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.
Synthetic Flying Machine
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We go through the waving undertow
I will float until I learn how to swim
Inside my mother in a garbage bin
Until I find myself again
Again
Up and over
I will spit until I learn how to speak
Up through the doorway as the sideboards creak
With them ever proclaiming me
Me
Up and over
Eyes open wide into down below
I will shout until they know what I mean
I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing
And a synthetic flying machine
Machine
OK
Interpretation:
The lyrics of the song Synthetic Flying Machine by Neutral Milk Hotel are quite cryptic and hard to interpret. However, there are a few possible interpretations of the song.
The first verse talks about floating and learning how to swim. It may refer to the idea of being reborn or finding oneself again after a traumatic experience. The line "Inside my mother in a garbage bin" could represent the idea of being trapped or stuck in an undesirable situation. The second verse talks about spitting and learning how to speak. This could represent the singer's desire to communicate and express themselves after being silenced or ignored. The third verse, with the line "I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing and a synthetic flying machine," is perhaps the most enigmatic. It could represent the combination of the natural and artificial or the idea of resurrecting something that was once dead. Overall, the song seems to be about the struggle to find oneself and communicate that sense of self to others.
Line by Line Meaning
Up and over
Moving forward, progressing
We go through the waving undertow
We face obstacles and challenges as we move forward
I will float until I learn how to swim
I will persevere until I gain the necessary skills or knowledge to succeed
Inside my mother in a garbage bin
Feeling trapped, helpless, and devalued
Until I find myself again
Until I regain my sense of identity and purpose
Up and over
Continuing to move forward despite setbacks
We go mouths open wide and spilling snow
Being overwhelmed and unable to express ourselves properly
I will spit until I learn how to speak
I will keep trying to communicate despite difficulties
Up through the doorway as the sideboards creak
Making progress but still experiencing discomfort and uncertainty
With them ever proclaiming me
Being judged and labeled by others
Me
My individuality and uniqueness
Up and over
Continuing to strive for progress
Eyes open wide into down below
Being aware of the darkness and chaos around us
I will shout until they know what I mean
I will keep fighting to be understood and recognized
I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing
Something nonsensical and absurd
And a synthetic flying machine
Combining artificial and natural elements to create something new and unconventional
Contributed by Kaylee C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@PoltergeistYT
much more of a psych/pop sound, refreshing after having listened to Aeroplane on repeat for years
@keithmorrison8373
Also very old school indie rock like on Avery Island on Avery Island has more this sound as opposed to the pretty much completely different direction in the aeroplane over the sea went
@pixie_4059
2:10 I kinda wish there was a full version of that ending i really like it
“No ones going to change my mind”
@randomassguy
It's so bizarre to listen to this after only hearing "The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 3" for so long
@neros12346
I actually heard this version first, so hearing KoCF part 3 was weird
@neros12346
Yes you did, I forgot that happened, thanks Soren from 2 years ago
@asapicton7038
@neros1234 I laughed way too hard at that
@PepsiHotdog
This is a really awesome version, and I love Hype City Soundtrack, but I gotta be a dick and say that in the art that came with the tape, this song was titled "Up and Over We Go," that dude was right. It was Synthetic Flying Machine on Invent Yourself a Shortcake
@averylangs
i dig this version but i highly respect jeff for making a more fuzzed out punk rock approach with it on aeroplane, it fits the lyrics and vibe a lot more
@cameobrides
whats funny is this is TECHNICALLY an olivia tremor control song