 | Tracklist:
1. King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1
2. King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2-3
3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
4. Two-Headed Boy
5. Fool
6. Holland, 1945
7. Communist Daughter
8. Oh Comely
9. Ghost
10. - (The Penny Arcade in California)
11. Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2
| Ranking: #6 for 1998 | |
| | other reviews | Ben Smith (5)
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is one of the best albums I have heard. It's got a sound of it's own, ... | Keelan H. STAFF (5)
Some Sort of Time Machine: The Role of Time in a Work of Art, From the View of In the Aeroplane Over... | Adam Knott STAFF (5)
And your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking, and dad would dream of all the different ... | Daniel Merriweather (5)
In the Aeroplane Over The Sea is not only a cult classic and an exceptional album, but it is also th... | dupuisj8 (5)
A powerful and human exploration into sound... | Adam Thomas STAFF (5)
How strange it is to be anything at all...... | Armando Osuna (5)
World War II, Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust, Anne Frank, Neutral Milk Hotel’s magnum opus, In the Ae... | (4.5)
... | Med57 EMERITUS (4.5)
... | Paul blart (4.5)
A little too lo-fi for it's own good, but Mangum's baffling mind is completely unfolded here; filled... | Chris Jackson EMERITUS (2)
... |
On 751 Lists
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| Summary: Be prepared to be blessed with some of the best lyrics ever written, sung by the worst voice ever spoken. |
8 of 27 thought this review was well written
If you look in indie's back catalog you might find that a band called Neutral Milk Hotel keeps popping up quite often. If you're like me, you'll wonder who this mysterious band is and do some background checking to find that they're one of the most popular bands in the history of indie. I can't tell you how many praises I've heard sung in the name of the band's leader Jeff Magnum. And I can understand the sentimentality of the issue; Magnum is a supreme lyrical writer, and having mastered the concept of the human language, layers this incredible album with some truly great prose lyrics. There are some real gems here scattered about through every possible song from King of Carrot Flowers part 1, 2, 3, all the way to the ending, Two Headed Boy. The lyrics are confusing but deep nonetheless, always painting a picture that you can easily visualize the entire length of the album's duration.
So after praising the lyrics so much like every other review I've ever seen, you might wonder why I only have given this a 2? It's because everything else is awful! Mostly Jeff Magnum's voice, could there be a more obnoxious, unlikable, stymied whine on the face of the planet? No, Justin Bieber doesn't count (sorry; it HAD to be mentioned). Magnum has the worst voice I've ever heard, plane and simple; it's like a normal man who's nervous had sex with an air horn. Suffice to say it, it's a painful experience. Not even the best lyrics in the world could save a voice like this, and its especially evident when Magnum goes for those high notes, the first being in the opening acoustic jam King of Carrot Flowers Part I. Other than the high part at the end, it's a pretty good acoustic song. But that high note and many to come, will completely destroy the album.
He's not the only offender though, the full band songs are plagued by awfully muddy, dry production that seems to value compression above all other forms of production. They also feel the need to have a weirdness factor by employing crazy sounds like the ghostly wail of whatever instrument is played during the verses of the title track Aeroplane Over the Sea. The highlight of the album has to be Communist Daughter however, because it is a short standard acoustic song with good lyrics, and Magnum keeps his voice low as to keep the frustrations to a minimum. Overall, it's a pretty good album lyrically but god is it ruined by the terrible production and the absolutely terrible vocals. Recommended only for the hardest of the hardcore fans of indie folk-punk.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 2
i know this one might be controversial, just bare with me
Digging: My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade Digging: My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade | | | Album Rating: 5
his vocals rule
Digging: Rush - Hemispheres | | |
just bare with me
oh balls
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
What's wrong with a guy not having a nice voice?
Would you rather listen to perfect pitch autotune pop bullshit?
Digging: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Pamyu Pamyu Revolution | | |
Lol the worst voice ever spoken. I love how half of your reviews don't even make sense.
| | | Album Rating: 2
whoa coming out swinging guys jeez
its not that he has a bad voice, its that hes got the worst voice, its so grating
| | | Album Rating: 5
you have such a fucking odd pic
| | | Album Rating: 5
LOL
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I don't understand how you keep getting so surprised that people get incensed about your reviews when you're just pissing on things people love.
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hahahahaha
| | | Album Rating: 2
"you have such a fucking odd pic "
isnt yours chris angel mindfreak?
"LOL"
good LOL or bad LOL rabbit??
| | | Album Rating: 5
come on this troll has gone far enough it's not even funny to watch anymore
| | | Album Rating: 2
yuma you broke my review!
| | | Album Rating: 5
THREAD SMASHED
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"isnt yours chris angel mindfreak?"
I think it's the Pick-Up Artist, if I am not mistaken
Digging: Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma Digging: Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma
| | | Album Rating: 2
pretty rude of him i'll say
| | | Album Rating: 5
It's Mystery. He is a famous pickup artist and brought the culture to mainstream attention and is extremely important to the shaping of the pickup community in general. It sucks that he had a really dumb TV show on VH1 which made him look ridiculous, because his books and writings are EXTREMELY influential and intelligent.
| | | Album Rating: 2
oh yeah i knew he looks familiar
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
please leave
please delete yuma's comment at least
Digging: mewithoutYou - Ten Stories Digging: mewithoutYou - Ten Stories | | | Album Rating: 4.5
also you know this like jesse lacey's favorite album or something like that
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