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.
The King of Carrot Flowers Pt 2
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Jesus Christ I love you
Yes I do
I love you Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ I love you
Yes I do
The dogs dissolve and drain away
The world it goes
And all awaits
The day we are awaiting
Up and over
We go through the wave and 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 we go
Mouths open wide and spitting still
And I will spit until I learn how to speak
Up through the doorway as the sideboards creek
With them ever proclaiming me me oh
Up and over
We go the weight it sits on down and I don't know
I will shout until they know what I mean
I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing
And a synthetic flying machine machine
Oh-oohh-oh-oh
Oh-oohh-oh-oh
Oh-oohh-oh-oh
Oh-oohh-oh-oh
(Okay)
The lyrics to The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3 by Neutral Milk Hotel are open to interpretation, but one possible interpretation is that the song is about the complexity of faith and the struggle to find oneself in a confusing and uncertain world. The repeated phrase "I love you Jesus Christ" could be seen as a declaration of faith, but it also has an almost obsessive quality that suggests a deeper need for meaning and purpose.
The next stanza paints a surreal picture of "lazy days" where "dogs dissolve and drain away" and the world seems to be waiting for something. This could represent a sense of existential ennui or a longing for something more meaningful. The references to floating in a garbage bin and spitting until learning how to speak suggest a sense of being lost or disconnected from oneself. The final stanza is even more surreal, with references to a "marriage of a dead dog sing" and a "synthetic flying machine." These images may represent a desire for transcendence or a sense of searching for answers in an unpredictable and chaotic world.
Line by Line Meaning
I love you Jesus Christ
The singer expresses their love for Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ I love you
The singer reiterates their love for Jesus Christ.
Yes I do
The singer confirms their love for Jesus Christ.
And on the lazy days
On days when the artist is feeling lethargic,
The dogs dissolve and drain away
the mundane aspects of life become less important and begin to fade away like dissolving dogs.
The world it goes
Life continues to move forward.
And all awaits
Everything is waiting for something.
The day we are awaiting
This waiting is for a specific day or event that the artist and others are anticipating.
Up and over
The artist is moving upward and forward.
We go through the wave and undertow
Despite facing obstacles, the artist continues to move forward.
I will float until I learn how to swim
The singer will persist in their journey until they acquire the necessary skills to succeed.
Inside my mother in a garbage bin
The artist describes an unsettling memory of being in a trash can as a fetus, perhaps symbolizing a sense of worthlessness.
Until I find myself again again
The singer is searching for some form of self-discovery or enlightenment.
Mouths open wide and spitting still
Others around the singer are yelling or shouting.
And I will spit until I learn how to speak
The singer is determined to communicate effectively, and will persist until they are heard and understood.
Up through the doorway as the sideboards creek
The artist is moving forward, as indicated by the creaking of the sideboards.
With them ever proclaiming me me oh
Others are constantly labeling or defining the artist in some way, which they may find frustrating or limiting.
The weight it sits on down and I don't know
The singer feels burdened or troubled in some way, but is unsure of the cause or solution.
I will shout until they know what I mean
The singer will continue to communicate until others fully comprehend what they are trying to say.
I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing
The artist is describing a bizarre or nonsensical concept, perhaps to illustrate a disconnect between themselves and others.
And a synthetic flying machine machine
This strange concept involves a combination of organic and technological elements.
Oh-Oohh-Oh-Oh
The artist expresses an emotional reaction, though the meaning is unclear.
Oh-Oohh-Oh-Oh
The singer continues their emotional expression.
Oh-Oohh-Oh-Oh
The artist is still expressing their emotions.
Oh-Oohh-Oh-Oh
The emotional expression continues until the end of the song.
(Okay)
This nonverbal expression ends the song.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jeff Mangum
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind