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A review by moonyreadsbystarlight
Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Kim Cooper
informative
reflective
4.0
This book, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Kim Cooper, goes in detail, not just about the groundbreaking album, but into the band itself. We see how they met, moved apart, and came back together. There is even a good bit on On Avery Island, the album before Aeroplane. Later in the book, there is also a breakdown of each song in the album as well as chapters on the tour, album art, and subsequent haitus of the band (though since its publication in 2005, there has been a tour and some songs and demos released).
There really was something so genuine, nearly magical, about how they were able to make their music projects. The care and collaboration that went into these projects is quite amazing and the environment is something that I don't think could be recreated. It's certainly not something that could have existed under a large label (and for the better for the mental health of the members, it seems).
My main issue was some very weird, outdated language choices (an unfortunately common misuse of schizophrenia and the g-slur -- both completely unnecessary to get the point across) in the small section about the first song of the album, which did sour that chapter for me a bit. But for the most part, this was a really solid and interesting read. If you are enamored with the album like I am or if you are a musician or interested in the creative process, I would recommend this.
There really was something so genuine, nearly magical, about how they were able to make their music projects. The care and collaboration that went into these projects is quite amazing and the environment is something that I don't think could be recreated. It's certainly not something that could have existed under a large label (and for the better for the mental health of the members, it seems).
My main issue was some very weird, outdated language choices (an unfortunately common misuse of schizophrenia and the g-slur -- both completely unnecessary to get the point across) in the small section about the first song of the album, which did sour that chapter for me a bit. But for the most part, this was a really solid and interesting read. If you are enamored with the album like I am or if you are a musician or interested in the creative process, I would recommend this.