered by the evolution of music recording. Advancing technology makes it seem like instruments are downgraded to a computer that does everything for a producer. Dave Grohl, multi-instrumentalist, invokes that music should be played together with friends and fellow musicians. He shows this by showing jam sessions in his own studio. Although this approach of show over tell is somewhat cryptic, it is effective in making the viewer think over it. In Searching For Sugar Man, the film makers explore the life of Sixty Rodriguez and his lifestyle of always giving back. By interviewing the people close to him, they represent the musician as a man with everything to give. Unbeknownst to him, he was also a cultural icon to South African citizens. No one could deny the joy of the audience in Rodriguez's concert in South Africa, 1998.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMZY9hO8d8#t=4167
(Rodriguez's concert being stopped momentarily because of the joyful shouting of the crowds.)
The film makers dare to challenge our understanding of music and musicians. Is music as simple as pressing buttons on a computer? How much work is put on a single album? Is music only about the sales? They elaborate to great detail on the ordeal and skill needed to play. They elaborate on the great storytelling abilities of the artists. Lastly, they display the possible impact a single artist can make. The film makers choose to teach on the endless possibilities of the world by using one of the oldest medium in civilization. They prove to us that there might be some things that we do not know yet in how we can influence the world to change. To us, music is a source of happiness and an escape. As Marilyn Manson once said, music is different from the media in its way of allowing the listener to hear what he wants to hear. We see music as the great escape from being told what to do. In drowning our ears with sound and blocking out the outside world, we begin to explore our mind's joys.
There's a saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Many things may pass by in an individual's life, but they will always have that one passion that drives someone to strive forward in their life. After all that's said and done, we will all thank whoever gave us that passion. In Sound City, Dave Grohl associates it to the Neve Board. For the South Africans, it was Sixty Rodriguez. Each individual will have different passions and each one will have a different impact. This is how we, the viewers, relate with the passion of the musicians and the fans as shown in the documentaries.
Introduction
The following movies are documentaries that focus on Music and Sound. The first film shows the rise and fall of famous recording studio Sound City. It describes the importance of music production and the meaning of being a musician. The next film, Searching For Sugar Man, is about the mysterious artist Rodriguez and the search for him. We see the impact and influence music has on many people and the life of an enigmatic artist.
Sound City
Sound City is a 2013 documentary film produced and directed by Dave Grohl, about the history of at taped based recording studio Sound City Studios located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. Sound city is responsible for more than 100 certified gold and platinum albums. This little recording studio was most popular for its unique analog Neve recording console and had a good reputation for recording drums.The film tells the story of the studio from its early days in 1969 until its closing in 2011. During that time many artists from all over such as Nirvana, Kyuss, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty and Slipknot recorded groundbreaking music at Sound City studio. In 1991 Dave Grohl recorded the album Nevermind with the band Nirvana at Sound City Studios. Dave was so inspired he decided to create the documentary after he purchased several items from the studio, including the Neve 8028 analog mixing console, when the studio closed in 2011.
Out of the multitude of issues that were raised in this film, only a select few really stood out among the others. First off, the general principal of what real music is and who real musicians are these days compared to how it was back in the day. Also, how music was recorded just a few years ago was a complete different process that required a much more developed skillset and how the value of it all has gradually disappeared. All these aspects are presented in a variety of ways throughout the entire movie. We are shown the very beginnings of recording music, the tools and devices that were used at that point in time and the amazing evolution of it all. What really made this movie special and possible for us to connect on a personal level is the fact that we are seeing and somewhat experiencing many people’s journey to fame. Witnessing them come through the adversity and accomplishing their dreams and doing something they love. It is something we can all relate to because we all have dreams that we wish to make come true and be successful in what we love doing. Therefore, this adds a certain heartwarming touch to the film. The weekly topic was soundscapes; music, noise and silence. It is quite amazing how those three key aspects can make all the difference in a movie. For example, when each famous musician was being interviewed there was one of their songs playing in the background. It was placed there to try and help the viewer recognize who they were seeing on the screen. Also during the movie when some musicians were on the road driving to Sound City studios, there were some traffic sound effects to help the viewer’s imagination go just a little bit further. The main concepts that were discussed in our class were music and time. We discussed how music and film are the main art forms in which time plays a central role. Film and music are a time-based art. Neither is capable of functioning without it. These concepts are specifically applicable to this film because very frequently in the movie we find ourselves going back in time and seeing footage or images that were taken over 20 years ago. The music that goes along with the image is what really sets us in that time and space. Needless to say, music or sound is irrelevant without time. Sound must exist in time. There is no such thing as still sound like there are still images. I guess you could say time doesn’t only wait for no man, time waits for nothing at all.
