Neutral Milk Hotel- the most interesting folk rock band of all time

The story of Neutral Milk Hotel is filled with indie wonder and an album loosely based around the diary of Anne Frank. Fans of music have been fascinated with this art project for years ever since it was recorded in 1998, and the interest for the band has peaked in the last year. With the 18th century European artwork and the music varying from psychedelic folk, punk and jazz, Neutral Milk Hotel is certainly one the most diverse and interesting projects ever. Lets dive into what makes this band so exceptional and how they created one of the most intricate albums of all time

Neutral Milk hotel started with a man named Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana of all places. Jeff Mangum was a very introspective and kind man who used his music to express his thoughts and feelings. He handled the vocals and guitar for the band while his friends Scott, Jeremy, and Julian played the trumpet, bass and singing saw. Once the band was formed in 1998 they began their first and only record titled ‘In the Aeroplane over the sea.’ The album was made over the course of three weeks but little is known about the making of the record itself. Now lets get to the actual album itself.

‘In the Aeroplane over the sea’ was written after Jeff Mangum read the diary of Anne Frank. Jeff felt extreme loss for this life that was taken from the earth 50 years ago and felt the need to get his thoughts out in a whole album. The first song I heard off of the record was ‘Holland 1945’, a song about the disappointing nature of life in general. Even after people were freed from the camps in Holland they had to find a way to deal with the immense pain that came from the past. This is a fast moving track about how even after you get through something holding you down another knocks you right back to where you started.

The second song I listened too, and probably my favorite, is the title track from the album. This song is about his sorrow for the loss of Anne Frank and the life that was taken away from her. In this song we find out that the aeroplane over the sea is just a metaphor for death. He uses the lyrics, “And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea” to reference the fact we will all die. Anne Frank was so young and he ponders throughout the song about why she flew in the plane before he did. The last lyric of the song, “I can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all” evokes this emotion that we are not worthy of a peaceful existence while others have suffered a fate as terrible as hers. Jeff’s sorrow for this girl comes to a head in this song where he feels like it is pointless to be anything at all.

All of this combined with Jeff’s manic singing voice and the ancient European artwork of the album combines for this dark but almost hopeful vibe. The music always reminds me that I need to make the most of my life because my aeroplane could have flown already much like Anne’s did. After finishing the album Neutral Milk Hotel disbanded and was no where to be found for over 15 years. Jeff had the opportunity to go on a nation-wide tour after the success of the album but decided to decline it and fade away into indie rock infamy. Neutral Milk Hotel got back together in 2013 for a three show tour that sold out in just 20 minutes. Other than that Jeff has been nowhere to be found for years and it only adds to the vibe of one of the most infamous indie band of all time. It never mattered to Jeff whether the made money or not. It mattered that he challenged peoples perception on the way they view as a whole.

So there is the story of Neutral Milk Hotel. If you haven’t heard their music I would advise you to check out the song ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ and just think about, “How strange it is to be anything at all.”