why don't you poll me I feel like flying to... the UNDERWORLD Poll Results thread -- produced by Smith & Hyde for ILM Artist Poll #102

Sure, I know this observation is ridiculously dated, but when Karl Hyde strikes those two shimmering chords on his guitar five minutes deep into "Juanita" [Everything, Everything] over what sounds like a celestial choir of frantic, chirping calculators, it's positively euphoric in a manner normally reserved for Spielbergian encounters with extraterrestrials. Put simply, it rocks furiously and makes me oh so happy.

― Alex in NYC, Friday, August 1, 2003 4:46 PM

partly i think the danceability of second toughest is subtle yet powerful- the repetitive figures of the "juanita/kiteless" opening block at first just make you bounce around a little bit, jiggle a leg in your seat or whatever, but by later you're humming along with the vocoder and it picks up speed. this is opposed to the danceability of, say, "push upstairs," which just starts bashing down the door and forcing you to dance with the detroit-ness of it all and builds even more on that.

― .rob, Tuesday, June 29, 2004 3:30 PM

zz top used "juanita" as their intro music the other night, i shit u not

― roxymuzak, Monday, September 21, 2009 9:09 PM

Also, I love how 'Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love' is over quarter of an hour long but still feels like it's over in the blink of an eye to me. No matter how many times I've heard it, it always feels far more shorter than it actually is.

― Turrican, Wednesday, November 11, 2015 9:18 AM

Oh wow I thought those would be 1 and 2

was wondering if you were referring to Rez/Cowgirl, haven't been following closely enough to know it they showed up

Love this one. Can't stand King of Snake, personally. I know.

always thought of Shudder/King of Snake as one track

tbf there are approx 973 versions of Snake without Shudder

I do like the way Underworld merges tracks to make a bigger picture

too low

moral victory

lol i like voted for "rez" and "cowgirl" separately so i'm assuming "cowgirl" took it

i also thought i voted for "tin there" and "pearl's girl" separately but... i sure didn't :(

77 tracks is so long for a ballot i figured something would get deleted by accident

i also voted for "dirty epic" really high

poll still impossible to predict

I think my experience of Rez/Cowgirl as one track was from Everything, Everything

Copy from the 2014 vinyl single refers to them as "sister" songs. Hmmmmmmmm.

https://www.discogs.com/Underworld-Rez/release/5955412

I'm A Big Sister, And I'm A Cowgirl, And I'm A Princess And This Is My Rez

Dark & Long and Dark Train of course being cousins

Copy on the Rowla / Cherry Jam read Since their release in the late 90’s it’s always been clear that Cherry Pie and Rowla were two tunes cut from the same cloth.

as if karl groaning "here comes christ on crutches" wasn't one of the more off-putting moments in their discography.

tim this opinion breaks my heart

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 01:09 (fifty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

soz, when I bought dubno it was the track I liked most first off, but (while I still like it a lot) it just strikes me as being a bit obvious and on the nose with its big emotional pull. So I ended up voting for "Dirty Guitar" instead (so lol I guess I'm part of the problem I was complaining about).

whereas "jumbo" tacks hard in the opposite direction: karl sings quieter and the effect is to imbue every word, every precisely-enunciated "click" with a sense of calibrated emotional heft.

i'd never really thought of "dirty epic" and "jumbo" as being particularly comparable, they're more one-offs in terms of feelings to me that they've never quite done anything else like either.

Also now that "Juanita" has placed (too low of course) can someone explain to me how the track actually breaks down into the two/three sections?

I've generally assumed that Juanita is the first section, Kiteless is the part beginning "There is a sound on the other side of this wall", and "To Dream of Love" is just the high-pitched recitation of colours at the end?

that's always been my understanding, since "To Dream of Love" doesn't appear on the Everything, Everything tracklisting and that's the part that's missing

whereas "jumbo" tacks hard in the opposite direction: karl sings quieter and the effect is to imbue every word, every precisely-enunciated "click" with a sense of calibrated emotional heft.

― Tim F, Monday, June 22, 2020 7:10 PM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is correct and why "jumbo" is superior yes

"only these wires" still gives me the chills

a lot of their great tracks have a sense of withheld but ready to burst ecstasy

today's results very o_O to me. no one's fired but i'm going to need some time to recover.

i don't think there's really a clear breakdown of which part is which. the "juanita (promo short cut)" edit is a minute of the middle breakdown section (which incidentally is mostly missing from the everything, everything version - there's only a short excerpt of it at the end that transitions into the "cups" end section) edited into three minutes of the "there is a sound on the other side of this wall" part

http://ghostfood.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u003-899161.png


3. Pearl's Girl and Tin There
1955 combined points, 37 total votes from 24 out of 25 voters, 2 #1s (and 1 #1 for Tin There as a standalone)
1996 album track Second Toughest In The Infants JBOLP4
remixed as 1996 12" JBO38
remixed again as B-side 1996 12" JBO 45
B-side remix edited for Playstation Wipeout 2097
edit re-edited for soundtrack CD CDV2815


official video by Dylan Kendle and Graham Wood
offical live video Rijksmuseum 2017
webcast video 2006
Pearl's Girl (Tin There) audio

oh wow too low

OTM OTM OTM OTM and incidentally this is why "Pearl's Girl" is the only track on the album that works.