The sound city movie is much more than a documentary about small time recording studio in Southern California, its the true story of how great music is made. How some of the greatest musicians of all time started at the bottom and made it to the top. What made sound city so special to these musicians? What lead them to create such wonderful music? There surrounding of the drum room, the relationship and acceptances of each other and their combination of talent lead to many platinum records. Sound city made music history, without it we would not have the great music we have today.
Searching For Sugar Man
This very well made film was basically
like a journey through the discovery of who Rodriguez really was by
the people of a country that were captivated by him. It is simply a
celebration of the life of an underrated musician. The main thing we
did retain from the film is how the music industry tries to trounce
people who appear weak. Rodriguez was a wanderer, a grounded and
humble human being who perhaps appeared as a loner. Sadly, those
traits led him to not receiving any royalties from his album sales in
South Africa as the labels knew he was worthless in America and knew
nothing about his fame abroad. At the end of the film, it says he
gave all the money he earned from the concerts in South Africa to
friends and family. If you consider, that in most cases money is
extremely important in order to be a good provider, it proves that
the music industry is extremely unforgiving and that you must fight
to get what you want unless you see life like Rodriguez, and enjoy
living the simple life.
This film felt
absolutely magical. It revolves around the life of a musician who
never really got his shot to fame, or so we think? It starts off by
showing us people who got to work with him in the music industry.
They all have nothing but good to say about him and his work. The
film then shifts to South Africa where we meet a man called Stephen
Segerman. He reveals to us that Rodriguez is in fact a star in his
home country and that in the 1990’s, he made it his personal
mission to go look for Rodriguez, or at least find information about
him, since nobody knew anything. What made it so special is in the
character that is showed on screen. Rodriguez’s humble thinking
towards his success and quiet mysterious attitude makes you think
about the way you see life. It definitely made us come to the
conclusion that it isn’t material things that make you happy, but
how you feel in your heart. We felt like he really understood that
life is much bigger that just one person’s ambition and goals and
that it’s much better to live in the moment and enjoy the little
things than to live in regret over not doing big things that are very
hard to achieve.
Beautiful music is created in one
place and it causes a storm in some place far away. The way this
theory affected the people locally and in South Africa is a testament
to the type of person Rodriguez is. The person that was seen in
America appeared as a humble quiet loner of some sorts. Not much of a
selling point for big record studios who were most likely interested
in someone who was more extroverted and charismatic. In South Africa
tough, all they had to go by is a simple picture and this amazing
music so they had no prejudice towards the type of person he really
was. In the end, the people of South Africa fell in love with him to
the point where everything he did and said was beautiful to them. We
think that the films message is that looks can be deceiving and can
change everything. It’s also fascinating to see that the city of
Detroit has a lot in common with South Africa. In one place, you had
a very hard-working city that appeared to live through a lot of
poverty and in the other; you had a great struggle to oust an evil
racist government who imposed control its population. Both of these
situations represent a state where people are living in fear and
despair. We think that the reason South Africans love Rodriguez so
much has to do with the lyrics they can identify with and the gritty
soundscapes that represent the dark and somewhat miserable things
they have to live trough.
