Latest / Barber Cuts: Beats and Bars / In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

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In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel · Barber Cuts: Beats and Bars

0:15
Welcome to Viber cuts, beats and vibes.
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We're a father to daughter music podcast that slices into some of
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the greatest albums, one cut at a time.
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With no industry ties or formal training, just a shared love of
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music, we explore albums across genres, writing favorites and
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skips while digging into what makes each one iconic.
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I bring the beats. And I bring the bars and
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together we deliver real talk and fresh takes from both sides
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of the sound. Hey everybody, I'm Riley.
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And I'm Todd and welcome to this week's episode, Barber Cuts,
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where we are doing a birthday episode, birthday episode,
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birthday album. Really it is Neutral Milk Hotel
0:57
is the group in the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the album.
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It is from 1998. So Riley, what are your least
1:11
favorite songs from Aeroplane? Funnily enough, this is similar
1:19
to last last year where it was. If you go back and listen to
1:26
that episode, I explain that I had just listened to the ones
1:32
that I had downloaded for so long that I forgot that there
1:35
were other songs on the album. And the same thing happened
1:40
here. I kind of forgot the song Ghost
1:46
existed. And so because of that, Ghost
1:48
was probably my least favorite. Just I haven't had as much time
1:54
with it. I enjoyed it.
1:56
I think it's great. I think it makes a lot of sense
1:59
in the album, and I think the album really benefits from a
2:02
song like that. I just forgot it existed because
2:04
I didn't like it in my like songs, whatever it was that I
2:09
first listened. Makes sense?
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So I guess that's it. That's my cop out answer of
2:15
having something to say that I didn't like.
2:19
I'm being like. Understandable.
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I mean, I can say another Beaker's song, but I still
2:27
really like it. Well, you don't have to, but OK.
2:32
I mean, on birthday albums we we kind of let the least favorite
2:38
slide a little bit. Just a smidge.
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So because it it the our our birthday picks tend to hold
2:50
maybe more of a special place in our hearts.
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So we we want to like all of them, put it that way.
2:58
But since it's not my. Oh no.
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Be nice. Be.
3:03
Nice, I've got 2 least favorites.
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At least it's not very well. I was limited to least favorite
3:11
too. So, and and this is how
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unfortunate maybe music is. I was just telling Mama Pod not
3:24
too long ago, the earwigs that get caught, you know, songs that
3:29
get caught in your ear often times are the ones that's like
3:34
that's my one of my least favorite songs, but it is
3:37
whatever reason stuck in my head.
3:41
But two of them and and my overall problem with both of
3:47
these and with any other songs that I would say least favorite.
3:52
Probably why I won't rate this as high as maybe is the vocals
4:01
so is is you know, and if you go listen to it or if you go look
4:09
at this, the vocals will be a a dividing factor with a lot of
4:15
people on this and so I will say that these two song one king of
4:23
carrot flowers parts two and three so the.
4:26
Second, oh, so you technically, you technically did get 3IN.
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Huh. On so OK.
4:32
On other EPS, those are on. Those are two separate.
4:35
Peas. Those are actually considered 2
4:37
separate songs. One is called up and the first
4:39
ones called Jesus Christ and the other one is called up and over.
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It is 2 separate songs. They just popped into one so you
4:44
managed to get 3 weeks to get. 3 So key Flowers parts 2 and 3 and
4:51
then two headed boy that's the one that stuck in my head is
4:54
just two headed. Boy.
4:57
And that's the only part I just keep singing over and over in my
5:00
time. But it's it's the vocals.
5:03
And so again, with both of these with King of Carrot Flowers
5:07
musically and again on going off Spotify, it's it's it's song
5:14
too. So just a shade over 3 minutes
5:18
musically, it's not bad. Like it's a roller coaster.
5:22
I kind of like that it's got bunches of different
5:25
instruments. But again, it's it's the vocals
5:28
and and two headed boy. I will also say that, you know,
5:34
I much like I think you are. We try to listen to the album
5:41
one or two times before we do any research on it.