_Second Toughest..._ comes across like they took the miniscule edge of _dubnobass..._ and sanded it off of every track, leaving a completely innoffensive and uninvolving puddle of bland (with the SOLE exception of "Pearl's Girl"); the entire reason why most of those songs work better in a live situation is because beefed up through a gigantic club system with all of the live filter processing and feedback inherent in the setup the tracks regain bite and crispness. I first heard most of the _Second Toughest..._ material live at one of their shows in support of the album and was DEEPLY LET DOWN by the faceless blancmange that they put in the stores, so I basically turned back to the drum n bass CDs that were piling up next to my stereo and wrote them off for YEARS.

― DJP, Tuesday, June 29, 2004 10:12 PM

anyway, here's 26 minutes of "Pearl's Girl"

https://soundcloud.com/underworld/pearls-girl-jam-080624

― frogbs, Friday, May 17, 2019 3:38 AM

fuck

― BradNelson, Friday, May 17, 2019 3:39 AM

I've been listening to this track on repeat for the last 15 years straight and I'm still not sick of it.

This track always brings a tear to my eye.
Maybe it is the nostalgia kicking in... memories of a mid-nineties youth with long nights of playing Wipeout with mates, clubbing and one-night stands blooming into doomed relationships. But it was living!

audience video with SBD sound (approved by Karl & the lighting designer), live in Tokyo 2007, featuring a joyous Rick (facebook link, public)

https://i.imgur.com/pbEr2Ci.jpg

Found this cd at a thrift shop for $1.99.. To whoever owned this previously, I want to thank you for letting this go just for me.

-- How've I slept on this stuff until now?!?

- The talent left the group years ago. Unless you were an electronic fan before 2005, there's no reason you would have heard of them except for a couple soundtracks. Pretty sure you're going to be pleased that you found them.

-- I'm a huge Underworld fan - saw them recently, they're as great as ever. It's this Superdeluxe stuff I was unaware of.

- Eh sorry. I heard they split in the mid late 2000s. I haven't been as much of a fan since then. You beat me here, I only found this cause I was having a bad day and wanted to listen to 2nd toughest. I don't even know if they've released anything in the last 10 years. Saw them in 03, is one of my favorite shows ever. Well, have a good day.

:)

jfc djp

now wondering what the top two are, one of them has to be Rez/Cowgirl

gimme five floofs

I love the perfect storm of wrongness from the interlocutor on that last one. Every sentence aggressively incorrect, then a nice polite well-wish to end each post.

http://ghostfood.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u002-947812.png

2. Dirty Epic and Dirty Guitar and Dirty Katamari
2143 combined points, 38 total votes from EVERY VOTER, 5 #1s for Dirty Epic, 1#1 for Dirty
1992 12" by Lemon Interupt
remixed on 1992 white label
rewritten as 1994 Underworld album track

1414 points from 22 votes for Dirty Epic alone: it would have placed at #6

Dirty Epic video by John Warwicker

okay "Dirty Epic" is just the greatest thing they ever did

it hits every single one of their strengths and sustains the awesome for 10 straight minutes

― DJP, Wednesday, July 20, 2011 6:04 AM

totally agree. Dirty + Dirty Guitar just make the whole experience that much more enjoyable. they opened one of the shows I saw in 07 with Dirty Epic. truly incredible.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, July 20, 2011 6:25 AM

audience audio 2009

The big problem I have with most moody mid-tempo Underworld songs that morph into dance jams is that none of them are as good as "mmm skyscraper" or "Dirty Epic"

― DJP, Saturday, February 16, 2013 5:06 AM

although very few songs are as good as "Dirty Epic" so that's probably unfair

― DJP, Saturday, February 16, 2013 5:32 AM

audience Dirty Epic video 2015 (Rickless tour)

I especially like (Dirty Guitar Mix).

― Keith, Saturday, February 16, 2013 5:38 AM

I'm gonna have to go for "Dirty" because of that weird, melancholy horn-like sound that keeps going on, plus the Akira sample in the end of the song. That was the first Underworld song I heard, and nothing they've done afterwards has really topped it for me, it's just so evocative. "Dirty" also get bonus points for having no vocals, which tend to be the weakest part of their tunes.

