Determine Your Favorite Underworld Album - With SCIENCE!

[joethelion]

Originally Posted by dubman

YOWZAH
good to see another River of Bass fan though.


i want more numbers so fringe patterns can come up and we can have, like, factions.

yea - I just think "River of Bass" is just a perfect closer (...except, well - it's the penultimate track on the album). That song, and "Tongue" don't get enough praise.

"Air Towel" is good, but it goes on a bit too long, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was something started around the time of Dubno, but not finished until STITI

As far as "Faxed Invitation" I don't know... it's not a terrible song, but I feel like... it'd almost be better if all of the sounds that are in the foreground were switched with the background stuff (and vice-versa)

Now... "If Rah" ... To me, it sounds like someone doing a parody / soundalike to Underworld... like the lyrics remind me of when I'd play UW in my car, and my older sister would improvise her own lyrics to songs about what she'd see out the window (think: "Red hydrant Red hydrant, there's a car, and a dog" etc). It's also about 2 minutes too long, and is a bit monotonous. It's absolutely on my 'least favorite list'

[holden]

Yeah, "Air Towel" and "Faxed Invitation" are two of my favorites from their respective albums. They're both sort of restrained, but I enjoy their groove.

Regarding "if rah", I'll admit and somewhat agree that the first few listens, I was concerned that this was UW by the numbers, and the "yeah, yeah, origin of numbers is a questionable hypothesis" and "Luna Luna Luna, in love with" bits at first blush are kind of cringey. But I take the album as an attempt to make interesting music unencombered by what Underworld had done previously, so I cut them some slack. Still, most of the song's lyrics are as obscure/evocative as any, and I think the track has an excellent build.

Re:Rowla... I'm not as excited by the LP version, though the live track rocks! Cherry Pie on STITI would have been bliss.

Can I throw this unpopular opinion out there? I'm not really a fan of Pearls Girl anymore! I think I've heard it too many times. Yes, a classic and a banger, but the past few years, I'm just less interested. Tin There mix has stood the test of time better. Further, at least NUXX live gets plenty of tweaks, whether in the intro or outtro jam. PG live versions mostly sound the same to me.

[dubman]

Originally Posted by holden

"yeah, yeah, origin of numbers is a questionable hypothesis"

oof, yeah. if you can get past this, then you're alright for the rest, which he does pretty well for. i also think the music is a very fine mix of elements that normally wouldn't work on me. it's classy and dramatic and just cheesy enough to be fun but not stupid

Originally Posted by holden

Can I throw this unpopular opinion out there? I'm not really a fan of Pearls Girl anymore! I think I've heard it too many times. Yes, a classic and a banger, but the past few years, I'm just less interested. Tin There mix has stood the test of time better. Further, at least NUXX live gets plenty of tweaks, whether in the intro or outtro jam. PG live versions mostly sound the same to me.

PG beat still does big work for me, but i see what you mean! It's a bit "shut up and play the hits" when live and the track has been ubiquitous enough elsewhere that it's not just itself anymore. Tin There i used to obsess over, but i still don't understand why it spends the back half coasting [on what, exactly?] after cresting like that. boring! my pick for standing the test of time is the 14996 version. it feels fast, vivid, which has more to do with its dynamism than literal speed. all the classic imagery immediately pops up too

Originally Posted by purlieu

That's funny, because I find 'Rowla' really derails the album for me. It brings me out of the ambience of the rest of it.

it's a dimension, not a derail!