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.
Two-Headed Boy Pt 2
Neutral Milk Hotel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In your heart there's a spark that just screams
For a lover to bring a child to your chest that could lay as you sleep
And love all you have left like your boy used to be
Long ago wrapped in sheets warm and wet
Blister please with those wings in your spine
Love to be with a brother of mine
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight
Sounding only at night as you sleep
And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying,
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet,
Rings of flowers 'round your eyes
And Ill love you for the rest of your life when you're ready
Brother see we are one in the same
And you left with your head filled with flames
And you watched as your brains fell out through your teeth
Push the pieces in place
Make your smile sweet to see
Don't you take this away
I'm still wanting my face on your cheek
And when we break we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
When we break we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life
Two headed boy she is all you could need
She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires
And retire to sheets safe and clean
But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
The song "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2" by Neutral Milk Hotel is a lyrically rich piece with imagery that is open to interpretation. The song begins with an appeal to the singer's father to listen to a song, which he sings to describe the pain of losing a child. He wishes for a child to lay on his chest and love him as his lost son once did. The longing and grief for the past are the central themes of these lines, with the image of a child wrapped in warm sheets adding to the melancholic tone of the song.
The lyrics then shift to a plea for a sibling or a companion to share in the singer's pain. He imagines a brother with wings in his spine who would struggle with him to find the "secret songs" hidden within them. The use of metaphors in this part of the song suggests the desire for a deep emotional connection and understanding with another person, and the desire to share in their secrets.
The song ends with an acknowledgment that pain and suffering are a part of life, and we must find our own ways of dealing with them. The singer urges his brother not to forget him and his love, and to wait for their miracle. The final lines of the song introduce a character, a girl who will take care of the two-headed boy, feed him tomatoes and radio wires, and retire to clean sheets without any promise of permanence. These lines raise questions about the nature of love and relationships, and whether they are bound to end in loss and sorrow.
Overall, the song's lyrics address themes of loss, grief, longing, and the search for meaning and understanding in relationships, making it a powerful and evocative piece of art.
Line by Line Meaning
Daddy please hear this song that I sing
Please listen to this song I'm singing, Daddy
In your heart there's a spark that just screams
There's a fiery passion in your heart
For a lover to bring a child to your chest that could lay as you sleep
You long for a partner who will bring a child to your embrace
And love all you have left like your boy used to be
You want to love everything that you've lost, just as you loved your son
Long ago wrapped in sheets warm and wet
Your boy was once cradled in warm, damp sheets
Blister please with those wings in your spine
Please use your wings to soothe my aching heart
Love to be with a brother of mine
I wish I could be with my brother
How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth
He would've loved to kiss you passionately
In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight
He would've battled to uncover the hidden songs that you keep locked up
Sounding only at night as you sleep
The songs only surface at night when you're asleep
And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying
In my dreams, you're alive and crying
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet
As we kiss tenderly
Rings of flowers 'round your eyes
There are circles of flowers around your eyes
And Ill love you for the rest of your life when you're ready
I'll always love you, whenever you're ready
Brother see we are one in the same
Brother, we are identical
And you left with your head filled with flames
You left with fiery thoughts in your head
And you watched as your brains fell out through your teeth
You watched as you lost your sanity
Push the pieces in place
Try to fix what's broken
Make your smile sweet to see
Practice smiling sweetly
Don't you take this away
Don't let this fade away
I'm still wanting my face on your cheek
I still want to feel close to you
And when we break we'll wait for our miracle
After we fall apart, we'll wait for something magical
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
God is where miracles happen
Two headed boy she is all you could need
The girl with two heads will fulfill all your needs
She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires
She'll nourish you with odd combinations of things
And retire to sheets safe and clean
She'll sleep on clean, safe sheets
But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
Don't resent her when she leaves
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEFF MANGUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind