Bungalow with Stairs album

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Originally Posted by BrotherLovesDub

So goods should be priced according to your budget? I'll alert the world markets.

YES. How else should they be priced? Outside of your budget? According to the cost of manufacturing? Obviously they have the right to price it however they choose, and we have the right to gripe about it when we could order all six of UW's studio albums for about the same price.

I just wonder why this (and the second disc of Barking) aren't available as a download if they are going to be released as a limited edition. Even if they plan to do it three months down the road, whatever. I seriously question why anyone would put out a limited edition anything when putting it online assured that it's available to anyone at any time at an even bigger profit margin. Do artists get off on the idea of having something limited? I'm not even trying to complain or be critical, I'm seriously wondering if they just willingly decided to only let a certain number of people have it. Or is it just more profitable this way? I'm just curious.

[Dirty0900]

Ok.

The CD has music which I listen to with my ears and has ambient sounds you might have heard on tour or on Peel sessions. There are also samples from records from Something Like A Mama so I hope no-one feels cheated. Mixed stuff going on from very experimental noise and even treading in to a murky world of dubstep in parts.

There is even a lyric in Tokyo 4 thats says "Born Slippy Is a Good Toilet Song". I shit you not, pardon the pun. Basically I think its better than the ambient drivel and noodling on some RiverRuns (opinion) and is well worth the price tag.

With the book, it is on nice paper and bound with about thirty pages or so featuring a lot of Karls work. Basically, I now don't have to look online at some of his artwork. I'll listen to the CD more than the book and I didn't expect to get the art the way it was. Thought it was going to be a small print that came with Barking.

I hope this clear something up.

[purlieu]

That would be a fair comparison if there was only one copy of Bungalow With Stairs.

As for 'shut the fuck up', do you really dislike it when people speak out against things they don't like? I'm making a big deal about it because I'm hoping the band might read and maybe they'll realise people are pissed off and next time something like this happens maybe they might think "there are loyal fans out there who can't afford to buy our music" and put a sensible price on the CD. Nothing changes if you just accept stuff, and obviously there are quite a few people who think the band are being unfair here. Maybe you should shut the fuck up and listen to the album instead? Must be more enjoyable than listening to poor people whinge about not being able to afford luxuries like art.

[funkboy3]

So I'd like to start this post by apologizing for inadvertantly starting this storm of activity. I looked back and I believe I'm the first person to "complain" about the price.
The funny thing is, I never meant to really be complaining, but rather venting my personal frustrations at the overall situation.

I completely see both sides of the argument here. I can definitely respect an artists right to package and distribute their art however they see fit. As a matter of fact, that's part of what I find appealing about "bands" like Underworld (and perhaps in the old days New Order, OMD, etc). Exciting sleeves, experimental ideas, different delivery methods. These are all things I like and I'm really fine at the end of the day with artists limitting the method in which they release their work. Perhaps Messrs Hyde and Smith feel that "Bungalow" doesn't exist without "Dancing" and/or vice versa. I get that, I really do.

On the other hand, as a fan of Underworld's, I have a desire to experience as much of what they create as I possibly can. But the realities of the world restrict my access to said art sometimes. I couldn't just fly off to London to see the iTunes fest Roundhose gig. I had previous engagements that prevented me from making the short trek to San Francisco to hear UW in my neck of the woods. And, I couldn't afford the cost of flying to Tokyo to see Karl paint and hear/buy "Bungalow" at the actual event. So, I make due with what I can access when/if I can afford it.

So, in the specific case of the "Bungalow" release, all I was attempting to say when I triggered this whole thing off was: I'm bummed that my situation won't allow me to hear it. That came from the fact that I initially thought I'd never get a chance to hear it (since it was originally only going to be played/sold at the "Dancing" exhibition). Then I heard that they were going to sell the left overs, so I got hopeful. Then when it was released and I knew it was out of my price range, I got bummed. In particular, I was (and am) bummed that to have access to the music, I have to buy a catalog to an exhibit/event that I didn't go to. I'm sure its lovely, and I find Karl's art interesting. But, not having access to the one without the other is something I find personally frustrating as I could probably justify the price of one without the other. (Obviously, my place physically (the USofA) makes this even more difficult with the exchange rate.) As an additional aside: for the longest time, all the various channels (the "official" email newsletter included) said that the album was going to be offered up. So, all along I had it in my head that we'd see "Bungalow" released by itself, and when it wasn't that was disappointing.