― Tuomas, Monday, December 15, 2008 7:06 PM

audience Dirty Club video 2016

The original "Dirty" had a really cool and intriguing, wistful sound to it, I'd never heard anything quite like it in electronic music. Whereas "Dirty Epic" diluted what was great about the original with bland singing.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:38 AM

yes thank you, we already know you are crazy

― DJP, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:40 AM

No problem.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:41 AM

audience video of Karl solo Epic

ripping my dubnobass vinyl will have to wait a couple of weeks. but as i type, i'm listening to "dirty epic", which i've just bought off fucking iTunes as i couldn't find a decent enough rip elsewhere. this is maybe the first time i've heard it in ten years. right now there is a case for it being the single greatest song ever made.

i love rediscovering forgotten favourites. thank you, ILM.

― grimly fiendish, Friday, May 19, 2006 7:39 AM

the piano. the glorious piano. o god. "shaken in my faith". godlike.

― grimly fiendish, Friday, May 19, 2006 7:43 AM

Yeah, that's kind of the thing; Underworld has a whole bunch of seriously awesome songs (many of which are listed on this thread) but none of them have the layers or the sheer smack-you-with-a-sledgehammer impact of "Dirty Epic". Plus as far as the singing goes it's probably the best vocal they've ever had.

― DJP, Friday, May 19, 2006 7:55 AM

https://i.imgur.com/4yOSmXc.jpg

Fav track: Dirty Epic. anyone that don't like that song's gotta be heartless.

― whoever, Wednesday, 7 January 2004 07:26

sweet in winter sweet in rain

it is weird that Karl never wrote lyrics in this style again

2276 points were received for ALL Born Slippy nominees combined: Born Slippy, .NUXX, Deep Pan, .TELEMATIC and Long Slow Slippy. Born Slippy Nuxx 2003 did not receive any votes.

4188 points were received for all ostensible Dark versions combined (excepting Spoon Deep, because c'mon) Dark & Long, Dark Train, Thing In A Book, Most 'Ospitable, 215 Miles, Dark Hard and Burts.

But on one of the two ways this poll was counted, our combined #1 is

http://ghostfood.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u001-088181.png

1. Rez and Cowgirl
2509 combined points, 18 + 1 + 22 + 3 votes, from 24 out of 25 voters
1993 12"
rewritten as 1994 album track for dubnobasswithmyheadman


Cowgirl video by Graham Wood and Robert Shackleton
Cowgirl live Lowlands 1995 audio
Rez/Cowgirl Reading 1996 audio

right

No music collection is complete without "Rez".

― Barry Bruner, Tuesday, June 29, 2004 5:35 AM

Rez/Cowgirl KCRW session 2011 video

'Rez' was a rare example of a video making me dislike the track more (which i initially thought was ok, then liked a lot) as opposed to the other way round. still prefer 'Cowgirl' tho.

― blueski, Tuesday, June 29, 2004 11:28 AM

Sure I like their more mellow new tunes, but I still would absolutely kill to hear them do another total rockin' monster 12" banger like "Cowgirl" or "Cups" or "Spikee." Hell, NOBODY does totally rockin' monster 12" bangers anymore. Ah well.

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, September 21, 2006 7:22 PM

Rez/Cowgirl 6 Music Festival 2016 video (link at 1:03:05)

I also went to one of the concerts (Broadcast on Radio 1!!!!!) at around the time of "Dubnobass...", (The same night as they found the body of Kurt Cobain!!!!) and it was grebt/GRATE/etc!!!!! Unlike the recent "live" album, it was one big long DJ mix style jam, mixing in various bits of their songs. The track on the live album which mixes "Cowgirl" and "Rez" is nearest equivalent- imagine a whole concert like that with most of the tracks from "Dubnobass..." and an early version "Born Slippy"!!!!

― Old Fart!!!, Wednesday, January 7, 2004 9:27 PM

https://i.imgur.com/q0k26LS.jpg

Rez/Cow fan cover in the shed
quar cover of Cowgirl
'drum cover' of the Bassnectar remix of Rez

great poll, thank you sic

where would "cowgirl" on its own placed? i definitely prefer it to the combined version and don't particularly care for "rez" on its own

why don't you poll me I feel like flying to... the UNDERWORLD Poll Results thread -- produced by Smith & Hyde for ILM Artist Poll #102 :)

all of their songs feel like a continuum linked to one another.

Rez/Cowgirl was a really inspired combination

anyway, thanks for running this sic. loved all the alt versions and covers you've dug up for this immense rollout. they really have such an incredible discography

https://media.giphy.com/media/S6eNlrz1FqovJoIvrS/giphy.gif

Thank you sic!!!!!!