Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over The Sea (Merge)
Sweet indie rocker Sean Solomon told us about his love for a Neutral Milk Hotel gem...
I love In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel for two reasons. One, because it makes me nostalgic for when I first heard it. And two, because this is an album that truly must be listened to from beginning to end. It is an album, not a collection of songs.
I was 13 the first time I heard Aeroplane. I was hanging out with a girl who I was basically dating, but we were too shy and awkward to address it. Her parents were out of town and she thought it would be a good idea to smoke her mom's cigarettes inside (this was a terrible idea) and listen to this record on vinyl (cool idea). It was my first cigarette. My first time hearing this completely unhinged, beautiful record. The room slowly filled with smoke while this strange, vulnerable music played.
Every time I hear this album (or smell cigarette smoke, for that matter), I'm instantly transported to that moment. Completely afraid of the world, but also so intrigued by it. When time felt like it would last forever and magic was real. Before I was jaded. Before I knew I'd be heartbroken a thousand times and that true art like this album was rare and becoming rarer.
It reminds me of a version of myself who believed that all the strange things about me weren't flaws to fix, but the things that might someday allow me to make something meaningful. I remember thinking that maybe I could create something that would make people sit alone in a room, quietly listening from beginning to end.
This album was clearly made out of love for art and artistic expression. Not for money or fame, but because sometimes you're simply compelled to make something. The music is strange, vulnerable, and raw. But the truth is, if you haven't heard it, I think it'd be better if you just listened to it and had your own experience. You might hate it. I think people's connection to music often has more to do with where they first heard it or who introduced them to it than with what it actually sounds like. Maybe I only like this record because it reminds me of who I was when I still believed anything was possible.
Sean Solomon's album The World is Not Good Enough is out now.
Photo Credit: Michael Schmelling
