A Short Column About Music 7.09.09: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Posted by Andrew Moll on 07.09.2009

It's the final edition of A Short Column About Music, and we go out by looking at what I consider to be the greatest album ever recorded.

I welcome you to A Short Column About Music, and yes you read that teaser correctly, this will be the final version of this column I will be writing. It wasn't any easy decision to make, but for a variety of reasons I decided that this would be the finale of the column, and with that I figured I should finish things off with what is, in my humble opinion, the greatest album ever. What you're about to read actually was my submission when applying to write for the site, but I improved upon it for the purposes of this column and I hope you enjoy it. Also, stick around til the end of the discussion of the album for more news, as just because this column is done with, it doesn't mean I'm necessarily leaving the site altogether. Hmmmmm...







Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Released: February 10, 1998
Tracklisting:
1. The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1
2. The King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 and 3
3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
4. Two-Headed Boy
5. The Fool
6. Holland, 1945
7. Communist Daughter
8. Oh Comely
9. Ghost
10. Untitled
11. Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2


Up until the mid-1990's, the Athens, GA music scene was centered around R.EM. They, along with the B-52's, Widespread Panic and the Indigo Girls formed that area's musical landscape. Each of these groups followed musical paths that could not be considered the norm, be it collegiate jangle rock, art rock, the jam-band route, or lesbian folk rock. Athens established itself as a place where musicians could develop their own styles, no matter how commercially viable it may or may not be.

It should comes as no surprise then that Athens was the home base for a group of musicians that had a penchant for psychedelic pop. This group would be known as the Elephant Six collective, and produce bands like of Montreal, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo and more. The collective was made up of like-minded musicians, who routinely appeared with each other's projects. The result was a group of musicians and songwriters who shared an aesthetic and musical vision. And while many of the Elephant Six bands would go on to make exceptional records, one man stood out with his songwriting abilities that separated not only from his fellow collective members, but also from virtually every other songwriter of the era.

Jeff Mangum started playing music as part of Synthetic Flying Machine, along with future Olivia Tremor Control members Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart. The group released one album before Mangum decided to start writing songs on his own. Mangum named his new project Neutral Milk Hotel. The band started not as a band at all, but rather Mangum recording his songs with whomever was present at the time. This recording style can be heard on Mangum's early singles. For Neutral Milk Hotel's first full length album, Mangum spent a year writing songs, some of the time spent in a haunted closet in a studio. The result was On Avery Island, released in March 1996.

On Avery Island is at once a straightforward pop-rock album in the vein of the New Pornographers, and at the same time, as described by Jason Ankeny of All Music, a "fuzzy masterpiece of experimental lo-fi recording." Mangum's beautiful melodies and expansive wordplay are paired with heavy distortion, designed to give the album a timeless quality. The use of tape machines and older machines is a constant amongst the Elephant Six bands, and are prominent on the album, but are used not to take center stage, but rather to accentuate the songs that Mangum crafted. And while Mangum sings these songs with all that he has, it's anyone's guess as to what it is he's actually singing about. The lyrics themselves are beautiful and descriptive, and are as good as any other lyrics from the era when looked at out of context. In "Naomi", Mangum sings "And if she only really knew/One billion angels could come and save her soul/They could save her soul until she shines." But the album as a whole lacks a cohesiveness. The music and lyrics are beautiful, but nothing ties them together enough to make the album a classic.

When it came time for a follow-up, Mangum found a copy of the The Diary of Anne Frank and Mangum was immediately moved by what he read. He would spend days crying and thinking about the book, and as Mangum himself said in an interview with Puncture magazine, he "would go to bed every night and have dreams about having a time machine and somehow I'd have the ability to move through time and space freely, and save Anne Frank." Mangum would use this inspiration for the next Neutral Milk Hotel album, In the Aeroplane over the Sea, released in February 1998.

