Neutral Milk Hotel's fantastic sophomore outing and swansong, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, came out 10 years ago this month, and the already heavily analyzed album is receiving even more publicity, praise and analysis. Slate comes up with most interesting analogy, referring to reclusive NMH leader Jeff Magnum as "the Salinger of Indie Rock" in a piece that explores Magnum's decision to drop out and refuse to follow his critical darling with more music.

Pitchfork has the most comprehensive coverage I've seen, with Mike McGonigal's 1997 cover interview from the late lamented Puncture, a piece that is notable for coming just before the album's release and thus before the overwhelming critical and fan-based response that likely had the unintended effect of pushing Magnum underground. I know I read the piece as a Puncture fan who liked but didn't love NMH's On Avery Island, but I didn't recall much of this exchange. Then again, until reading the 33 1/3 series book on the album by Kim Cooper, I had no recollection that the album is largely based on Magnum's reading of the diary of Anne Frank. I certainly never got that sense from the album itself, though I've long been someone who hears lyrics as ancillary to music rather than the other way around, and often am surprised at the content of songs long after everyone else has figured them out simply because I finally got around to reading along or paying closer attention.

The Pitchfork package also links to the site's 2002 interview with Magnum, his first in years at the time and last that I'm aware of, as well as a piece that solicits comments about the album from a handful of indie artists that, aside from the guy behind Caribou, I've not heard much from.

Magnum still surfaces from time to time; McGonigal convinced the musician to contribute tracks from his collection of 78s to a CD that will accompany the forthcoming issue of his magazine, Yeti, curiosity about which was enough to get me to part with $12. What he won't do, it seems, is give fans what they really want, which is a true follow up. Good for him. How could compete, and why would he/we want it to?

Labels: criticism, music