I never said (and I never will say) "UW should give me their art in the way I want at the price I want." But, that doesn't mean I'm wrong or evil for wishing that it would've been released in a way that I could access it. Moreover, with a "official unoffical" forum like Dirty, it makes sense to me to express this thought out loud, as there's an implict assumption that UW or their minions might see this and have it inform their opinion about how they want to release their art in the future. It really doesn't seem that egregious to me that I have done this (as have others). And its absolutely flummoxing to me why some of the folks who were able to buy this release see it necessary to lambast those of us who were just innocently trying to express our desire to experience the same art.

Anyway, if you've gotten this far, congrats. I'm done with my dissertation. ;-)

[darktrain]

Originally Posted by funkboy3

The full length of it

Seconded. Amen 100% word for word.

[purlieu]

Originally Posted by funkboy3

Stuff.

Yes, this puts it far more eloquently than the silly argument BrotherLovesDub and I got into. I do think it's important to voice opinions and worries about the access of music they are offering to fans, especially somewhere that is read by the band and their associates. Maybe they'll read this and change things in the future, and I think that'll be worth all the bitching and baby crying and so on.

ThingInABook - I run a very tiny label and I've released records in far smaller runs than this was released in with large artwork booklets, sold them for £5 and made a profit, so I'm still not sure how justified the price is. Thanks for the description, Dirty0900, that does at least make it sound worth the money on some level. If I was a fan of Karl's art, I suppose the price might be a bit more sensible. I do wish they'd make the music available independently from the catalogue, though, especially considering that it evidently wasn't all recorded for the exhibition.

[TheBang]

Originally Posted by purlieu

I do wish they'd make the music available independently from the catalogue, though, especially considering that it evidently wasn't all recorded for the exhibition.

Rick was originally going to let Karl do his own thing for the exhibition, and not be involved, but Karl specifically asked Rick to put together this album from his ambient works for the exhibition.

[stimpee]

Originally Posted by purlieu

I run a very tiny label and I've released records in far smaller runs than this was released in with large artwork booklets, sold them for £5 and made a profit, so I'm still not sure how justified the price is.

I remember, I bought one from you once. Good stuff! Proper CD, proper colour card sleeve, a fiver. great value. I'm not saying this album should be a fiver but i see your example as a valid point.

[Bargo]

For anyone interested, it's back on sale at the shop. (and I caved in and ended up purchasing it)

[negative1]

Originally Posted by purlieu

Dirty0900, that does at least make it sound worth the money on some level. If I was a fan of Karl's art, I suppose the price might be a bit more sensible. I do wish they'd make the music available independently from the catalogue, though, especially considering that it evidently wasn't all recorded for the exhibition.

again, who is too decide whether every and all music that they
create will ever be released? and in what format?

just because it wasn't all recorded for the exhibition,
what difference does that make concerning it's status as
released for the exhbit only? [again i refer to earlier releases
like the anti-rom]

i'm sure there's a lot of licensing issues, and other things
involved with making a limited run of material available,
and the complexity of including and printing a book..

if you look back to the tokyo 3cd live concert, yeah it was too
bad that it only got released at that show... but maybe it was
a test run for the later series at liveherenow? and a few people
were fortunate enough to get extra copies from the band off ebay..

should they just never have released it?

anyways .. 'limited' is just that , a fixed amount made for a special
occasion.... i don't think this release, or dialogue should dissuade
them from doing further projects like this in the future...

---------------------------
in the end, they really can't win..

1) release something online only -> people complain that there isn't a physical release
(see riverrun series, alll the latest singles from 'barking')

2) release something physical only -> people complain that it isn't available digitally
(see the BWS album+book, tokyo 3xcd, underworld video compilations)

3) release something in vinyl only -> people complain that it isn't digital format
(some of the riverun singles, although most have been converted over now)

4) release something limited -> people complain about the price, and how hard it
is to get it, and in what formats etc... (the barking limited editions w/extra cd)

so looking at all the different combinations of how they could release something,
to make people 'happy'..

it boils down to releasing everything digitally, on vinyl, cd, and at a cheap cost..
which i just don't see happening anytime..

by the way, i'm not sure what arrangements bjork/depeche mode/pet shop boys
have... but they have been putting out a ton of singles, box sets, and all kinds of
other fancy formats of all the above for the last couple of albums... i'm sure they
have a larger audience, so that's something to take into account too..and also, their
limited editions are not 'cheap' either...

later
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