The Official OWB Thread

[gillenium]

Originally Posted by irons

I know that tomorrow, it will supposedly be shipped here in the U.S. That alone is a landmark for me. But you're right; Tuesday is a long way from now! I'm a relatively new Underworld fan, and I wasn't even aware of them when Two Months Off came out, so this is the first time I've found myself caught up in the fervor of a new album release. I've refrained from downloading it, but I'm not sure why, really. Maybe I just like the "surprise" to hit me as late as possible; maybe I want to hear the album when it was intended to release here. Either way, I'm extremely excited about the album. Repeated listening to the "Crocodile" download from Echospin has made me dream about OWB.

I'm in the same boat as you. I've refrained from hearing anything else on the album apart from Crocodile. I'm not sure why either... it's an incredible test of will power. I like that "waiting for Christmas morning" feeling though. Hearing the album the way it was MEANT to be heard... It'll be quite an experience.

[irons]

I might also have avoided downloading because the RIAA keeps a really close watch on students at my university (Boston U.) Not to mention I'd feel guilty for letting some unbeliever download 5% of the album from me if I used a torrent or similar.

I think a lot of members here (those who downloaded) would argue that it's still the way it's meant to be, even obtained illegally and in no physical form. I can no longer claim to be able to tell the difference between CD-quality and 192kbps MP3 (I've probably damaged my ears from other, less artful, electronic music!), so that's not quite it, either. I guess I'm just a person who likes to see physical evidence of the album; however, Underworld really opened my eyes to digital distribution; after I purchased the Riverrun series and read their thinking behind that medium, I appreciated the goal a lot more. Plus, the extra million photographs that came with it gave me a really nice feeling. Perhaps I just want to see the cover art in my own hands, in glorious 300+ dpi!

Speaking of which, are there any extra things to know about the gatefold release? The artwork shown on UWLive is stunning. While I make it a point to save money and refrain from buying more copies of an album that I need (and, let's face it, CD format is far more convenient), I would get the vinyl for those eerie images alone.

What excites me most about OWB is that reviewers here have a hard time agreeing on the best and worst tracks of the album. My taste in Underworld often goes against their "best-seller" material; Nuxx, Pearl's Girl, and most other big tracks grew stale soon after I heard them--possibly thanks to the 1992-2002 compilation--but I absolutely love the ignored songs; I hardly hear anyone mention dubnobasswithmyheadman's "Tongue," for example, which really hits a certain spot for me. In an album without Mega-Hits, I am likely to find a whole bunch of songs that I will love for a long time.

P.S.--To those who downloaded the leaked copy, is the watermark a sonic, audible one? If so, did you notice it? And did it affect the listening experience? I wondered about this when the leak was first announced here.

[idoru]

Originally Posted by irons

P.S.--To those who downloaded the leaked copy, is the watermark a sonic, audible one? If so, did you notice it? And did it affect the listening experience? I wondered about this when the leak was first announced here.

More often than not, especially given the number of promos that are given out, it probably is not audible. And it's my understanding that it was leaked the day that it came out in Japan, so whatever version is floating around on the internet is not a promo.
________
Herbalaire vaporizer

[irons]

I thought it leaked well in advance (edit: in this case, I mean a week or so before the Japanese release). The reason I asked about audible watermarking is that Discogs has an entry for the promo version with a special note that it's watermarked (here). But yes, by now, the Japanese version must be in the majority on file-sharing services.


Thanks!