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And so I did that and and it was the vocals.
5:49
But after doing some research, I realized that for Two Headed
5:53
Boy, I'm probably in the minority because I do recognize
5:58
it is one of the most raw and intense, emotionally lyrical
6:06
like songs on the album. Which probably if you're a fan
6:13
and you're listening and you're coming to this album or you're a
6:16
fan of Neutral Milk Hotel, that's what you're after in the
6:19
1st place. So this is probably one of their
6:22
more favorite songs. It appears just in different
6:27
things that I thought, but for me, not me necessarily being a
6:31
huge fan of them to begin with and listening to them, you know,
6:36
from you telling me about their their songs, it it ended up on
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on my least favorite list. And and purely just the the
6:45
vocals and and maybe we'll get more into to them when we talk
6:50
about the album, but that was those are my 2 makes sense.
6:55
So favorites. Yeah.
7:01
Not yet, as in all the others besides the one that you
7:04
mentioned. No.
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What are some? OK, so one one of the songs I
7:14
really like it's not on my talk 2 because I'm going to talk
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about it later. So I was giving a different 2
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songs to list, but I'll still mention it.
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I just won't talk about it now. So for the honorary mention for
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that is O Comely, that is the climax of this album.
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Lyrically, emotionally, vocally, like everything kind of revolves
7:40
around that song. It's also the longest song.
7:44
Very good song, but my one of my favorites is the opening song.
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I think this kind of lulls people into a false sense of
7:55
security because the vocals aren't that weird.
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It's kind of like comforting and like come listen.
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The lyrics don't make any sense to most people unless you look
8:07
into it and then they start to the one thing I didn't know
8:14
about this song that I thought was kind of interesting is that
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opening lyric is when you were young, you were born the king of
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carrot flowers. And I was looking at what that
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means. And it goes along with tarot
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cards, which the king is like the best at something.
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And carrot flowers is kind of aging.
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So it's the irony of when you were young you were the best at
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aging like that. Like like which goes along with
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the whole album. The whole album's theme is kind
8:43
of about lost change, love, how to deal with that.
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And then the lyrics about like kind of abuse and suicidal
8:55
ideation and all of that. And then the next joke is like,
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and this was the place I knew I could love you for the rest of
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my life. Like it just kind of takes you
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on that little bit of whiplash that I think they're aiming to
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take you on because they do that a lot in a lot of these songs
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where it's like back and forth between happy versus really sad
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versus like confused, angry. But I think on this song, the
9:23
vocals are really strong. I think it's calm.
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It's a very short song compared to the other ones.
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I think it might be the shortest one other than Communist
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Daughter, but I think it's just a really good opening song.
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I'm pausing it before it goes into your least favorite, but I
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just think it's a really good opener.
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Kind of introduces some of the themes that they're going to
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talk about for the rest of the album.
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Yeah, I like that one. That one.
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That one wasn't on the bad list. Yes, but my my favorite one is
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In the Airplane of the Sea, the title song, a lot of people's
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favorite one. This one is another one.
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It's calmer. It's beautiful, in my opinion.
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The vocals even there's a part later on where the vocals get a
10:16
little bit more weird and raw. Something that's interesting
10:21
about this song, if you listen to the lyrics, is we've talked
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about how we like songs that have that sound really happy,
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but the lyrics are really sad. This one flips it.
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It's one of the only hopeful songs on the album, just kind of
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focusing completely on love. It has a tinge of the darkness,
10:40
but in a not hard way. But it sounds pretty melancholy
10:47
and sad. But the lyrics are pretty say,
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saying like, let's enjoy the moment now, but when we do die,
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we'll be happy together. Like we'll be free from all of
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this nonsense. And I, it's just a really
11:01
beautiful song. One of my favorite things about
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this song though, is if you listen, you can hear that
11:06
whistling sound which sounds like winds going through wings
11:13
or going through trees 'cause you're up in the clouds, you're
11:16
up in the sky. So you would be hearing that
11:18
whistling sound. It's stuff like that that makes
11:21
this song and makes this album for me.
