random posts of pretty

I've been thinking a lot recently about my "desert island" albums - mostly because there's little else to do when I'm in a pool swimming laps for an hour each day - and Neutral Milk Hotel's second and final album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, would undoubtedly make the list. It's ten years old already, however I still can't help but go through frequent binges of this album, playing it over and over and almost exclusively at least one day out of each month. It's one of those personal things that hits me in just the right spot, and I can't seem to ever tire of it.  What I didn't realize until fairly recently was that Jeff Mangum's inspiration for the album came from the story of Anne Frank, and it was one of those realizations that suddenly made me see an old and beloved thing in an entirely different light, appreciating it all the more. 

Certainly, Mangum's warbly voice may be an acquired taste, but his song construction, lyricism, and yes, even his voice, are all just lovely, and I would have given anything to see him perform these songs at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia:

Part of me holds out hope that NMH will one day regroup, but another part of me sort of likes the idea that they made this one perfect thing and then called it quits, not letting any potential future mediocrity taint their past work. I sometimes wish more bands showed that level of restraint.