Aeroplane is an expansive record, one that goes from one genre to the next and from one mood to the next. It is not much of a modern record, but rather timeless. According to the liner notes, Mangum and his band mates used instruments like bowed fuzz bass, tapes, shortwave radio, flugelhorn, euphonium, singing saw, bowed banjo, air organ, and one-note piano. But at no point does the album feel dated; instead it feels incredibly alive, with emotion pouring out of every note and every lyric. You may not think a kaleidoscope-like record partially based on the story of Anne Frank released more than fifty years after her death would be one of modern music's most moving statements, but that is exactly what Aeroplane is.

The record starts with "The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1," a song that begins solely with Mangum on acoustic guitar, singing "When you were young/You were the king of carrot flowers." The very first words on the album establish one of its main themes, that of youth and all the possibilities that come with it. Mom may be sticking a fork in daddy's shoulder, and Dad may be contemplating his suicide, but that won't stop us from learning "what each other's bodies were for." As the song builds, and other instruments join in, the youthful feeling also rises, setting the rest of the album for what so often happens to those with blissful ignorance.

But before that, we once move from exploring bodies to finding real love, although maybe not quite what one may expect. "The King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 and 3" begins with Mangum boldly repeating the phrase "I love you Jesus Christ/Jesus Christ, I love you/Yes, I do." Whether or not these words are meant to be taken literally in the religious sense or not, those words are possibly the most important on the album. They force the listener to make a choice on the album. The first track is a wonderfully catchy tune, full with beautiful imagery in both word and sounds. But the second track can be seen as polarizing. The first minute is simply Mangum repeating the aforementioned phrase at the top of his lungs, and this could be off-putting to some. But those who wait are rewarded as the song moves from part two to part three. The band builds behind Mangum's proclamation, full with quite possibly the most beautiful horns ever put to record, and when the build reaches its climax, the song takes off in a swirling parade, a celebration of sorts. (Celebrating Jesus, perhaps?) Whatever the message is, there's no doubt the emotional impact of the band trashing around in a controlled frenzy, with every instrument and note meshing with the others.

A listener may feel closed in by the end of the song, but the title track opens things back up completely. Optimism is the theme of this song, as it is with the previous two songs. If one sees the album as the story of a singular character, then this song is the apex of their bliss. They enjoyed their youthful hope in the first track, found something more in the next track, and now are prepared to apply this hope not only to the rest of their life, but everything after as well. Mangum sings "And one day we will die, and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea/But for now we are young, let us lay in the sun/And count every beautiful thing we can see/Love to be, in the arms of all I'm keeping here with me." With more beautiful horns playing, it becomes quite easy to feel like you are actually in the aeroplane, flying high above the sea. This also marks the third straight tremendous vocal performance from Mangum, who was unafraid to sing his heart out on nearly every word. The vocals on the title track end up being the high point, helping to turn the song into an incredibly emotional statement. (And kudos to Mangum for making "How I would push my fingers through your mouth/To make those muscles move," one of the most romantic lyrics I've ever heard.)

The romance and optimism of the first three tracks turn to pure sensuality, kind of, on "Two-Headed Boy." I say "kind of" because once again Mangum's vocal performance is pure emotion, and makes references to the trials and tribulations of awkward lovers. Clothes are removed, but fingers are placed in the notches of one's spine. However, this isn't a traditional love song; in fact, as you can probably tell, it's difficult to take anything on the record completely at face value. Here, there are allusions to the two-headed boy floating in a jar. The easiest explanation is that boy refers to the duality of the human nature. But the song isn't just about two opposing viewpoints. Like most of the record it is all-encompassing, referencing sex, death, violence, and love, amongst other ideas. No matter what your interpretation may be, there is no doubt that "Two-Headed Boy" is the centerpiece of the record, the one song that, no matter your opinion of the album as a whole, you will remember long after listening to it. I'd even propose it's one of the great vocal performances of all-time, if not the best song of the 1990's.



