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

It's going to be hilarious if the Drift songs just stop ranking cold at the 77 mark.

― Dirty Epic H. (Eric H.), Thursday, June 11, 2020 4:52 AM (five minutes ago)

https://i.imgur.com/JDXxS4L.jpg

I'm sorry, that's "dance soiree"

Dobropet audio

woooooooaaaaah

(read that in spoonman's voice)

Okay the Dobropet mix is far and away the best "Bruce Lee"-related thing I've ever heard

From a discogs review:

Dobropet, is one of the most understated and adventurous space of impressionistic evocation. After a short spoken introduction on head wounds, the track dips into a lengthy silence, suddenly transporting the listener back to a scene of fight, with gongs going off amidst glitchy, pulsating beats: the heart is thumping, the crowd is cheering, the glitch is disorienting like a concussion, and the gong is going off between rounds. The listener begins to feel like the wounded, dazed, confused yet resilient Bruce Lee. It's a marvel, it really is.

^ nice one

In the U.K. at the time there was an arbitrary time limit on singles, it could be 20 mins including b sides, or 40 mins if it was all mixes of the same track. getting an album length cd masquerading as remixes really endeared them to me.

The one Dark & Long "remix" that absolutely definitely was a remix was in fact a remix of a different song. Spoon Deep's votes have been counted toward Surfboy, but with 227 points from 5 voters, it would have placed at 81 if all titles were tallied separately.

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/interupt-spoondeep.png

audio
audience video 2011

"Dobropet" is their "Revolution 909" I guess.

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u074-443938.png

74. Please Help Me
232 points, 5 votes
1999 CD5 b-side

audio
demo audio 1997
jam audio 1999

Spoon deep has always been one of my favourites and I’m embarrassed I hadn’t realised it was a remix of Surfboy until sic pointed it out. Seems weird it would be a remix of Surfboy rather than one of Spoonman but it’s obvious now I’ve listened to them back to back

Anyway that whole Dark and Long maxi is gold and would be my favourite “album” if it wasn’t an ep

Spoon Deep deserves both moar points and its own spot.

It was pretty high up on my ballot

When that acid line comes in *chef’s kiss*

yeah i voted for "spoon deep" pretty high. it was at one point my no. 1 lol

i also voted for "please help me"!!!!

xp It took the internet to point it out to me, all that mass is pretty opaque. It would take a double CD to fit everything even without Spoon Deep!

Please Help Me additional:

A legendary classic.
I used to sleep with this on repeat in my headphones.
#Nostalgia

comment on live a capella version from 1998:

I love Please Help Me with it's vocal samples etc and Hyde's buried opening voice, it's so clear here without the beats, i wished they riffed and did things like this now. The crowd chatter, 'I love you' 'I haven't seen you in 10 years' 'look at the butterflies' 'love the shirt, it looks good on you', feels like Hyde's poetry/snatched convos. Is this Underworld eating itself? Wonderful

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u073-194038.png

73. Motorhome
233 points, 7 votes
2016 album track from Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future

audio
fan cover

a beauty

I think "Motorhome" from their new album is prob in their top 15 or maybe even 10 tracks, it is so beautiful and impeccably-textured! It sounds like Eno or some shit ("High Life" must have really rubbed off on them)

― Stevie D, Wednesday, September 21, 2016 6:09 AM

Can't get into this on the whole, but Motorhome is lovely, and a bit... Beatlesy?

― chap, Wednesday, May 31, 2017 10:34 PM

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

With five votes, including one making sure to specify that they meant live versions, and 233 points, You Do Scribble would have placed at 79 on uncombined votes.

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/interupt-youdoscribble.png

live video 2008
video from sounddesk 2009
Abbey Road version audio

I liked Freur back in the day and picked up the first Underworld album, only to be deeply disappointed. Never looked back.

But these songs - "Scribble" and especially the live version - wow! What else in their catalog sounds like that live version? The deep "bom bom bom" synths in the latter brings to mind one of my all-time favorite albums from Rain Tree Crow.

