Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let me first say this: I am incredibly biased. ITAOTS is one of my all-time favorite albums, and I have many memories inextricably tied to it. I would argue, however, that appreciation of the album is not even a prerequisite to enjoy the book. Kim Cooper has compiled a beautiful account of a group of friends who, through good fortune, a wealth of talent, and most of all an undying belief in the power of music, created one of the most powerful records ever set to tape.
Obsessively detailing recording techniques, the origins of the songs, and the background of all involved, Cooper interviews all principles (except for elusive singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum, though I maintain that this only adds to the power of the book), creating a complete and fascinating story. She has a novelist's eye for the necessary detail and for plot development, and we become incredibly attached to the hugely intelligent and friendly Elephant 6 clique that helped the album to fruition.
This book is obviously a must-read for all interested in the Elephant 6 Collective or Neutral Milk Hotel, but at the same time it is too good to remain within those crowds. That would be like preaching to the choir. We have here an inspirational document of the continuing power of music, something that should be on required reading lists in every music program in every school. This here is proof that all outcasts and misfits who have found solace in the healing properties of music can succeed beyond their wildest dreams.
Jeff Mangum may or may not produce an album again, but ITAOTS is good enough for now. This book is not only a worthy tribute, but an accomplishment in and of itself. Congratulations, Ms. Cooper, you have written a masterpiece.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33 1/3)
Of all the recordings to emerge from the Athens-via-Denver collectivecalled Elephant 6, Neutral Milk Hotel's second album is the one that hasworked its way under the most skins. Magnet magazine named it the bestalbum of the 1990s, and Creative Loafing recently devoted a cover storyto one fan's quest to understand why band leader Jeff Mangum dropped outof sight soon after Aeroplane's release. The record sells steadily toan audience that finds it through word of mouth.Weird, beautiful, absorbing, difficult, In The Aeroplane Over the Seais a surrealist text loosely based on the life, suffering andreincarnation of Anne Frank, with guest appearances from a pair ofSiamese twins menaced by the cold and carnivores, a two-headed boybobbing in a jar, anthropomorphic vegetables and a variety of immatureerotic horrors.Mangum sings his dreamlike narratives with a dreamer's intensity, hiscreaky, off key voice occasionally breaking as he struggles to completeeach dense couplet. The music is like nothing else in the 90s indieunderground: a psychedelic brass band, its members self-taught, forgingpolychromatic washes of mood and tribute. The songs stick to one narrowkey, the images repeat and circle back, and to listen is to be absorbedinto a singular, heart-rending vision.
Click here for more information about Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33 1/3)
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