THROWBACK SATURDAYS: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel

Works of great critical acclaim often suffer from a backlash against their popularity, not through any fault of the creative enterprise but rather the whims and caprices of the general public. For example, we’ve become sick of hearing that The Beatles released five of arguably the top ten albums of all time (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s, White Album, Abbey Road), or that Dylan released three of the top twenty over a period of less than eighteen months (Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde). Especially with the proliferation of information, hearsay via the opinions of others provides a sustainable mode of expression. Why restate the opinion of 1,000 others to change an adjective or preposition?

Lovers of “alternative rock music” are understandably sick of hearing about In the Aeroplane over the Sea, which has been lauded unconditionally for as long as there’s been rock journalism on the internet. We’ve grown to take the combo of feedback and irony for granted, but Jeff Magnum is one of the best exporters of the style, on full display during all 39 minutes of his 1998 magnum opus. Become best friends with that tortured writer across the hall if you live in Boston and they have tickets to Magnum’s concert at Jordan Hall on Sept. 10th. Tracks 1-4 of In the Aeroplane are sublime, but the rest of the album is the glue which gives the LP its infinite replay value. Contributed by Christopher Gedos – Chris performs tonight @ The Comedy Store in Hollywood, CA. 7pm.

Neutral Milk Hotel (Official)

Rating: 9.7

Reviewed by b3