11:23
Like the thought behind even the weird little music parts that no
11:30
one would think of. Just so much built.
11:32
But I, I love this song. I think it's a very sweet song.
11:35
It's very melodic. You just, yeah, there you go,
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get into it. But In the Aeroplane Over the
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Sea is probably my favorite song off of this album.
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I love it. I love his.
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I love his voice in the song. I think it pairs really well.
11:52
It is not bad. In fact, yeah, it is also one of
12:00
my favorites. But you mentioned some of the
12:05
parts that that I wanted to kind of hit on.
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And I'll Fast forward a little bit and there you hear the
12:12
whistling in the background. So perfect timing that what I
12:18
thought was a trumpet, but it's really a lugel horn.
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And when you? When you see a picture like, Oh
12:27
yeah, I've seen those before, but the there it is again.
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It's a singing song and so it's being able to push it up and
12:39
down and almost so really cool and so that it you know, all
12:47
right, come on, we got the singing saw and what I thought
12:50
was a trumpet, but lugel horn and it like the vocals are are
12:57
not. And really it's vocals only ever
13:01
get into that hard, hard to hear phase when he hits that upper
13:07
register. But it's a good song.
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And so it's like, all right, those two things combined with
13:13
that was like, all right, it's got to be 1 of mine the let's
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see. So the other one is going to be.
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And before I hit, one of the reasons that it got me was the
13:33
intro and it is up there is one of my best beat contenders.
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So I wanted to be quiet as it as it comes in to hear the actual
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intro because it it caught me pretty pretty quickly.
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So here we go. So Holland 1945 is the name of
13:59
the song and it's got a little real fast little acoustic there.
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And then 21234 and then all this distortion wall, for lack of a
14:12
better way, just hits you with the rest of it.
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And and so you hear that distortion going through the
14:18
song and again, lyric, the vocals are are good, the the
14:27
catchy upbeat. And it didn't dawn on me until
14:32
you just said it, but both of my favorites are like opposites.
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You got the melancholy of In the Aeroplane oversea with hopeful
14:41
lyrics. Then you got this one with
14:44
Catchy. Got Anne Frank.
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You know, hey, we're all good. If you just listen to music.
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The lyrics are not quite that at all.
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So I, I is, is this the one where he's talking about how he
15:00
wished he could go back and savor like he had a dream?
15:04
Like, there's a lot of Anne Frank in this.
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Yeah, this this song is the biggest.
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But this is Holland 1945, yeah. So this song is probably one of
15:15
the biggest references to Anne Frank.
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That's like, flat in your face. The this is the one where it's
15:20
like they buried her alive with her sister before the bullets
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rained down. Like, it's like, oh, yeah.
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Oh my gosh. Yeah, and.
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And which also adds a little bit to like that intro of it being
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kind of quiet and then all of a sudden, like a big boom, like
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you're all of a sudden being attacked by something.
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It catches you off guard. And in in my head, like every
15:43
time I listen to this, it reminds me of another song, but
15:48
I can't quite place it. The the best I've come up with
15:53
is Weezer. It sounds like something a
15:56
Weezer sound, but I'm not sure. I, I, you know, I don't know
16:01
what it is and I couldn't, I couldn't quite place it.
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But anyway, I did like this song.
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So I too were in the Aeroplane Over the Sea, the title track,
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and then this one, Holland 1945. So well, thank you.
16:21
I tried my best. So Next up is why should people
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go listen to this album besides the fact that it's your birthday
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present to Riley to go listen to one of her more favorite albums,
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but why go listen to this album? Yeah, well, this one doesn't
16:44
have maybe the exact same critical acclaim that a lot of
16:50
our other albums have had. It's still in the top 500 albums
16:54
of all time by Rolling Stones. It's worth mentioning.
16:59
But award wise, it it really didn't get much.
17:02
It didn't catch on much when it first opened.
17:04
It was kind of a cult classic, but over time it it became such
17:12
an impactful indie album, kind of a psychedelic indie like.
