So much ink has been spilled (and tears shed) over this album since its release nearly 15 years ago that it's inevitable I struggle to say anything about it. Yes, at its heart it's a fever dream about Anne Frank. But well beyond that, it's quite simply an astonishing album that confronts you without the merest trace of guile, insincerity, or artifice. It's a straight flush dealt and then laid down before any bets are in. It is probably one of the best albums ever made.
Best Song
"Holland, 1945" is a fantastic song and seems to be the most beloved, but "Oh Comely" and "Ghost" are at least as magnificent.
Released
February 10 1998
Acquired
I finally bought it used at some now-defunct used CD place in Omaha at about 72nd and Dodge (near Fuddruckers and that arcade--is any of that still there?) in 2000 for $3.98.
Next Closest
It's not like the sound is really so singular--it's pure American folk-rock (or folk-punk or something like that). It's not wildly experimental (not experimental at all, in fact), or even all that weird. But still, I don't know what other music sounds like it--probably because it is in some sense actually too generic. The only thing really different about it is the vocal's place at the extreme front of the mix where almost everything else already is, an effect that can be disconcerting if not outright alarming. People often draw a comparison to The Decemberists, but the similarities are weak to my ear. Arcade Fire? Just listen to the damn thing.
Brush with greatness (note: may include name-dropping)
No brush with greatness, but one massive regret: when I was a Lincolnite I always got The Bottleneck's monthly newsletter and one March (1998) noticed that a band called "Neutral Milk Hotel", a few of which's songs I'd heard and liked on KRNU recently, would be playing there in April. I thought about going but decided not to.
Released
February 10 1998
Acquired
I finally bought it used at some now-defunct used CD place in Omaha at about 72nd and Dodge (near Fuddruckers and that arcade--is any of that still there?) in 2000 for $3.98.
Next Closest
It's not like the sound is really so singular--it's pure American folk-rock (or folk-punk or something like that). It's not wildly experimental (not experimental at all, in fact), or even all that weird. But still, I don't know what other music sounds like it--probably because it is in some sense actually too generic. The only thing really different about it is the vocal's place at the extreme front of the mix where almost everything else already is, an effect that can be disconcerting if not outright alarming. People often draw a comparison to The Decemberists, but the similarities are weak to my ear. Arcade Fire? Just listen to the damn thing.
Brush with greatness (note: may include name-dropping)
No brush with greatness, but one massive regret: when I was a Lincolnite I always got The Bottleneck's monthly newsletter and one March (1998) noticed that a band called "Neutral Milk Hotel", a few of which's songs I'd heard and liked on KRNU recently, would be playing there in April. I thought about going but decided not to.
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