Origins
Jeff Mangum was a member of The Olivia Tremor Control, along with his friend Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss, appearing on their first release, the California Demise 7".
Prior to recording for friends under the NMH moniker, Mangum recorded at least one cassette under the name Milk: the only known tape was called Pygmie Barn in E Minor. This is the earliest known recordings that Mangum initiated and executed himself, on the cover there is "all songs: j.m '89. art: w. cullen hart". There is only an estimated dozen or so copies ever made of this tape, none of which have been made public. The tracklist etc. are also unknown.
Neutral Milk Hotel began life in Ruston, Louisiana, United States in the early 1990s, simply as a recording project for Mangum. He produced several demo cassettes, among them 1991's Invent Yourself a Shortcake, 1992's Beauty and 1993's Hype City Soundtrack, along with two more from this period, seemingly unnamed. Although easily found on the internet, these demos capture the project at a very embryonic state: songs are played in between various sound collages and tape experiments, and even, at one point, a six minute conversation between Mangum and Hart.
During this period, Mangum was wandering the country, staying in the closets of friends, and in a state of permanent unemployment. It was in these circumstances that the band's first formal releases took shape. Strictly speaking, however, the 'band' usually consisted of Mangum and whoever else was present at the time. This is obvious on Neutral Milk Hotel's first release, a 7" entitled Everything Is, recorded when Mangum was spending time in Seattle, Washington, released on Cher Doll Records in 1994.
On Avery Island
A full album, On Avery Island, followed, this time recorded mainly in Denver, Colorado, where Mangum was backed by Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo, Rick Benjamin of the Perry Weissman Three and Lisa Janssen of Secret Square. Merge Records released it in 1996. On On Avery Island, Mangum's unique vocal style and the band's quirky but playful arrangements create a carnival atmosphere of moods ranging from excitement, suspense, and melodrama.
After the release of On Avery Island, Neutral Milk Hotel became a fully-fledged band, as Julian Koster, Scott Spillane and Jeremy Barnes joined Mangum, the band now being based in New York. Soon after this, they moved to Athens, Georgia, where many of Mangum's friends had begun to settle, and the Elephant 6 recording company began, fully, to take shape. After this, the band went back to Denver, to record a proper follow up to On Avery Island.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
The band's second LP, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, released in 1998, is notable as a critically acclaimed work and a widely popular recording. It is a spiritually motivated work, conceptually based on the beauty to be found in the horrific fate of Anne Frank and similarly overwhelming tragedies. (Mangum has, during live performances, including the one released under the title "Live at Jittery Joe's", described some of the songs off this album as based on urgent, recurring dreams he had of a European family during the 1940s.) The album was highly praised by critics for its wildly inventive instrumentation and Mangum's provocative and impassioned lyrics. Although it met with scant response from the general public when it was released, the recording has continued to gain momentum in indie music circles and has become a cult classic, selling well over 100,000 copies according to Merge Records. However, the record along with the year of constant touring that succeeded it took its toll on Mangum. The band quite abruptly went on hiatus turning down all requests for shows, including a support slot for R.E.M.. All of a sudden, the band appeared to go silent and very little has been heard from Mangum since 1999.
Hiatus
Although all the members are still active with one another in other projects, it is unknown whether any more Neutral Milk Hotel albums will be released. There were plans to release a Neutral Milk Hotel rarities album on the Orange Twin label; however, after an announcement in 2005 on the Orange Twin website claiming that Jeff Mangum had in fact eventually decided against the project, it is unclear if this will ever happen.
There has been, however, some activity since In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. First, Orange Twin re-released Everything Is...., complete with extra bonus tracks, as well as Live at Jittery Joe's, a bootleg recording of a show Mangum played in a coffee house in Athens in 1997. The Major Organ and the Adding Machine album, a rather secretive project released by Orange Twin in 2001 and consisting mainly of experimental musical collage, features Mangum, along with Julian Koster, Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes, Elf Power's Andrew Reiger and the Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System's Will Cullen Hart and Eric Harris. There was also the release of Orange Twin Field Works, Vol. 1, Mangum's field recording of a Bulgarian folk festival, also on Orange Twin in 2001. Additionally, he plays drums on the first Circulatory System album.
Since the start of the hiatus Neutral Milk Hotel, Jeff Mangum has only played live properly again once, under the pseudonym 'World of Wild Beards, Inc.', at the Kings Arms pub in Auckland, New Zealand, at the request of the Tall Dwarfs' Chris Knox. He has also made appearances with Elf Power, and appeared onstage at the first of The Olivia Tremor Control's New York shows on their 2005 reunion tour, to sing briefly. Further releases from Neutral Milk Hotel, however, are indicated to be unlikely.
The other members are all still releasing or recording material: Julian Koster as The Music Tapes, Scott Spillane as The Gerbils and Jeremy Barnes as A Hawk & A Hacksaw, Bablicon and Marta Tennae.
In 2005, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea saw its re-release by Domino Records in the UK, in a sleeve featuring praise from, among others, Franz Ferdinand and The Arcade Fire, both very much influenced by the band. On Avery Island was re-released in the US in January of 2006 with live bonus tracks. Mangum has also been fairly busy creatively - following a charity auction on eBay of an acoustic guitar decorated by Mangum himself, more guitars hand-decorated by Mangum were sold via Orange Twin Records for $900 apiece. In addition, a number of Mangum's original drawings, this time costing only $10 each, were sold via Neutral Milk Hotel's website.
