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.
Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Around your knees that crackle into the dark
Like a walk in the park like a hole in your head
Like the feeling you get when you realize you're dead
This time we ride roller coasters into the ocean
We feel no emotion as we spiral down to the world
And I guess it's worth your time
'Cause there's some lives you live
It gets hard to explain
The gardenhead knows my name
Leave me alone, for you know this isn't the first time
In fact this is twice in a row
That the angels have slipped through our landslide
And filled up our garden with snow
And I don't wish to taste of your insides
Or to call out your name through my phone
For the glory boys at your bedside will love you
As long as you're something to own
Will love you s long as you're something to own
Follow me through a city of frost covered angels
I swear I have nothing to prove
I just want to dance in your tangles
To give me some reason to move
But to take on the world at all angles
Requires a strength I can't use
So I'll meet you up high in your anger
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
The lyrics to Neutral Milk Hotel's song "Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone" are quite enigmatic and surrealistic. The first verse paints a haunting portrait of a person walking with beads wrapped around their knees that "crackle into the dark." The image is both eerie and mesmerizing, suggesting a sense of movement and energy that is palpable but difficult to define. The lyrics also allude to an existential dilemma, likening the feeling of realization to being "dead." The roller coasters and emotional void that the singer describes further emphasize this idea of detachment and emptiness.
The second verse deals with the notion of ownership and identity. The singer asks to be left alone and references angels slipping through their landslide, suggesting a sense of chaos and destruction. The lyrics also hint at a relationship that is being commoditized and objectified, with the "glory boys at your bedside" loving the person only as long as they are something to own. The repetition of the phrase "will love you as long as you're something to own" adds to the hypnotic, repetitive quality of the song, further emphasizing the theme of detachment and emotional emptiness.
The song's chorus asks us to "follow me through a city of frost covered angels," highlighting the idea of beauty and danger existing simultaneously. The lyrics express a desire to connect with the world and with others, but also suggest a sense of disconnection and isolation. The phrase "I just want to dance in your tangles" is particularly evocative, suggesting a sense of longing, sensuality, and playfulness.
Overall, "Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone" is a complex, multilayered song that uses surrealistic imagery and repetition to create a dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere. The lyrics touch on themes of identity, detachment, and the human condition, while also highlighting the beauty and danger of the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
There are beads that wrap
You wear beaded bracelets that make a crackling sound in the dark.
Around your knees that crackle into the dark
The bracelets around your knees create a sound that echoes in the dark.
Like a walk in the park like a hole in your head
It feels as easy as taking a stroll but leaves an empty feeling in your head.
Like the feeling you get when you realize you're dead
It's similar to the realization that comes with the knowledge of being dead.
This time we ride roller coasters into the ocean
We're taking reckless risks by plunging into the unknown depths of the ocean.
We feel no emotion as we spiral down to the world
We're numb to the experience as we spiral towards the end of the world.
And I guess it's worth your time
I assume it's valuable to you.
'Cause there's some lives you live
There's different kinds of lives that one can lead.
And some you leave behind
Some of those lives are better left in the past.
It gets hard to explain
It becomes difficult to articulate.
The gardenhead knows my name
The mythical figure known as the gardenhead is familiar with me.
Leave me alone, for you know this isn't the first time
Please go away, you're aware that this isn't the first occurrence.
In fact this is twice in a row
In reality, this has happened twice in sequential order.
That the angels have slipped through our landslide
Angels have unexpectedly made their way into our lives like a landslide.
And filled up our garden with snow
Their presence has turned our peaceful sanctuary into a barren, snow-covered garden.
And I don't wish to taste of your insides
I don't desire to know you intimately.
Or to call out your name through my phone
Nor do I want to engage in conversation with you over the phone.
For the glory boys at your bedside will love you
Your admirers will remain loyal and passionate for their own selfish motives.
As long as you're something to own
So long as they possess you.
Follow me through a city of frost covered angels
Join me in a city filled with ominously cold angels.
I swear I have nothing to prove
I genuinely have no point to prove to you.
I just want to dance in your tangles
I desire to get lost and tangled within your mystery.
To give me some reason to move
So that you may provide me with a purpose to act.
But to take on the world at all angles
Yet, to confront the world from every angle.
Requires a strength I can't use
It demands a kind of fortitude that I am incapable of providing.
So I'll meet you up high in your anger
Instead, I'll see you up in your rage.
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
Consider all the opportunities and possibilities that await you.
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
Consider all the opportunities and possibilities that await you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEFF MANGUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MaiaMendez12
There are beads that wrap
Around your knees that crackle into the dark
Like a walk in the park, like a hole in your head
Like the feeling you get when you realize you're dead
This time we ride roller coasters into the ocean
We feel no emotion as we spiral down to the world
And I guess it's worth your time
Because there's some lives you live
And some you leave behind
It gets hard to explain
The gardenhead knows my name
Leave me alone,
For you know this isn't the first time
In fact this is twice in a row
That the angels have slipped through our landslide
And filled up our garden with snow
And I don't wish to taste of your insides
Or to call out your name through my phone
For the glory boys at your bedside will love you
As long as you're something to own
Follow me through a city of frost covered angels
I swear I have nothing to prove
I just want to dance in your tangles
To give me some reason to move
But to take on the world at all angles
Requires a strength I can't use
So I'll meet you up high in your anger
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
@i1-L22Belarus
Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone
Neutral Milk Hotel
Around your knees that crackle into the dark
Like a walk in the park like a hole in your head
Like the feeling you get when you realize you're dead
This time we ride roller coasters into the ocean
We feel no emotion as we spiral down to the world
And I guess it's worth your time
Because there's some lives you live
And some you leave behind
It gets hard to explain
The gardenhead knows my name
Leave me alone, for you know this isn't the first time
In fact this is twice in a row
That the angels have slipped through our landslide
And filled up our garden with snow
And I don't wish to taste of your insides
Or to call out your name through my phone
For the glory boys at your bedside will love you
As long as you're something to own
Follow me through a city of frost covered angels
I swear I have nothing to prove
I just want to dance in your tangles
To give me some reason to move
But to take on the world at all angles
Requires a strength I can't use
So I'll meet you up high in your anger
Of all that is hoping and waiting for you
Songwriters: JEFF MANGUM
© Universal Music Publishing Group
For non-commercial use only.
Data from: LyricFind
@gayroach2916
god i just can’t get over how “name” transitions so smoothly into “leave me alone” i swear every time i hear that part it adds five years to my lifespan. jeff’s vocals are so beautful and magical
@boyo7918
It's like in that part in Oh Comely where "anything at all" goes straight to "oh comely"
Good shit
@kittysplode
prolly bad to tell you that it's stretched by like 5 seconds
@brennenspice6098
"Follow me through" is delivered with so much conviction it gives me chills - Mangum is a genius.
@erich1394
thats right where I start weeping every single time
@BridgetTMaloney
“But to take on the world at all angles requires a strength I can’t use” hit me like a ton of bricks.
@uncletacobones
Brings me to tears every time
@waubese
Neutral Milk Hotel has been my favourite band since I first heard them when I was 7 years old, and they will continue to be my favourite band for ages to come. Pure brilliance.
@jamshaidbaloch2349
waubese I discovered it a year ago, and Its my favorite band and will be so till death do us part.
@stacyflowers7250
I saw them 4 times. A spiritual experience