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.
Now I'm Going Down
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll destroy the world I will find
I'll work the tools with my hands
I'll stick the needles in my eyes
And in my celebrations
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
Bring down the sky with my tears
Dig up the earth with my hands
Take a look inside of my head
And maybe then you could understand
And in my celebrations
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
And through the complications
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
So long I get my friend back
I guess it's time I should let you know
Well these things they come around I guess it's just too hard to let them go
You wait around and while you never seem to find that faith in me
You close your eyes and smile "Forever I will be"
Well I know the way and I will go
I know the way and I will find
It's all around me and I told you so
All around in here, goodbye
And in my celebrations
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
And through the complications
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
And all the big decisions we never could decide
And now I'm going down
And in my celebrations
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
The lyrics of "Now I'm Going Down" by Neutral Milk Hotel are complex and full of metaphors. The song speaks about a person's struggle to overcome obstacles and maintain relationships. The lines "I crush the world I was in, I'll destroy the world I will find, I'll work the tools with my hands, I'll stick the needles in my eyes" refer to the person's willingness to do anything to succeed, even if it is damaging to themselves. The lines "Bring down the sky with my tears, Dig up the earth with my hands, Take a look inside of my head, And maybe then you could understand" speak about their feelings of desperation and their desire for someone to truly understand them.
The chorus repeats the lines "And in my celebrations, You were by my side, And now I'm going down, And through the complications, Something inside me died, And now I'm going down" which shows the person's sense of loss and loneliness, despite having someone close by. They feel that something inside them has died, and they are spiraling downwards. The lines "So long I get my friend back, I guess it's time I should let you know, Well these things they come around, I guess it's just too hard to let them go" speak about the desperation and fear of losing someone close.
Overall, "Now I'm Going Down" speaks about the struggles of life and maintaining close relationships through them. The person feels lost and alone, despite having someone close by. Their willingness to do anything to succeed, even if it is damaging to themselves, shows their desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
I crush the world I was in
I had to leave my old life behind and start anew.
I'll destroy the world I will find
I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goals, even if it means breaking everything around me.
I'll work the tools with my hands
I'll do the hard work that's necessary to accomplish my ambitions.
I'll stick the needles in my eyes
I'll face whatever pain it takes to make myself stronger and better.
And in my celebrations, You were by my side
You were there to support me during the good times.
And now I'm going down
But things have taken a dark turn, and I'm spiraling downwards.
And through the complications, Something inside me died
I've been through so much that a part of me has been lost forever.
Bring down the sky with my tears
My sadness is so great it can change the world around me.
Dig up the earth with my hands
I'll keep working, no matter how hard it gets.
Take a look inside of my head, And maybe then you could understand
If you could see what I'm going through, you'd see why I am the way I am.
So long I get my friend back, I guess it's time I should let you know
I'm willing to do anything to reconcile with my friend, including admitting my mistakes.
Well these things they come around I guess it's just too hard to let them go
It's tough to let go of past hurts and regrets.
You wait around and while you never seem to find that faith in me
Despite my efforts to repair things, you still don't trust me.
You close your eyes and smile 'Forever I will be'
You're trying to be optimistic and believe that things will work out, even when it seems impossible.
Well I know the way and I will go
I have a plan and I'm determined to see it through.
I know the way and I will find
I'm confident I will reach my destination, no matter how hard it is to get there.
It's all around me and I told you so
The answer was there all along, and I knew it all along.
All around in here, goodbye
This chapter of my life is over, and it's time to say goodbye.
And all the big decisions we never could decide
We struggled to make major choices and now are dealing with the consequences.
Contributed by Annabelle Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ari Molko
I crushed the world I was in
I'll destroy the world I will find
I'll work the tools with my hands
I'll stick the needles in my eyes
And in my celebration
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
And through the complications
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
Bring down the sky with my tears
Dig up the earth with my hands
Take a look inside of my head
Maybe then you could understand
And in my celebration
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
And through the complications
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
So long, again my friend
I guess its time I let you know
These things, they come around
I guess they just get hard to let them go
You wait around while
You'll never seem to find that faith in me
You close your eyes and smile
Forever I will be
I know the way and I will go
I know the way and I will find
It's all around me, and I told you so
It around and hear goodbye (All around in here, goodbye)
And in my celebration
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
And through the complications
Something inside me died
And now I'm going down
And all the big decisions
We never could decide
And now I'm going down
And in my celebration
You were by my side
And now I'm going down
Rum House
Jeff played this for my fiance. Hired him to do a solo set back in the late 80s for her bday. Always thought it was such an amazing song.
They all used to jam in my college living room in Ruston. Bill, Will, Jeff and another cool cat named Rob Schneider. I did a lot of band work so had all the p.a. So they would drop by and hang and jam. This was in the late 80s.
Hasbro Clankus
Do you have any contact with Jeff still?
Adrian Vanegas
That's really amazing to hear honestly
--
is this two guitars?
Sam McGuire
bruh
signodan
bruh
Bobo the Clown Streems
Bruh.
ghouby
yeah
Patrico Martino
@-- I wanna know too
neros1234
All my favorite artists have a song called Going Down. NMH, Twenty One Pilots/Tyler Joseph, and xxxtentacion.