They did a bit of improv at the show they did at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam last year, but other than that, it's essentially the exact same show every night. There is no more 'improv' in Underworld's set. Until they decide to tour their ambient / downtempo work in smaller venues similar to Karl's solo shows, i'm done seeing them live.
― brotherlovesdub, Thursday, 15 March 2018 18:23 (six years ago) link
Tokyo 2005 is probably the best complete show, but I have real fondness for the Ibiza August 8 2010 show (which I think was broadcast as an Essential Mix), which has an intense 'we're here to party' vibe that you'd hope for at that venue
― Brakhage, Thursday, 15 March 2018 19:10 (six years ago) link
ok i am listening to tokyo 2005 for the first time rn and
wee-ow
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 16 March 2018 23:54 (six years ago) link
― Brakhage, Thursday, March 15, 2018 2:10 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
essential mix at privilege! that was in my top ten that year and is late enough to include "scribble"
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Saturday, 17 March 2018 00:01 (six years ago) link
ahh hah ha always thought the announcer was saying 'A privilege' not 'AT Privilege', good shout
― Brakhage, Saturday, 17 March 2018 00:52 (six years ago) link
i was wondering if Underworld we're still 'talked about' on ILX.. but it's been only 3 days. :-)
i was going to bump the thread because i got Hundred Days Off and Oblivion With Bells at a bin sale for 2 euros each. Could have bought Barking too (for the same price) but i seemed to recall this was some kind of collab album with all kinds of dubstep hipsters, and I like the 'regular' Underworld sound.
Oblivion with Bells is a little underrated, it seems, i think it has some nice new ambient pop vibes going on, noodling along nicely - too bad about the half-rapped track, where either Hyde couldn't be bother to match his lyrics to the music, or probably more interestlingy, Smith didn't want to match his music in free jazz improv style to Hyde. missed chance.
Anyway, HundredDaysOff has a couple of massive singles, which ain't so bad either.
― Ludo, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 16:25 (six years ago) link
Barking is a pretty good album despite the collaborators. There are some great anthems on there and also some beautiful and dark songs too. Moon In Water and Louisiana are fantastic. I say go back and get Barking if it's cheap. It's a fun album.
― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:10 (six years ago) link
"Pretty good" is probably the accurate assessment of Barking. I don't think it's that interesting and while the first three songs all sound massive I don't think they're nearly interesting enough musically in the way Underworld typically can be. The rest of it has its moment but I never listen to it. I said it upthread iirc (or elsewhere) but it doesn't really sound like them, and it worried me for their subsequent work (Barbara Barbara and the Eno stuff proved me wrong.) I rated it over OWB back when it came out but I was dead wrong. I think the '90s albums are all classic, BBWFASF is almost on par, AHDO and OWB are both pretty excellent and Barking is in that "pretty good" area.
― omar little, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:18 (six years ago) link
last time I listened through their catalogue those were the two that seemed most worthy of reappraisal. especially OWB - I remember a lot of people being underwhelmed by that one at the time, but I think it's held up incredibly well, I still hear new things each time I listen. some days I think it's their best. they were doing a lot of very interesting things during that period, a lot of which also show up on that Tokyo set. I even kinda like "Ring Road", though you're right, something's off about it...even the beat it was just jacked from a preset, which UW never seems to do otherwise.
Don't be afraid of Barking - there's no real dubstep on it (the track you're probably thinking of, "Hamburg Hotel", is not really dubstep in the way you're fearing). I think it does lose something by being *just* remixes but the tunes themselves are generally very good. You definitely want to seek out some of the originals though. I was really disappointed that the second disc was sort of a half-assed demo thing rather that the "Barking minus collaborators" album we were all hoping for. Some of the live versions of those tracks are absolutely excellent - "Strumpet", "Always Loved a Film" (especially the "Silver Boots" version), "You Do Scribble", and "Diamond Jigsaw" (I'll never forgive Paul Van Dyk for just paving over the chord change, that's the money part of the tune!). Plus I happen to think the original "Moon in Water" was way better. But Barking is still very good.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:28 (six years ago) link
I rated it over OWB back when it came out but I was dead wrong.
same and i was also wrong
still love barking, some of my favorite underworld jams are buried in the second half like "between stars" and "grace"
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:33 (six years ago) link
and i always forget how amazing "bird 1" is
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:34 (six years ago) link
i loved scribble but was really disappointed by barking
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:36 (six years ago) link
that's a great single but the live versions that appeared as early as 2005 were truly mindblowing. THAT is what I wanted them to capture in the studio
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:58 (six years ago) link
I liked Scribble a lot upon release but Bird 1 is the jam that has had the longest shelf life. There are moments or lyrics that work great in other songs (like "The sound of a barking dog on a loop/A plane rises in the crystal blue/The rhythm of keys swinging in your hand/The rhythm of light coming out of your fingers" from Always Loved a Film) but the songs as a whole don't work as well as they could have w/more traditional untraditional Underworld structure and production. I don't think the album is bad by any means, it was just a wrong turn for them.
― omar little, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 23:09 (six years ago) link
There's a noise in Bird 1 that repeats that kills the song for me. I love Strumpet and still play it a bunch, but they ruined the track once they took it to the studio. I would love to discuss the meaning of the lyrics of that song though. I have a theory, but I'd like to hear other theories.
― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 23:20 (six years ago) link
Barking rules a lot, the weakest song on it is "Scribble" which is still fantastic
― Embalming is a flirty business (DJP), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 01:01 (six years ago) link
also I play "Bird 1" something like once a week
― Embalming is a flirty business (DJP), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 01:02 (six years ago) link
oh yeah i believe *looks up ilx thread with my posts* i felt the first three songs (bird 1, film, scribble) were fire then it fell off
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 03:36 (six years ago) link
i was at Berlin nightclub in chicago & 'scribble' came on at like 1am it was so epic of an experience ill never be down on that song
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 03:37 (six years ago) link
'film' is def amazing also
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 03:38 (six years ago) link
the live set from 2010 i listened to a whole bunch more than the album but i also just liked the energy of the crowd noise & shit
yea thanks for alerting me to the existence of that. I definitely think an EE-style live recording of this stuff would've blown Barking out of the water. what an awesome set.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 21 March 2018 13:44 (six years ago) link
thanks for this fellas, I'll probably get Barking the next time around. Judging the crowd that usually frequents this particular shop, it won't be gone, since it does not feature beardy guys playing folk songs.
― Ludo, Wednesday, 21 March 2018 14:43 (six years ago) link
Ah, I bet they'll be putting on those gigs shortly...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 21 March 2018 14:58 (six years ago) link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&noapp=1&v=uwqWAal0jB0
― nate woolls, Sunday, 15 April 2018 10:28 (six years ago) link
i forgot to report, i did gét Barking, after all, at RSD. It was even cheaper now (at the same shop). Only fifty cents. If one waits long enough, one might get the album for free.
anyway, I enjoy it. I guess this is Underworld's most amusing, POP record, in a New Order (or even Bad Lieutenant) kinda way. I mean a lyric like.. 'the rhythm of the summer that you'd wanted (voice in the background: BURNING BURNING)' is quite.. Sumnerish. :-)
the closing track is Talk Talk-heaven. Underworld wears its influences on their sleeves here.
― Ludo, Saturday, 5 May 2018 17:30 (six years ago) link
New track with Iggy Pop in grandpa telling old stories mode
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KmJWD9jQvhc
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Monday, 28 May 2018 00:38 (six years ago) link
wow, this goes hard. sounds like they've turned back the clock about 20 years
― frogbs, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:50 (six years ago) link
btw I kind of wonder how this didn't wind up in Trainspotting 2, it almost feels like it should've been to that what Born Slippy was to the original
― frogbs, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:51 (six years ago) link
am i the only person who has listened to second toughest in the infants 4 millions times but never really listened to anything else by underworld? its just so perfect to me and i never felt like i needed more.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 14:11 (six years ago) link
I’m so sick of Iggy Pop after he ruined that song on the last New Order record. Get one new idea guys please. Send him a card to tell him you used to listen to The Idiot.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 14:47 (six years ago) link
haha, iggy was on a new order song? hahahaha! oh brother. i don't think i've ever heard any 21st century new order and i'm gonna keep it that way.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:05 (six years ago) link
that album was p good but also no one really needed it
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:05 (six years ago) link
― scott seward, Wednesday, May 30, 2018 7:11 AM (fifty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
you might be but i can't argue with your reasoning tbh
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:06 (six years ago) link
I love the albums either side of it but they don't quite do the same thing for me. Wait does this mean you've never heard Born Slippy?
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:08 (six years ago) link
i've heard it. and i've heard dubnobass and i actually bought beaucoup fish when it came out but i never played it much and dubnobass just seemed like a not as amazing infants when i heard it. but that's just me! but i SERIOUSLY love infants. i've played it year in and year out since it was released.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:12 (six years ago) link
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, May 30, 2018 5:08 PM (forty-five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Scott, you're not alone! I bothered with Dubnobass and Beaucoup Fish, but they didn't take. Second Toughest is all I need. And I bought this 2cd when it came out, which does have Born Slippy. And Rez, man. Rez.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:57 (six years ago) link
idk how y'all can live without "dirty epic" but more power to you
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 15:58 (six years ago) link
the only underworld i need is second toughest. and beaucoup fish. and dubnobass. and the tokyo set. and prob two cd-rs of remixes (one of their own work and one of others). and the everything everything dvd. and
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:02 (six years ago) link
dubnobass changed my life though, it was the first dance music i ever heard that wasn't, say, la bouche (also great)
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:03 (six years ago) link
La bouche! <3 ??I know 'Dirty Epic', so I'm not living without it. I just don't ever need to hear it again?
I did listen to the Eno/Hyde stuff, if that counts. But only because Eno. And it was disappointing.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:05 (six years ago) link
(no idea where the double q-marks came from)
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:06 (six years ago) link
I know 'Dirty Epic', so I'm not living without it. I just don't ever need to hear it again?
fair! (idgi, but fair.) but it's also all good, second toughest fucking rules
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:08 (six years ago) link
i'm in the "never listen to anything except Second Toughest" club too
― Karius whisper (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:11 (six years ago) link
A life without Faxed Invitation, Peach Tree, Trim, Best Mamgu Ever, Oich Oich, 8 Ball, Thing In A Book, and River of Bass is a life not worth living.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:19 (six years ago) link
Oblivion and Barbara have been my go-tos this year. post-BF Underworld is really slept on
― frogbs, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 18:00 (six years ago) link
Possibly uncool but I adore this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id2HezdNF2k
― djh, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 18:34 (six years ago) link
Louisiana is a great song! It's uncool to not like it. See also the UW remix of William's Last Words by Manic Street Preachers, which for me captures a similarly reflective / somber tone.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 18:38 (six years ago) link
btw I think I say this every year in this thread but the UW release with a title that starts with "I'm a Big Sister" is an incredibly brilliant ambient EP (it's about 30 minutes long) that I think stacks up with any classic UW deep cut you could name
I wanna complain it's overlooked but they just released it on their own webstore and I think you can't get it anymore, so it's sort of their own fault
wish they'd just open up a Bandcamp already
― frogbs, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 22:08 (six years ago) link
otm about i'm a big sister, it's one of the best things they've ever done
― flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 23:22 (six years ago) link