Analysis
Within these two movies, we get to experience how music is created, represented, and also influential to people's lives. In Sound City, we see the many musicians and the effort put into the music created in the studio. Everyone in the studio work their best to achieve a sound everybody is unanimously pleased with. They all love what they do and they make a bond with each other. In Searching For Sugar Man, Sixto Rodriguez's music resonates with the environment he grew up in. His songs were stories of misery and sorrow. Elsewhere, the album Cold Fact became a driving force in giving the South African citizens the idea of being anti-Apartheid. These two movies display how powerful music can be to just the right listeners and musicians. We learn, through their actions, that music can be influential to us as it is to them.
Dave Grohl in Sound City speaks of the the human element in music that was hindered by the evolution of music recording. Advancing technology makes it seem like instruments are downgraded to a computer that does everything for a producer. Dave Grohl, multi-instrumentalist, invokes that music should be played together with friends and fellow musicians. He shows this by showing jam sessions in his own studio. Although this approach of show over tell is somewhat cryptic, it is effective in making the viewer think over it. In Searching For Sugar Man, the film makers explore the life of Sixty Rodriguez and his lifestyle of always giving back. By interviewing the people close to him, they represent the musician as a man with everything to give. Unbeknownst to him, he was also a cultural icon to South African citizens. No one could deny the joy of the audience in Rodriguez's concert in South Africa, 1998.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMZY9hO8d8#t=4167
(Rodriguez's concert being stopped momentarily because of the joyful shouting of the crowds.)
The film makers dare to challenge our understanding of music and musicians. Is music as simple as pressing buttons on a computer? How much work is put on a single album? Is music only about the sales? They elaborate to great detail on the ordeal and skill needed to play. They elaborate on the great storytelling abilities of the artists. Lastly, they display the possible impact a single artist can make. The film makers choose to teach on the endless possibilities of the world by using one of the oldest medium in civilization. They prove to us that there might be some things that we do not know yet in how we can influence the world to change. To us, music is a source of happiness and an escape. As Marilyn Manson once said, music is different from the media in its way of allowing the listener to hear what he wants to hear. We see music as the great escape from being told what to do. In drowning our ears with sound and blocking out the outside world, we begin to explore our mind's joys.
There's a saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Many things may pass by in an individual's life, but they will always have that one passion that drives someone to strive forward in their life. After all that's said and done, we will all thank whoever gave us that passion. In Sound City, Dave Grohl associates it to the Neve Board. For the South Africans, it was Sixty Rodriguez. Each individual will have different passions and each one will have a different impact. This is how we, the viewers, relate with the passion of the musicians and the fans as shown in the documentaries.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can see how music can bring people together in harmony and peace. It's not about the money or fame, but rather the way it affects people. It can come from different places and sounds, yet it can always relate to others for widely different reasons. To decide on what music is up to all of us individually.
By far, this was my favorite movie of the semester because the music that sound city produced was my type genre especially rock alternative genre. It was really interesting to understand where the music I listened to came from and how the bands made it their albums and music. I found that the musicians from those days were REAL musicians because they work on their music for hours and hours and you can feel the passion of in their art. Also, the fact that they made their music instantly without rehearsal proves that they are very perfectionist in their work.
ReplyDeleteLashana Welsh
This movie was very good and was one of my more preferable movies in the semester. This movie really spoke to me because, although I am not a big fan of rock, I got to see where the roots began and where most of the big time bands made their biggest hits. I found it very interesting to know that Rise against the Machine invited their friends to listen to them live while they made their record which was very helpful for them in the way that they get to make an album and have fun doing it at the same time. I think this movie was great and this blog really reflected on it and gave a very good description of what Sound City was and how it affected the music industry.
ReplyDeleteRomandeep Bedi
I really like this sound city documentary film because I love music. It was a very interesting film especially the drummer in the back, he didn't even stop playing it for a second. This showed me how hard they used to work and you could feel their passion. It was awesome I enjoyed watching it. :)
ReplyDeleteAllina Zulfiqar
Great Entry! I very much agree with your statement that the movie was " [relatable] because we all have dreams that we wish to make come true and be successful in what we love doing. " I also really loved this movie, and found it to be very inspiring. While watching the movie all i could think about was rushing home after to write a new song and play my guitar. I wish that Sound City was still around today, what i would do to go record music in a place like that! Recording in a studio is nothing like they described in sound city anymore. I wish i was around to experience the good years of real music made by talented musicians (60s-90s). This Movie was one of the most interesting and entertaining documentaries i have ever watched. I enjoyed learning so much about where the artists i love used to perform and record.
