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In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

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Untitled

In the Aeroplane over the Sea is the second studio album by American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released in the United States on February 10, 1998 on Merge Records. The album was released in the United Kingdom in May 1998 on Blue Rose Records.

Jeff Mangum moved from Athens, Georgia to Denver, Colorado to prepare the bulk of the album's material with producer Robert Schneider, this time at Schneider's newly-created Pet Sounds Studio at the home of Jim McIntyre.

The album's cover was a collaboration between Mangum and R.E.M.'s staff designer, Chris Bilheimer.[1] The general design reflects the taste of Mangum: Bryan Poole said that "[Mangum] was always into that old-timey, magic, semi-circus, turn-of-the-century, penny arcade kind of imagery."[2] One particular piece Mangum showed to Bilheimer was an old European postcard with an image of people bathing at a resort, which was then cropped and altered for the cover.[2] Bilheimer also designed a broadsheet-style lyrics sheet for the album, and inadvertently titled "Holland, 1945" in the process; Mangum wanted to use either "Holland" or "1945" for the song, and Bilheimer suggested he use both.[3]

The album continues to sell well, and was the sixth-best-selling vinyl album in 2008.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com [5]
Allmusic [6]
Robert Christgau(neither) [7]
Pitchfork Media (1998)(8.7/10.0) [8]
Pitchfork Media (2005)(10.0/10) [9]
Planet Sound
Rolling Stone (1998) [10]
Rolling Stone (2005)
Tiny Mix Tapes [11]

Initial reviews of In the Aeroplane over the Sea were mixed. A review in the College Music Journal called Aeroplane a "A true lo-fi pop landmark" and cited "Holland, 1945" as a highlight.[12] Pitchfork Media's M. Christian McDermott gave the album an 8.7 out of 10, referring to Neutral Milk Hotel as "one psych-rock band making music that's just as catchy as it is frightening" and said that the album "does a credible job of blending Sgt. Pepper with early 90's lo-fi."[8] A review by Ben Ratliff in Rolling Stone was more negative: "Unfortunately, Mangum went straight for the advanced course in aura and texture, skipping basic training in form and selfediting. [...] He sings loudly, straining the limits of an affect less voice. [...] For those not completely sold on its folk charm, Aeroplane is thin-blooded, woolgathering stuff."[10]

Jason Ankeny of Allmusic wrote, "lo-fi yet lush, impenetrable yet wholly accessible, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is either the work of a genius or an utter crackpot, with the truth probably falling somewhere in between." Ankeny also praised Mangum's vocals as "far more emotive" than they were on On Avery Island, but criticized the lyrics as vague in meaning, saying, "While Mangum spins his words with the rapid-fire intensity of a young Dylan, the songs are far too cryptic and abstract to fully sink in — In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is undoubtedly a major statement, but just what it's saying is anyone's guess."[13] Robert Christgau rated the album a "Neither",[7] and while he later wrote that the album "convinced alt diehards that maturity can be just as weird as growing up", he also called it "a funereal jape that gets my goat."[14]

"In the Aeroplane over the Sea"
The third track of In the Aeroplane over the Sea. This sample contains a portion of the song's second verse. Evident are the driving acoustic guitar progressions and the use of a multitracked singing saw.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Subsequent reviews from Pitchfork and Rolling Stone were more positive; the latter gave the album four of five stars in its 2004 The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition, with reviewer Roni Sarig writing, "Mangum had put together something resembling an actual band, resulting in a far richer and more organic sound [than On Avery Island]. What's more, the songwriting had blossomed far beyond the bounds of Elephant 6 (or indie rock as a whole), with Mangum etching out timeless transcendentalist pop steeped in a century of American music (from funeral marches to driving punk)." Sarig also commended the album for its "passionate acoustic-guitar strums, irresistible melodies, and lyrics that rarely feel obtuse even when they're nonsensical."[15] Pitchfork, in a 2005 review written by Mark Richardson, gave the album a perfect score. Richardson praised the album's lyrical directness and "kaleidoscopic" musical style.[9] PopMatters named a reissue of the album one of the best of 2005, and wrote, "Aeroplane is a manifesto for a different way of making pop. To hear 'Two-Headed Boy' in 2005 is to realize that Mangum's art is simply superb songwriting. But most of the record adds an ingenious mixture of accordion, brass, organ, fuzzed-out guitars, tape, and other glorious miscellanea."[16]