In 2013, made a reunion tour of the United States, Australia, Taiwan and Japan. The band subsequently played concerts sporadically until going on indefinite hiatus in mid-2015.
April 8th
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm calling softly from the street
Always a lonely widow
Half awake and sleeping on my feet
I'm of age but have no children
No quarter phone booth calls to home
Just late television
There is no use in waiting
Offer up your steps so I can climb
Show me all your figure paintings
Etched in the middle of the night
Let me stretch upon your carpet
Let me hear the rain tap on your street
Knowing I am safe on the inside
Blankets wrapped and drifting off to sleep
The lyrics of Neutral Milk Hotel's song April 8th paint the picture of a lonely and quiet night. The persona in the song is crawling, seemingly in the dead of the night, toward a window, calling softly from the street. The recipient is a lonely widow who is half awake and sleeping on their feet. The persona says they are of age but have no children, making them seemingly lonely. They mention there are no phone calls to home or any company in their room late at night, only late-night television for them to gaze upon.
The persona pleads to the lonely widow, asking her to offer up her steps so he can climb and be with her. He yearns to know her on a deeper level and admire all her figure paintings that are etched in the middle of the night. The persona then imagines himself stretching upon the widow’s carpet and hearing the rain tap on her street, all the while feeling safe and secure on the inside with blankets wrapped around him, drifting off into sleep, with only the sound of rain as his lullaby. The song paints an emotional and vivid picture of loneliness and longing for companionship.
Line by Line Meaning
Crawl across toward your window
Approaching your house, moving slowly, trying not to attract attention.
I'm calling softly from the street
Speaking quietly to avoid disturbing you, announcing my presence.
Always a lonely widow
Feeling alone, even though I am not a widow or married at all.
Half awake and sleeping on my feet
Barely conscious, feeling exhausted and numb.
I'm of age but have no children
Old enough to have kids, but do not have any, feeling unfulfilled.
No quarter phone booth calls to home
Unable to reach out to family or friends easily, feeling disconnected.
Just late television
Watching TV at night, feeling bored and solitary.
Inside my bedroom all alone
In my own room, feeling isolated and lonely.
There is no use in waiting
Feeling hopeless, knowing that waiting will not change anything.
Offer up your steps so I can climb
Inviting me to join you, giving me access to your life.
Show me all your figure paintings
Sharing your art and self-expression with me, opening up emotionally.
Etched in the middle of the night
Created during late hours of darkness, when thoughts and emotions run free.
Let me stretch upon your carpet
Relaxing on your floor, feeling comfortable and at ease.
Let me hear the rain tap on your street
Listening to the sound of the rain together, feeling connected to nature and each other.
Knowing I am safe on the inside
Feeling secure and protected inside your home.
Blankets wrapped and drifting off to sleep
Feeling warm and cozy under covers, falling asleep peacefully.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEFF MANGUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@434emm
Crawl across toward your window
I'm calling softly from the street
Always a lonely widow
Half awake and sleeping on my feet
I'm of age but have no children
No quarter phone booth calls to home
Just late television
Inside my bedroom all alone
There is no use in waiting
Offer up your steps so I can climb
Show me all your figure paintings
Etched in the middle of the night
Let me stretch upon your carpet
Let me hear the rain tap on your street
Knowing I am safe on the inside
Blankets wrapped and drifting off to sleep
@medicinalmilk3181
Crawl across toward your window
I'm calling softly from the street
Always a lonely widow
half-awake and sleeping on my feet
I'm of age but have no children
No quarter phone booth calls to home
Just late night television
inside my bedroom all alone
There is no use in waiting
offer up your steps so I can climb
Show me all your figure paintings
etched in the middle of the night
Let me stretch upon your carpet
let me hear the rain tap on your street
knowing I am safe on the inside
@p-iii2973
APRIL 8TH SO MANY YEARS LATER.
THANKS, BRUH.
REMINDS ME OF TOSSING MY EMPTY LIQUOR BOTTLES IN THE THORN BUSHES ONE SUMMER ...
ONLY TO HAVE MY SECRETS REVEALED IN THE FALL ...
WHEN ALL THE LEAVES DIED.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHHHH ..... SHIT.
GUD TIMES.
@feltfriends
Fun fact: This song isn't about Kurt Cobain (he died on April 5th), but rather artist/author Henry Darger who spent his life working in secrecy on a huge manuscript called "The Story of the Vivian Girls", much of which was partially inspired by a newspaper article Darger read about a young girl who was murdered on April 8th. Darger lived alone in a small apartment his entire life, most likely constantly coping with depression/psychosis. He had also repeatedly attempted to adopt a child to no avail. Another fun fact is that the cover of Animal Collective's "Feels" album was inspired by the same man.
@jonarktic
Mikoto Urabe I'm not sure if thats a "fun" fact.
@zimbabwerich2227
Darger was an interesting character, although I find it very difficult to gain access to his writings. I'm left with short excerpts and illustrations of penis-clad little girls...
@KingHalbatorix
The channel Fredrick Knursten just did an excellent video on the subject, I implore anyone reading this to watch it even if you don't think you're interested, because you will be.
@zimbabwerich2227
Could you link me to it?
@peacemaster8117
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjCS_u3Sgpg&t=1197
@yanille4109
I hated the period of time where I could relate to this song.
@acai28
Happy birthday
@gjallarhornit
ily <3
@gavinplus171
God tier taste