17:19
And I, and I think it, it, it blew up in that cult classic
17:23
because of the way that what's the lead singer's name?
17:27
But the, the way that he really left.
17:31
So they they did this album towards and then he like
17:34
abruptly left and like reclused himself for a while and fans
17:41
went like crazy on him, but then others didn't.
17:46
And then that's what really kind of started that cult classic of
17:51
of this particular album. Yeah, they became a mystery
17:56
because, I mean, they have two albums and that's it.
17:59
And then he secluded himself. I think he it was mental health
18:04
or health issues that he it was secluded himself.
18:10
But I think this album also took a pretty big toll on him.
18:15
I mentioned it's mentioned a few times that reading the diary of
18:19
a young girl and Frank's diary influenced a lot of the album.
18:25
And the way he talks about it, it like really did a number on
18:29
him as it should with everyone. But he like talks about crying
18:33
for like a week after, like not being able to like having dreams
18:36
about it, like not be able to get it out of his head.
18:38
And I remember if it was a song, that's why I've mentioned with
18:41
the Holland 1945, if it was that one or if it was a real life
18:46
thing that he talked about, was that he, after reading that
18:50
book, he, he started having nightmares because he would, he
18:55
would dream that he was trying to go back in time to save her.
18:59
And I couldn't. And so it it, it did start to
19:04
invest with him mentally. Yeah.
19:07
And so then the band just shut down.
19:10
Yes, I think he said that at a a concert.
19:14
He didn't talk much about the album.
19:17
There's like a few points. Mangum is his is the singer's
19:20
name. There's a few points where
19:22
people ask if it's about Anne Frank and he'll be like, no,
19:26
that song's not really. But it the beautiful thing about
19:29
him that's kind of funny is he's like, not really, but it can be
19:32
like if you want it to be like he's very chill about that type
19:35
of stuff. But he has said that his
19:37
inspiration was a lot of the album's inspiration was from
19:40
that and that I don't know if it's true, if it's confirmed by
19:45
him, but that's the running like lore of the album is that his
19:49
dreams and his nightmares about building a time machine and not
19:52
being able to savor. Because there's a lot of other
19:54
parts in the lyrics where it's like, I'll bring you back and
19:58
you'll, like, learn about this new world, yeah.
20:01
I've seen that too, that a lot of it is about Anne Frank, but
20:04
there's also a lot that is not. Yet 2 headed boy, for example,
20:08
is not Yeah. So some of them are about some
20:11
personal issues that that you wrote about.
20:15
Which is part of, I think the reason why King of Carrot
20:23
Flowers Part 2 and 2 Headed Boy are probably some of the more
20:28
uncomfortable songs to listen to 'cause they're directly, well, 2
20:32
Headed Boy provides a lot of imagery that's pretty
20:36
uncomfortable. If you do listen to lyrics or
20:38
listen to what he's saying it it's not he's talking about like
20:44
a real 2 Headed boy specimen kept in a jar.
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And the 2 heads are like changing but thinking the other
20:52
one is changing too much. And so it's kind of like them
20:56
trying to figure that out and that hurt.
20:59
It's a whole song exploring how someone can change and how can
21:03
you still love them. How can you love them through
21:04
change? What does that look like?
21:07
So it is a really sad, exploratory song, which I don't
21:14
necessarily I think the vocals on that because of that fit the
21:19
song. Even if you don't like them, I
21:22
think you can really hear it in that opening where he goes
21:26
really deep, that 2 headed boy. It's so accusatory and angry
21:31
that it does kind of grab your attention to be like, what's he,
21:34
what is he mad about? Because it's it's a little
21:37
uncomfortable. And, and so like you, you just
21:41
said, what's he mad at? And so again, we, we talk about
21:45
this and, and quite a few of them of the artists that we've
21:50
covered. And there is, you know, again,
21:55
why should you listen to it? Because unlike a lot of the
22:00
artists that we do for him, there is a raw desperation in
22:07
his vocals. And so sometimes that makes it
22:13
hard. You know, I I say hard for my
22:16
old ears to listen to, but it but I still get it.
