The Way It Sounds to Me: Neutral Milk Hotel

I was going to entitle this, "Review: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel", but it seems silly to "review" an album 10 years after it was released. Basically, this is me prophylactically regurgitating some thoughts that I've had about an album with which I am currently obsessed in an effort to move on.

In the Aeroplane... is a concept album that was inspired by the story of Anne Frank, in addition to some thematically-related dreams by the founding Neutral Milk Hotel member, Jeff Mangum. Stylistically, it most closely resembles a folk-rock effort.

This is an ugly album. Mangum's voice is a grinding, nasal bray in many parts; acoustic guitars are strummed violently in fits of drama, accompanied by rolling waves of drums; fuzzed-out distortion is like a punch in the face in some tracks; blaring horns and bagpipes drunkenly weave through the instrumental interludes. However, the songs are superficially likable on first listen, and Mangum generally plays and sings in the manner of a mischievous troubador.

There is also an ugliness to Mangum's lyrics and delivery. While there is no obscene language, he consistently returns to what is usually considered base imagery: the physical manifestation of sex and the horrifying immutability of death. The word 'return', of course, implies that he spends a great deal of time on that which transcends the muck of our worst intentions.

If it were merely this, if the album was just an exercise in contrasting the sacred with the profane, this would still be a decent album. The songs, melodies, and instrumentation are instantly approachable, despite the edge. But the lyrics take center stage, and the words are inescapable and unforgettable. Fortunately (for me), they're also not always decipherable, which gives me the courage to forward my opinions here, however out of line they may be with the artist's intent. So just put "It seems to me..." at the start of each sentence that follows.

For an album inspired by Anne Frank, there is little direct reference to the actual story until well into the album. However, there are oblique references, providing that you expect them, in the early tracks. It's almost a dance around the topic, like the small talk that occurs at a funeral of a child. It's a relating of our own experiences as a mirror to the tragedy of another, and vice-versa. Mangum finally stabs at the problem in a duo of songs with very different approaches, but the same result. One is the matter-of-fact "Holland, 1945", the other is "Oh, Comely".

The climax of the album occurs in "Oh, Comely", an angry and confused piece that masterfully captures a moment of resignation amid a struggle of denial. Here is where the imagery becomes...uncomfortable and unavoidable. But instead of imagery of the death machine of the Nazis, Mangum uses body and relationship images in a stream-of-consciousness sing-song rant of despair. Finally, there is talk of the truth, the horrible death of the Franks and many others in the concentration camps. The song ends with a promise of neverending love and life to Goldeline, who is presumably Anne, either from Mangum or from an unseen paramour. Or it could be from Anne to her sister, with whom she was buried.

I have a strong desire to describe the denouement as well, but you can listen for yourself if you're curious. Obviously, I thought it was great, since it should be painfully evident that I love this album.

The thing that grabs me the most about this work is the sincerity -- if he had failed to be sincere in this, no one would have cared, and I probably never would have heard it. Mangum does not use the jarring imagery as a shock device. I'm a little too old to buy into that kind of crap anyway. There's a line in the second track that goes "I love you, Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, I love you, yes I do!", and it is sung in a full-throated wail. The first time I heard the album, I thought that the manner of delivery implied sarcasm. It wouldn't be unheard of in the field of indie rock to have contempt for the bible thumpers, ya know? However, I read excerpts from a Mangum interview where he stated that he meant every word on the album. I don't know if this implies that he practices some form of Christianity (matters not to me either way), but that declaration makes for an interesting counterpoint to what is a VERY unapologetic artistic courage for the rest of the album.

So, to sum, what I take away from In the Aeroplane... is that we all have some extraordinarily tragic things happen to us within the confines of our mundane lives, but also aching moments of beauty. The same can be said for Anne Frank, who led an extraordinary life, but still faced everyday problems such as her battles with her mother, and navigating her first and only romantic relationship. I've read a bit more about her after hearing this album, and she really did seem to be a beautiful person, doing as well as she could amid the strain of tragedy and hope.

What a beautiful face
I have found in this place
that is circling all 'round the sun

When we meet on a cloud
I'll be laughing out loud
I'll be laughing about everyone I see

Can't believe how strange it is to be anything
at all