ReplyDeletePippa Dupuis
This was my favourite documentary watched in class so far. I loved the music in it and how it showed the hard work that these great artists put in to make great music. I especially liked how the documentary Sound City shows the audience how music was made then and how it is now. Being a viewer of this film I learnt that music made in recording studios like Sound City is a lot more real than the stuff that it made on auto tune, I like how the filmmaker made the comparison. I also thought this blog entry brought up a lot of good points that were discussed in class but also gave a great explanation and analysis of the second documentary: Searching for sugar man, for the rest of the class that hasn't seen it.
ReplyDeleteSherry Duncan
This was defiantly one of the more interesting and captivating films we have seen so far. The story of sound city is one I hadn’t heard prior to watching this film so learning so many huge names had produced so many award winning records there was pretty eye opening. I can really understand why sound city meant so much to these musicians, it’s small, its gross, the wallpaper is peeling but it is special because of what was accomplished by the people inside it. I was already a fan of a handful of mentioned bands but the film also showed me a few more bands I hadn’t heard of before whose music I really liked from the film so I looked into more of their work. Overall everything was very well done, the film was entertaining the blog post was well written and the music was awesome. I just wish people could see the value of music produced by hand without the use of a computer, and how much better music could be if people cared about the quality of the artists playing the music as they did the way it sounds.
ReplyDelete-Alex Sykes
This was definitely my favourite documentary so far this year. It was awesome because I love the music from the film and because I also play guitar myself. This film not only showed me what it really means to be a musician but it also showed me what you don't need. You don't need to be someone your not when your making music, and you don't need modern technology to record it. I really liked your point about how this movie relates to everyday life when it comes to accomplishing your dreams. These musicians had their dreams and their talent and even if they didn't have enough money they still had hope in their dreams and eventually accomplished them. This is the kind of mentality people need more of now a days and this is, most importantly, what made the music so special and genuine. Overall I think this is a great film and i'd encourage any fan of music to watch it and to learn from it.
ReplyDelete- Peter Rallis
Very interesting stuff guys!
ReplyDeleteSound city has been my favorite documentary so far, it’s so easy to get lost in the world of music and go back in time to the 70’s. I was brought up with the music of Fleetwood mac and saw Neil Young twice in concert. To see someone play music the way he does is just incredible, I was so memorized by his talent. I like the way you guys added what the impact of a single artist can make on someone. It’s really though provoking to look at your favorite artist and see what or who inspired them to make music, and then go down the line to the very beginning. Everyone needs inspiration, and to see it first hand from a singer who I really enjoy is very gratifying. I really wished I lived in that time period, music seemed so much more passionate and easy, it came straight from your soul.
-Kelly Carlyon
This movie is one of my favourites from this year, I like the fact that they show us the history of Sound City and on the other hand that they kind of show us the history of music, Sound City was one of the biggest music studios, the documentary make me feel nostalgic about how music evolves from this time until today, at this time music was made from real instrument, today, music is basically based on different rhythmic all made on a computer, but in this studio everything was made with real instrument. Before watching the movie, I didn't hear of Sound City, I was not aware of all the changes that this studio did to the music. I'm a fan of music and to hear that a few years ago we were recording on tape. I liked the fact that at the end, that they made an album to commemorate the studio, you guys made a good entry!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the blog but I found that the summary of searching for sugar man was the best part even though I loved the movie sound city because of its vast information on the history of rock’n’roll. I found that the summary for searching for sugar man was the best part because it actually made me want to watch it and I probably will later this week
ReplyDeleteYou guys did a great job! Sound city was amazing to watch, the fact that we got to hear these amazing artists play music and listen to what they had to say was amazing. What interested me most about this movie is when they started speaking about digital music. They said that it allows people to become artists that don’t have any talent. I disagree with this opinion because I make all my music digitally and just because music can be made digitally doesn't mean there’s no talent in it, just means it’s made a different way.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Maye
As everyone else has mentioned, this was one of my favourite movies we have watched so far! I can agree with Kelly on how it is so easy to get lost in music. To watch the producers and the artists work so hard on the music is very interesting and also incredible. It was really interesting to see how much time music used to take up back in the day when now we can do mostly everything with just a click of a button on the computer. This documentary really shows how talented these musicians really were!
