Play by Numbers "Numerator" youtube video

[clearcut]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRLp-M3yhM0

The more and more I think about this video, the more I think it could be legit (even though that might just be me wishing to hear this EP too much)

If you type 'Play by numbers boards of canada' into google image search, all you find are some 200x200px and 280x280px low quality pictures of the cover. Yet on this video the image is a much larger, better quality image.

If you look closely on the left hand side of the image, you notice 2 pinch marks that would be made by staples to make a CD booklet, meaning this image was probably scanned in directly from the CD cover.

From the 1-minute extract we have of 'Wouldn't you like to be free?', the sound is very different compared to the usual BoC sound, almost MBV-esque, and the sample features guitars. This 'Numerator' also features guitars, meaning the theme of play by numbers could be guitar based.

I'm obviously not 100% certain this is the legit numerator, but the fact it features as B04 in the random tracks tape means it could be.

I just wish they would release their old material already

[Mexicola]

Isn't this just Audiotrack 4b, slowed down in Audacity??

[Reynolds]

I think 4b is a proto version of Dayvan Cowboy. It shares many similarities including chords.

[Jonse]

Honestly, I'd say it's easily a 50/50 here.

If it's a fake then it's a damn good fake. It's obviously the same track from R35TT - comprised of random tracks from their discography, assembled by some fan of theirs who had access to them, apparently.

Of course it's different with the synth and all. That's not a red flag or anything though. Boards are well known to have multiple versions of tracks. The only thing that seems off to me is the quality of the synth compared to the rest of the track.

But the track quality is what has me feeling it very well could be legitimate, because it's much clearer and honestly not in a "edit the hell out of the 4b from R35TT in a DAW" way (to me). It sounds like artifacts from that version of it aren't present, period.

While I don't know for sure, the artwork and the fact that it was uploaded by another random YT account with nothing else uploaded (like the one that put up the demo version of Julie and Candy/soundboard recording from ATP) is enough to say, as I already did, if it IS fake then the person who faked it went to great lengths to do so.

[Cupz]

Something doesn't feel right in that picture though... maybe the original artwork wasn't that skillfully made but the resolution of the font seems to be different from the resolution of the baby. But I agree with Rod. Really good fake or we've heard allot of the back catalogue before.

[Jonse]

Something doesn't feel right in that picture though... maybe the original artwork wasn't that skillfully made but the resolution of the font seems to be different from the resolution of the baby. But I agree with Rod. Really good fake or we've heard allot of the back catalogue before.

That's definitely another thing. When I look up the artwork, the font seems to be different in many pictures for some reason.

A good indication that it's a fake would be if Play by Numbers wasn't released on CD. I don't know whether it was or wasn't but I presume it was if nobody has pointed that out. That fact alone would either make or break its legitimacy based on the staples in the image.

[clearcut]

That's definitely another thing. When I look up the artwork, the font seems to be different in many pictures for some reason.

Yeah, I just noticed that. 50% of the pictures have "BOARDS OF CANADA play by numbers" in bold text and 50% have it in normal text. Comparison below.



Both are 200x200px, but the one on the left has the text higher up and in normal text, but the one on the right has the text a bit lower down and in bold text. Weird.

[Opothecary]

Swear this is a remake of a thread from a year ago...

http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.p ... 4&start=20

[Opothecary]

https://web.archive.org/web/20010609171 ... _play.html

[nick47]

Rodheh I fucking love your account picture.

[tonx]

this is intriguing - https://plus.google.com/102109337586742685571/posts

[tonx]

and, nevermind... seeing all this hashed out in the old thread.

[Jonse]

It certainly is intriguing:





I wanted to say that I've listened to the track's beginning a dozen more times today. My belief that this is actually legitimate has gone from 50% to 51% now and will remain there until it can be verified by mdg.

(thanks Nick)

[clearcut]

What the hell is "aW5maW5..."!!??
(Has a certain rhythm to it when you say it repeatedly)

[brtc]

What the hell is "aW5maW5..."!!??
(Has a certain rhythm to it when you say it repeatedly)

It's in base64. it translates to "infinite lines of colourful sevens".
Account name is "february 2014".

[wash]

What the hell is "aW5maW5..."!!??
(Has a certain rhythm to it when you say it repeatedly)

It's in base64. it translates to "infinite lines of colourful sevens".
Account name is "february 2014".

Hmm...kind of debunks it then, doesn't it?

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if this song was, in fact, Numerator. If the tracks from the R35TT are, indeed, cuts from these early unreleased albums, then it wouldn't be surprising if Audiotrack 4B was Numerator, as the track lengths roughly line up and the tone of the track matches the one other song we know for sure is from that release ("Wouldn't You Like To Be Free?") Clearly whoever was the uploader of this rather convincing fake was aware of this similarity as well.

[northernlite]

mdg what say you? Can you just definitely give us a yay or nay on this track? PLEASE

[Jonse]

So the "boc-1999..." video might have had something to do with Infinite Lines? Too bad it was deleted (presumably at their request since uploads of BoC tracks are almost always left on YouTube). Either that or it had nothing to do with BoC.

He commented on a video for Come to Dust as well - also in base64 - which translated to Hebrew and is "End of Days" in English.

[Jonse]

That's definitely another thing. When I look up the artwork, the font seems to be different in many pictures for some reason.

Yeah, I just noticed that. 50% of the pictures have "BOARDS OF CANADA play by numbers" in bold text and 50% have it in normal text. Comparison below.



Both are 200x200px, but the one on the left has the text higher up and in normal text, but the one on the right has the text a bit lower down and in bold text. Weird.

I'm just now noticing that the one with the text in bold is a bit blurrier. There's less artifacts and if you look at where the title is it ALMOST looks as though it was photoshopped in there.

One of the things I definitely considered when seeing the higher resolution artwork here was that someone just took the baby, upscaled it and filtered it REALLY well, then applied new text. I don't however see what the point of creating a new cover for it would be if the image is to be only 200x200 again.

I'm thinking the copies BoC made were probably just a little different each, like other self-released things.

Or there is that thing where BoC apparently would make a specific copies of the release unique from one another so that they'd know who leaked it, purportedly. None of this helps answer whether or not the track is legitimate, but maybe three people now (including the image on the video) have scanned the artwork in and posted it online.

[irv]

I think someone has slowed down 4b and recorded a synth melody over it.

I don't think the synth line sounds like anything they've ever done, and it's too all over the place.

Don't reckon it's them myself.