22:21
Like I still feel the pain and the desperation in his voice.
22:26
And then you combine that part with what we'll call lo fi
22:34
recording, meaning they intentionally degraded the
22:37
quality or they were OK with lower sounding quality because
22:42
that was. They wouldn't tune things, yeah.
22:45
For for lack of a better word, that was there and and I'm using
22:48
quotes. That was their shtick, but yet
22:51
that was just something that they enjoyed in, in the
22:54
musically. But you know, the, the, but in
23:01
my criticism of the vocals, I still still can feel his
23:10
desperation in them. And that's not something that
23:13
even some of your most technically correct singers can
23:18
get across. So I, I can't appreciate that
23:21
with, with what he, with what he did.
23:24
Yeah, he doesn't. That king, King of Cure Flowers
23:32
Part 2 and three does. You can tell there are two
23:35
different songs. And I think the second part is a
23:38
lot more doable for a lot of people because that's the one
23:44
that's like up and over. But the first part is pretty
23:49
uncomfortable for a lot of people.
23:52
It's it's actually about like an an experience of abuse he had at
23:57
a church camp once. So that's where those kind of
24:02
lyrics come from. And then up and over is about
24:05
like getting over it. So it's interesting to decide to
24:10
put those in one song. A lot of people don't
24:12
necessarily do stuff like that. They put 2 songs with similar
24:18
themes. He put polar opposites in one
24:20
song, but it's pretty interesting when you listen to
24:23
it in that front. And then he's also said that the
24:29
I love you, Jesus Christ parts. We're not meant to be mocking
24:33
either side of the situation because it's confused people.
24:38
He was saying I it. He meant it more as like
24:41
everything encompassing, like the whole world.
24:45
And the word he, the way he could describe that was Jesus
24:49
Christ, but it wasn't necessarily like a holy meaning,
24:52
which is pretty interesting to have a pretty theological look
24:58
at, like everything encompassed can best be described.
25:01
But also not like, I don't know, his way of wording.
25:05
That was just interesting to me in exploring that.
25:08
You also hear it in O Comely, which I won't talk about that
25:11
much because it's a pretty vulgar song, all things
25:15
considered important to the album.
25:16
It's a song about an adulterous father.
25:20
Yeah, but something that is interesting about this song and
25:24
why it's such a good like geek of the album in a lot of ways is
25:32
that this this song is the one where he mentions The Time
25:35
Machine and wishing he could go back and save.
25:40
I wish I will she Remember Me 50 years later.
25:43
I wish I could save her in some sort of time machine.
25:47
Know all your enemies is the following line after that, but
25:51
something they do in this song, they juxtapose a lot, which is
25:55
really interesting. They say something really
25:59
uncomfortable and immediately after say something really or
26:03
talking about something really beautiful to kind of talk about
26:06
how love can be like the adulterous love is wrong.
26:12
And like the the one that I think of the most because it's
26:17
talking about music is so make all your fat fleshy fingers to
26:21
moving and pick all your silly strings and bend all your notes
26:25
for me and soft, silly music is meaningful, magical.
26:29
It's like, whoa, something about that isn't right.
26:33
But for this album, it it's just kind of that juxtaposition is
26:40
kind of beautiful in the right way and and more beautiful.
26:45
Maybe the wrong word, real and vulnerable.
26:50
Maybe the word that I'm more looking for, which I think is
26:55
why I like this album so much. It's because of how vulnerable
27:00
it is. Like you were saying, you can
27:02
have some of the best music musicians of all time and still
27:08
never really feel connected to them, right?
27:10
I I think whether or not you like this album, you feel at
27:14
least a little connected to the band.
27:16
Like to the feeling that the band is connected, trying to
27:20
connect. You to you know, even though I
27:22
felt that at at at times the the vocals for me came across as a
27:28
as a little grating and really just when he hit that higher
27:31
register like that, that's just my ears.
27:34
I I can still feel like I said, the, the pain, the desperation
27:40
and the connectedness that that you know, you don't, you don't
27:44
get with every artist. And he definitely, he definitely
27:49
did that. So I kudos on that so.