ReplyDeleteBianca Pantoni
Very good entry! Sound city is by far my favorite documentary shown in this class. Being a very big fan of rock n roll I love to know about how some bands started example nirvana, and I love listening to that band. One line in the blog that really stood out to me was “The sound city movie is much more than a documentary about small time recording studio in Southern California, it’s the true story of how great music is made“. I really liked that line that was written because after watching the documentary I said the exact same thing. I also find it really cool how in the documentary they take you back in time to the way the 70’s looked like with the whiskey, cigarettes, and leather jackets with rock n roll music.
ReplyDelete-Luciano Cecere
Sound city in one of the few movies that we watched that actually kept me awake on a monday morning. I found it interesting to see how people in the music industry recorded music in the past and I find it amazing how talented artists had to be in the past to make music. With the use of computers and programs like auto tune anyone can make music from their laptop today, as opposed to having to play the song perfectly in one shot.
ReplyDeleteJulian Jimenez
Most of you guys already said this, Sound City is so far the best and my favorite documentary shown in class. It's interesting to know how people or musicians used to make music, the teamwork, the commitment, the bond that each band or member of the Sound City shared and most of all the instruments and devices that were used. I loved the sounds that were coming from the drums. I certainly agree with the Bloggers when they said 'we can see how music can bring people together in harmony and peace.' True that music can bring people together and all but don't forget it also has the power to bring confusion and distraction. I found it interesting how people will come together to make music and also how their mistakes become their new creation.
ReplyDelete- Debora A. Kumson
Sound City was an amazing movie , it gave us all look at how stardom and music legends started. Where all of their dreams became a reality and where they had probably the best years of their lives , making music in L . A at Sound City. I loved the part in the beginning when you all were talking about how the evolution of music is quite interesting. I remember in the movie , there was a part where the film maker was showing how the artists recorded then , and just thinking how technology has evolved to how we can record now. When you think of the word " record" that was literally how they did it back in the late 1990's.They took a tape and only had one shot to make it , it had to be perfect , no do-overs and technology fixers like we have today. It is very interesting to think of how much the media has improved over time. The final point I would like to make is the one where you all spoke about how cool it is to basically take their journey to fame with them. To get to watch their accomplishments and to watch how hard they work , to watch the bonds that they create with the producers. It is truly very impressive to get to witness that , you guys did an awesome job!
ReplyDelete- Brittany Dolbel
For me, music plays a very important part in my life. Even though i don't have the greatest voice, i really do appreciate music and what it has to offer the world. This movie was interesting to me since many famous artists produced music and were also interviewed in the same studio. it was also interesting to see how the place was so popular to record music for a very long time. Stars mentioned how great of a place it was to work in, not because of how it looked but the people that surrounded them. It shows how the vibes of others reflect on how the music will turn out, and since there were many strong bonds... everything was that much better. I find that the people who wrote this blog summarized the documentary very well, and didn't leave anything out!
ReplyDelete- Amanda
This Is a really good blog! Sound city was probably the most interesting documentary to me so far and music is a huge part of my life and reading about sound city again made me really interested and happy because of the great detail that was used in the blog. When you spoke about who sugar man was you made it very clear into what happened in the situation and how certain things played out. This was a very interesting blog on great music and a really good read.
ReplyDeleteBrittany P-M
Sound City and Samsara were the best documentaries I've seen so far this semester! Everything said about Sound City, I felt the same way and I agreed with what was said. This blog also makes me want to watch Searching for Sugar man. This blog was well written because of how detailed and informative it was and is making me curious to watch Searching for Sugar Man. Overall, this blog was really interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteMadeline Howe