I must reassess my attitude towards this band entirely.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, May 18, 2010 12:54 AM

UW does this a lot - their studio stuff is awesome, but...I feel like going through all the live stuff, they just have a tendency to nail it from time to time and perfect these already great tunes (check some of the live versions of "You Do Scribble", they almost make me glad they never tried it in studio)

― frogbs, Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:29 PM

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u071-963007.png

72. Downpipe (Original Club Mix)
236 points, 7 votes
2009 12" by Mark Knight & D.Ramirez V Underworld

full length audio
promo video

hell yeah this is a proper cranker

dammit, spoilers

nashwan!

uh oh image spoiler for next track

Since it’s been spoiled I’ll just give a heads up that if you haven’t heard it you should check The Question by Futueshock which is basically a remake of Why Why Why

i love "why why why," another one that started off at the top of my ballot

man is it me or is this a TOTAL BITE of 'downpipe,' the song he already did w/ underworld 2 years ago? is this a conceptual thing, or like, is he just lazy?

― deej, Monday, September 13, 2010 1:59 PM

This?

The new track's most distinctive bit is probably the big riff that starts around 3:30. It's only vaguely similar to the riff that starts around 4:15 in Downpipe. Far from "a total bite." Otherwise, Downpipe is a lot moodier, and down-tempo, and vocal-driven. Maybe you could be more specific about the similarities you're hearing. (Or do you have a much different mix of Downpipe in mind?)

― Paul in Santa Cruz, Monday, September 13, 2010 2:14 PM

yeah it adds the riff @ 3:30 but its the same basic "doom doom. doom. doom doom. doom" backgrounds w/ the bleepy part added as it goes on -- just didnt have the big epic wooshy part in the middle w/ the snare roll breakdown

'total bite' is overstatement but its clearly the same formula

― deej, Monday, September 13, 2010 2:23 PM

i guess an alternate post on teh similarities wd be "i guess we know what knight contributed to the underworld track"

― deej, Monday, September 13, 2010 2:24 PM

Okay, I'll buy that. I guess I think of those loops as being pretty commonplace in lots of techno tracks, but it's likely enough that he contributed that element.

GEEK ALERT
Technically the two background loops are different, although they both alternate single and double stabs:

https://sites.google.com/site/pnauert/riffs.png

― Paul in Santa Cruz, Monday, September 13, 2010 2:36 PM

The Downpipe pattern is the backbone of "Groove La Chord," among other tracks.

― Paul in Santa Cruz, Tuesday, September 14, 2010 5:23 PM

https://i.imgur.com/PU7t4Ez.jpg

live video 2010

Updated:

http://ghostfood.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u072-697745.png

it's amazing how much these images rules btw

True! And now:

71. Why, Why, Why
244 points, 8 votes
1993 12" b-side

audio
Volume Eight remix audio

Commentary from youtube:

- This is sick (btw I'm 69th like)

-- Nice

--- Nice

--- Good, good

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

- The joe biden theme

-- LOL

Futureshock's The Question credits Underworld outright.

agh sorry about that image botch - let it be the last one

70. Holding The Moth
250 points, 8 votes
2007 album track from Oblivion With Bells

audio
webcast live video 2006

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u070-560124.png

er, oops

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u070-560124.png

er, oops

otm

ok this one really is way too low, every time I hear it I'm astounded at how fucking great and emotional the second half is

live audio 2008

Overall it's a really solid record and my only complaint is Holding The Moth. That track was much stronger live before the album was released but they over worked it and it came out sounding stilted and awkward.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, October 24, 2012 1:54 AM

https://i.imgur.com/1PuWBpg.jpg

Downpipe!!! Yesss

For all the talking up my "I even wrote blurbs as I was doing my ballot," uh, lol

Took you a while to pick how many "s"s in Yesss, I'm sure.

I will be holding the moth for now. No moth for anyone until you guys get it together.

Last one for a few hours, gotta hit the barricades:

http://ghostable.uk/public/ilx/underworld/u069-305171.png

69. Eclipse
251 points, 5 votes
1992 12" by Lemon Interupt
audio

wow! Some people had this one high. Love it. What is that image??

https://www.parknshop.com/medias/sys_master/front/zoom/9152936738846.jpg

i found the 'big mouth' 12" a while back from when they were releasing as lemon interupt - the flipside, 'eclipse', is this amazing strung-out balearic house cut. do people know this track?

― haitch, Thursday, May 8, 2008 12:17 PM

no but i would like to know it

― cutty, Thursday, May 8, 2008 1:07 PM

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

(Patrick Hernandez didn't write this one either)

i definitely should have put "holding the moth" higher than i did. "why why why" and "motorhome" are both very good too. "motorhome" reminds me a lot of eno's vocal solo albums, just a similar melodic sensibility?