In An Aeroplane Over the Sea, a beautiful and psychedelic album by Neutral Milk Hotel, is actually about Anne Frank. Throughout the album Jeff Mangum, the vocalist and lyricist, explains how after reading The Diary of Anne Frank, he fell in love with her.
This is found in the subtle, yet conspicuous phrases, links and hints, which are throughout the lyrics. In one example, Jeff refers to how Anne was his only love, how she was killed in 1945, and died just weeks days before the end of World War II.
Also, on the official site for Neutral Milk Hotel (http://www.neutralmilkhotel.net/), on the Links page there is a link for the Anne Frank House.
For the novice listener, this album may seem...
trivial,
plain,
grating, and simple. This feeling is soon sated, after the
third listen of the
entire record. Whenever I lend out this CD, in any shape or form, I always advise the recipient to listen to the complete album three times, before any judgements are passed.
This album is, in my opinion, deeply sensual, warm, confiding, and --if you will-- moist. Personally, I am still infatuated with Oh Comely, although I still enjoy the entire CD immensely. The first few chords at the beginning always make me happy, as my brain recognizes of what is to come...