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In the Aeroplane Over the Sea: Ten years later

Two of the web’s most venerable music mags have published pieces commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the release of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. [For my money, In the Aeroplane includes some of the most interesting and affecting pop music of the 90s.] After a half-attempt to put the album in the context of the past decade, the folks at Stereogum link to a great tidbit about Stephen Colbert’s love for the album and give readers a chance to chime in on the album. As one might expect, comments range from gushing superlatives to suggestions that the album was overrated then and is overrated now.

Pitchfork has republished the interview they conducted with Jeff Mangum, the now reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel singer and songwriter, in advance of the album’s release. It’s NSFW due to some colorful language given in the course of the conversation so, due to Work + Play rules and regs, I can’t link to it here. But I strongly recommend that the interested track it down. Mangum doesn’t give interviews anymore—at least, not any of this substance—and the Pitchfork piece goes a long way toward demonstrating his fragility and artistic gifts.

Interesting that the Stereogum piece fails to mention Robert Schneider, the Apples in Stereo frontman who produced both Neutral Milk Hotel albums. In the Pitchfork piece, with a tender lack of self-assuredness, Mangum gives Schneider the credit he is due for co-creating the sound of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea: “The energy and love [Schneider] puts into the recordings, how personal he takes it, and that there’s always enough time to do exactly what you want to do. So, it’s like home recording, but with this person who pushes you to new places. Robert lets you find the very best, most interesting sounds, like, inside yourself. Does that sound stupid saying that?”

A little. But not in any way that matters.

To learn more about the recording of In the Aeroplane from the man behind the knobs, check out the Sound Opinions interview with Robert Schneider, which aired in March 2007.