"Two-Headed Boy"


An instrumental, titled "The Fool" follows, and it can best be compared to a slow march. This is the point of the record where the influence of Anne Frank becomes more prevalent. There are obvious connotations with the theme of the slow march, and what follows is the most direct reference to Anne Frank on "Holland, 1945." The first lyrics of the song feature Mangum proclaiming, "The only girl I've ever loved was born with roses in her eyes/But then they buried her alive/One evening, 1945/With just her sister at her side/And only weeks before the guns all came and rained on everyone." The song not only addresses Frank directly, but also her greater impact since her death. The chorus says, "But now we must pick up every piece/Of the life we used to love/Just to keep ourselves/At least enough to carry on." Mangum is obviously affected by what happened to Frank and her family, but he knows he has to find a way to keep living his life, but at the same time he holds on to her, and the first lines of the song reveal a sense of regret for not being able to do anything for her.

The song "Communist Daughter" follows, and is notable for its observation that "semen stains the mountaintop." This is another song that addresses sex at its most basic, the awkwardness we all feel in the early stages of our sexuality. And it is too simplistic to say that Mangum has only a sexual attraction here, but rather, there is a yearning for the object of his affection. It's not about the sex; instead it is about saving someone who suffered a tragic fate combined with who she was when she was a live and what was addressed in the diary.

"Oh, Comely" takes this concept further and is an absolute blow-away song for whoever hears it. The lyrics are stream-of-conscious where Mangum seems to let everything loose, and there are more references to fetuses, ovaries and semen while at the same time wishing to destroy his enemies. Mangum holds nothing back in this one, as he reiterates his wish to save Anne Frank "in some sort of time machine." Also, the sexual theme is prevalent, as Mangum ends the song with "But now we move to feel/For ourselves inside some stranger's stomach/Place your body here/Let your skin begin to blend itself with mine." The song is more than eight minutes, most of that just Mangum and his guitar, and I find it difficult for anyone to listen to the song and not be immediately affected and moved. In fact, if you turn up the volume at the very end of the song, you can hear a voice in the background proclaim, "Holy shit!" in reaction to the performance, and I believe that is the appropriate reaction.



"Oh Comely"


On "Ghost", Mangum says that "she will live forever, she won't ever die," and the reference is obvious, as he brings up the real influence of Anne Frank, and the real reason Mangum was so affected. Looking past anything about sexuality or saving people with time machines, the influence from Anne Frank is that her story will never be forgotten, and that story is what Mangum related to so much.

After another circus-esque instrumental comes next, and then we get the album's closer "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2" One of the great "sad" songs ever written, it sums up the rest of the album while providing new wrinkles to the story. The perspective is seemingly from a deceased person, singing to someone that was left behind and reassuring them, and letting them know that they will always be around. The song also includes the statement "God is a place where some holy spectacle lies," and that is certainly a suitable summation of the album. The whole album feels like a spectacle from beginning to end, one that takes you across the whole spectrum of emotions and lets you determine for yourself what that trip means to you.



"Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2"


At the end of the song, you can hear Mangum put his guitar down, and that sound would prove to be finality. Neutral Milk Hotel never released another album as Mangum went into reclusion following the release of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Mangum believed that music would be able to solve his problems, and when that didn't happen he was unable to handle his disappointment. He may pop up on different Elephant Six releases every so often, but it appears as if we have heard the last of Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel. If that is indeed the fact, then In the Aeroplane Over the Sea stands as their last statement, and what a statement it is. Every listener can make their own opinion on the album, and take whatever message they want. The album is in constant motion while at the same time serving as one of the most emotional albums ever made. Those who love the album know it is an incredibly emotional experience, and that experience does not let up over each successive listen. Personally, I consider it to be the greatest album ever made, and quite possibly the only perfect album ever made. From beginning to end it is a testament to everything good about music, and a study on life and how we feel about it.

So, with that, A Short Column About Music is done. ( I think.) But I said earlier that I was ending it due to a variety of reasons, and one of those reasons is a new opporunity here at 411 Music that I wanted to take advantage of. Starting next week the Movies/TV section column Ten Deep will be making its debut in the Music section, and at the helm will be yours truly. I'm quite excited about the opportunity and hope it all goes as well as I thought this column went. So if you read, commented on and enjoyed the column these last few months, I thank you and I hope you join me next week for 411 Music Ten Deep's look at the Greatest Debut Albums.