Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33 1/3 Book 29) Kindle Edition

I have read a few 33 1/3 books over the years and they area always interesting and give a more full appreciation of the albums they cover. "ITAOTS" is no exception. I grew up around the same time as Jeff and his friends, and although not a musician myself, my close friends played in bands in and around Baltimore and their early adventures resonated with me. It's good to know that such soulful, earnest music was made by a group of people who were so talented and dedicated to each other and their art. There were a couple things that I want to mention, however. There are very few references to experimentation with drugs, which I was sort of surprised with. There is one instance where Jeff is on MDMA and is musically inspired, and there is another where some of the band recall their horn player accepting a joint on more than one occasion which affected his playing. I wasn't expecting NMH to be like Led Zeppelin when it came to substance abuse, but taking into account their ages and that particular time and place (i.e. college towns, early 1990's) it is hard to believe that consumption of various substances along the way may have had a affect on their creative process and the music they made. The other is the repeated critically toned apologies of the writer when it comes to Jeff Mangum's musical profession of love for Jesus Christ on the epic 2nd track of "ITAOTS". When I first heard the song, I was struck with the lyric because one doesn't often hear Jesus name checked in rock and roll (sorry, I despise the term "alternative rock"). In the book however, it is pointed out that Jeff's upfront high regard for Jesus was met with disdain by some in the band and that it required a moderate leap of faith for some of his contemporaries to get past such an apparent outrage. Later it is brought up again that, at the time, fans of NMH had to "get past" that lyric when first hearing the album, especially those who may have been "anti-Christian" or at least something along those lines. I don't doubt that the author was documenting real occurrences and genuine reactions, but I really do find it sad that even among these open minded, creative young people a simple shout out to Jesus would be such a burden. I can't help but wonder if Jeff had instead mentioned Vishnu, Allah, or the Buddha would the reaction have been the same? I don't look to rock music to be proselytized to and the faith based contemporary music I have heard has little to recommend it, even to a Christian such as myself, but the fact remains that the people who balked at Jeff's lyric decades ago have easily become the majority voice in a popular culture that often chooses to denigrate Christianity whenever possible. I could be off the mark but it was just something that struck me while I was reading. I recommend this book without reservation!

This is a really great chronicle of the band's origins, paths crossing and diverting then merging again, and the story of the album's making and the band's short existence thereafter. I got it as part of my research for a NMH mural I made for an Athens public art project, and it was incredibly useful and engrossing. I think I read it twice in 3 months, no problem!

If you haven’t heard the album IN THE AEROPOANE OVER THE SEA, get it by whatever means necessary. Pour a glass of you choice alcohol and be transported on a musical adventure through time and space and Jeff Mangums head.Then when you’ve listened to it over and over an over and want more get this book. It is sooooo insightful and unlocks a lot of the lyrics as well as the mystery of why the band gave up making music.

This was so well written and now I can tell everyone I know random facts about Neutral Milk Hotel. Really a must read for fans of the band as it does far more than just give information on the album. It gives an in-depth history with interviews and lyric analysis as well as photos.

I found out about this series relatively recently and decided to go with this book as an introduction. It was a deliberate choice - I was vaguely familiar with the album beforehand - so I could gauge the overall effect of the book, how much I learned, how much it changed my outlook on the musicIt was generally very informative. Apparently this is not necessarily the "norm" for the series, but Cooper's little volume gives a moderately detailed background of the band's members, friends, and communities. You'll learn a lot about the spirits that inspired and carried the work through to completion. I would have preferred a more detailed discussion of the album's tracks themselves, but I had a good time with the reading regardless.The writing isn't great. It's sometimes overly simplistic. But then again it's a brief history and discussion and not a dramatic interpretation, so you can't really expect expressive writing. I've read that some 33 1/3 books are overly expressive or off-topic, so in retrospect I'm glad Cooper stayed focused.If you're looking for a definitive, concise take on Mangum's album, look no farther. You'll find most everything you need to know here.

This book is awesome because...a) It presents a meticulous history of the band's historyb) The recording process of the album is discussed in full, and broken down song by songc) Nearly all of the people involved with the album and the band contribute commentary, so, you get a VERY multifaceted portrait of very REAL peopled) After reading it, you will want to listen to the album several times over to pick out the subtle innuendo laced throughout...which the book talks about in depth

Billed as the ultimate indie-geek dissertation on one of the seminal albums of the '90s, Kim Cooper's book is actually much more. The first portion offers an insightful overview of the Elephant 6 collective, from its childhood origins to its communal lifestyle and creative process. Casual fans will be inspired to delve deeper, and even hardcore NMH devotees will find plenty here they never knew or even considered.One minor criticism: The chapter on the actual recording process seems thrown together and lacks the narrative flow of the rest of the book. There is too much tech-speak here and not enough anecdotes.Overall, though, this is a well-researched and loving testament to a timeless album. If you cherish "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," you simply must read this book.

Sleeping on floors and thrifting. Jeff’s fascination with odd records. Denver scene and Athens scene. Roberts production techniques was also a cool tidbit in the book.

More of a potted history of Neutral Milk Hotel which is OK, but, and a big but, In the Aeroplane over the Sea, which is a fantastic album, is only covered in a small part of the book, and then there is rather a lot of the author's opinion rather than fact.

I love the album but this book is disappointing, it is obvious she is a big fan but the content is uninteresting and tenuous to say the least, just one example of how little information she managed to extract from Jeff Mangum is when she describes the album cover as bathers waving from the shore when it is obvious they are Nazi salutes given the nature of the album, this is one record that could never be explained as it is shrouded in mystery and that is how it should stay.

Simply great. If you have any experience or relationship with "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" then I implore you to buy this book. I cannot believe I went all this time without knowing the full details of it's creation.

While this review may be a little biased, as I am a massive Neutral Milk Hotel fan, I can safely say that this book accurately, and tastefully described them, from Jeff Mangum's little quirks, to the replacements of the zanzithophones, to the stoned trombone players. There is not much to say about this book if you haven't heard the album, but if you have, be prepared to be amazed. I never knew there to be this much story behind an album, or that it was as personal to Jeff as the author, Kim Cooper describes it as. Its a whimsical journey full of ups and downs, following the near-hippie experiences of a tight-knit group of friends that just want to make something that sounds good, and my God it sounds good. Everything seems as if you were a part of the band, and simply gathering in some local venue to recount tales of old. i may have never met Jeff Mangum, and by the looks of it I never will, but this book made me not only in a sense, "befriend" him, but Laura, and Julian also. It may not be as poetic and sad as the album is, but it sure takes you through the same emotional rollercoaster.

Unfortunately this book is one of the weakest of the 33 1/3 series. So many of the others books are more engaging. Some put us in the head of people who were growing up at the time of a record coming out, others look in-depth at an album and a band. This book does neither, really being all about how they care for each other a lot and move from here to there to there in the country, giving nothing in the way of vignettes to give us a glimpse of how they are or what it was like. The attempts at analysis finally come but there's such a lack of confidence and they are so sketchy that it's hardly worth it after all. In contrast, Meat Is Murder, Let It Be (Replacements), The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society and Doolittle are all a great read.