don’t hate him when he get’s up to leave

i’m a little late in getting to this but i really wanted to post on it.  last week was the 10th anniversary of the release of the very fine album in the aeroplane over the sea which was the last album put out by my favourite band neutral milk hotel.  it is their best album and probably my favourite album of all time, it is certainly the album which is the most meaningful to me.

 i first heard of this album from some review of another album which just mentioned it in passing.  it was enough for me to download a few songs which i enjoyed enough, i didn’t think it was anything that special but i did purchase the album.  it was a good listen, but it wasn’t until the fifth time that i listened to the album that i was really struck by how amazing it really was.  i remember it quite vividly.  i was listening to the album while driving around and somewhere in the middle of the song ‘oh, comely’ it just hit me, “holllllleee shit!” this is album is good.  and after that every time i listened to it i got more and more into it.  i have since reached the pinnacle of my enjoyment for the album, i now try to preserve the album and limit my listens to the album.  on sunday i splurged and listened to it three or four times.  each time he sets down his guitar and gets up and leaves, leaving me hoping that one day he will make music again.

i have been hoping for news for some time now that jeff mangnum would return to making music but there has been nothing so far.  i had hoped that this anniversary would have triggered some news but so far nothing.  there have however been a few nice tributes across the internet, pitchfork had some nice features, stereogum had a good post, and i found a very good piece that was written awhile back by will sheff of okkervil river. 

maybe he’ll make more music maybe he won’t, it should be enough that he put out one great album.  i might even argue two great albums.  had he made more music it might have only served to diminish those releases because of future missteps.  i still wish he would put out another  effort because even if it were terrible at least it would put an end to all of these questions, and it might just touch on the magic found in the two albums he did give us.

~ by mwn on February 19, 2008.