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler named Aeroplane as a chief reason that his band signed to Merge.[17] Jesse Lacey of Brand New called In the Aeroplane over the Sea "the greatest record ever written", and has covered "Holland, 1945", "Oh Comely", and "Two Headed Boy Pt. 2" in concert.[18][19] In early 2009, Plan-It-X Records artist Madeline Ava covered the entire "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" album on ukulele. It is online for free download.[20] In August 2010 The Swell Season covered "Two-Headed Boy" for The AV Club.[21] In 2010 a group called Neutral Uke Hotel began touring playing ukulele covers of all the songs on the album.[22]

Inspiration

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is widely considered to be written about Anne Frank due to lyrics seemingly related to her, such as lines referring to her birth and death dates [citation needed]. Though the group has never officially stated the album is indeed about Frank, it is a popular theory among fans, and Jeff Mangum has mentioned the impact her diary has had on his work. [23]

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Mangum except where noted. Horn arrangements by Robert Schneider and Scott Spillane.

  1. "The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One" – 2:00
  2. "The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three" (Jeremy Barnes, Julian Koster, Jeff Mangum, Scott Spillane) – 3:06
  3. "In the Aeroplane over the Sea" – 3:22
  4. "Two-Headed Boy" – 4:26
  5. "The Fool" (Spillane) – 1:53
  6. "Holland, 1945" – 3:12
  7. "Communist Daughter" – 1:57
  8. "Oh Comely" – 8:18
  9. "Ghost" – 4:08
  10. "Untitled"  – 2:16
  11. "Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two" – 5:13

Personnel

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[24] On the rating website Rate Your Music, which uses a weighted average system, the album is ranked #1 in 1998 and #64 in all albums overall, as well as being #3 in the indie rock genre.[25]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Village Voice United States Pazz & Jop: Albums of the Year[26] 1998 #15
Nude as the News U.S. The 100 Most Compelling Albums of the 90s[27] 1999 #3
Magnet U.S. Top 60 Albums, 1993-2003[28] 2003 #1
Pitchfork Media U.S. Top 100 Albums of the 1990s[29] 2003 #4

References

  1. ^ Cooper, Kim. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 33⅓. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 79. ISBN 0-8264-1690-X.
  2. ^ a b Cooper, pp. 81
  3. ^ Cooper, pp. 82
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (January 8, 2009). "Radiohead, Neutral Milk Hotel Help Vinyl Sales Almost Double In 2008". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Allmusic Review
  7. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Neutral Milk Hotel". Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  8. ^ a b McDermott, M. Christian. "Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". Pitchfork Media, 1998. Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  9. ^ a b Richardson, Mark. "Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". Pitchfork Media, September 27, 2005. Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  10. ^ a b Ratliff, Ben. "In the Aeroplane over the Sea: Neutral Milk Hotel: Review". Rolling Stone, February 13, 1998. Retrieved on November 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes Review
  12. ^ Helms, Colin. "NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL: IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA". College Music Journal. Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  13. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert. "La-Di-Da-Di-Di? Or La-Di-Da-Di-Da?". Village Voice, March 2, 1999. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  15. ^ Bracket, Nathan and Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. (New York) Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743201698. p. 579
  16. ^ Layman, Will. "Best Reissues of 2005: 17 Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Domino)". PopMatters, December 19, 2005. Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  17. ^ Schreiber, Ryan. "Interview: The Arcade Fire". Pitchfork Media, February 14, 2005. Retrieved on November 17, 2007.
  18. ^ "Brand New singer covers Neutral Milk Hotel's "Oh Comely"". The Phoenix, May 1, 2007. Retrieved on December 24, 2007.
  19. ^ "Jesse Lacey playing Neutral Milk Hotel's Two Headed Boy Part 2 at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA on August 4th, 2008.".
  20. ^ Wildsmith, Steve. "Madeline Ava turns heads with her take on an indie classic" The Daily Times. May 21, 2009. Retrieved on December 7, 2010.
  21. ^ http://www.covermesongs.com/2010/08/the-swell-season-bring-their-oscar-winning-hollers-to-neutral-milk-hotel.html
  22. ^ http://www.covermesongs.com/2010/08/neutral-uke-hotel-the-king-of-carrot-flowers-pt-one.html
  23. ^ Richardson, Mark (2005-9-26). "Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-7-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  24. ^ "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  25. ^ "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". RateYourMusic. Retrieved on August 3, 2010.
  26. ^ "The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Music Poll: Winners: Albums 1998". Village Voice. Retrieved on November 27, 2009.
  27. ^ Carpenter, Troy. "3. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". Nude as the News. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  28. ^ ""The Evidence": Magnet’s Top 60 Albums, 1993-2003 (10th Anniversary Issue)". Magnet. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.
  29. ^ LeMay, Matt. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". Pitchfork Media, November 17, 2003. Retrieved on November 15, 2007.

Further reading

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