Sound City8.30pm Friday, March 15It was dingy, dirty and covered in brown shag carpet, but the Sound City studio is a landmark in rock history.‘Sound City’, the film directed by Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl, details the rise of the titular recording studio in Van Nuys, California, and provides an insiders perspective of the evolution of modern rock.From Neil Young to Fleetwood Mac, from Rick Springfield to Nirvana, Sound City hosted some of the most significant rock artists of the 80s and 90s, largely due to their one-of-a-kind custom Neve Console.In a series of interviews, the artists boast about the incredible sound produced by the console and the assistance of the studio’s memorable staff.According to the studio’s sound engineer, seven out of ten songs played on rock radio were recorded at Sound City for a while but it struggled when digital recording became mainstream and other studios offered artists greater luxuries.The documentary is clearly a passion project for Grohl, who ties together interviews, home video footage of the studio’s heyday and a wealth of still photographs to deliver a clear, intimate picture of the studio’s history.Just as interestingly, the documentary looks at the process of creating music before the days of autotune and digital-editing software.On top of that, the film boasts a rock soundtrack guaranteed to make viewers want to track down their LPs.The film only falters in the last half-hour when Grohl buys the studio’s console, drags it to his own studio and brings together a handful of the artists that gave the studio its reputation, to record a new album.The recording sessions are clearly meant to be a victory march for the film, but it falls slightly short of this goal, coming off too much as an advertisement for the album, set to be released this month.Much like the studio it’s named after, ‘Sound City’ has its flaws, but it is still a must-see for anyone who loves music.