27:52
Yeah, I I think getting emotions through is probably one of the
27:57
harder parts of music. Yeah.
28:03
Most anyone can have a good song.
28:06
A good song that impacts people is probably a different thing.
28:10
And I I that's what I was talking about a little bit.
28:12
This song, like mom pod mentioned, it made her like
28:15
anxious. Like it kind of makes you feel
28:18
queasy, uncomfortable at some point.
28:19
So even in the happy happier song and they were playing over
28:22
the sea, there's a part where it's like how I wish I could
28:25
make my put my fingers and make those muscles move.
28:29
Like it's an uncomfortable sense of like I don't something about
28:33
that's wrong, but it it it's meant to is the thing.
28:41
And that's I think it's a reminder that a music doesn't
28:46
always have to be perfect and sweet and pleasant to listen to
28:52
per SE. Sometimes the best music in my
28:53
opinion, is one that's hard to listen to.
28:58
And I think for me, rather than seeing the anxious side of it,
29:03
which I do understand, I feel a little bit of comfort listening
29:09
to someone else deal with things and figure things out and
29:13
finding the ways that maybe I agree with them or could think
29:16
differently about things. Like, for example, in the
29:20
airplane over the sea. It ends with how strange it is
29:23
to be anything at all like, and that's just a beautiful way to
29:26
look at life and just such a random song.
29:32
Even though the rest of the album may be tough, like,
29:36
there's just beautiful parts of feeling connected to another
29:40
person and connected to other people who like the album or who
29:43
have listened to the album. There's some sort of tangible
29:47
connectedness that I don't necessarily feel with some of
29:49
your other everyday artist. Yeah, the, you know, this, this
29:56
was their second album, so 98. Their first one was 96.
30:01
And, and I saw, you know, I, that was, I, I did not know
30:11
them, do not remember them from the 90s.
30:15
But another band that was around the same time that produced a
30:20
very different sound, but did a lot of the same things of, of
30:25
making you feel potentially anxious and music was Radiohead,
30:32
you know, and, and they blew up in the 90s.
30:36
And right around this time is when OK Computer, is that it?
30:41
OK Computer came out in 97. Carma Police.
30:46
Do what? Carma Police.
30:48
Oh well. So and and again, they went way
30:52
more electronic, way more hi-fi than than lo fi and and produced
30:59
a very different sound. But a lot of their stuff and,
31:04
and a lot of what makes Neutral Milk Hotel and, and this album
31:10
particularly is they were dedicated to the artistry and
31:16
experimentation of where the lyrics and where the sound and
31:23
where all that took them. And it didn't matter when
31:25
anybody else thought about it. And for that I can, I can give
31:30
them kudos, even if it may not be something that that I would
31:34
normally listen to. I can see that in this album.
31:39
I can see the impact, you know, going we, we've already covered
31:44
Arcade Fire and Funeral, that album and and.
31:49
Which they were inspired by Neutral Mill Kotel.
31:51
They do listen. Yes, I was about to say, like, I
31:54
really like that one. And his voice is different than
31:58
this one, which I think makes it to where I can listen to that
32:01
album. But I hear like, you know, in
32:05
most all of these songs, you swap out that voice and I'm
32:08
like, this is this is almost Arcade Fire.
32:10
Yeah, the one that really stands out, the one that really does
32:15
stand out to me a little bit is a little bit of the can of
32:20
carrot flowers, parts two and three, and a little bit of
32:23
Holland 1945 in Crown of Love. It's a slow piano ballad the
32:28
entire time, and then at the varying of the song slips into
32:34
like an electronic loud poppy sound, which usual Mole Hotel
32:42
utilizes that a decent amount of like that.
32:45
False sense and then switching it on you when you kind of don't
32:50
expect it to. But yeah, I I agree.
32:54
And I think I think Arcade Fire, I would say also has a voice
33:02
that probably is a little bit divisive, just not as divisive.
33:05
His is a little bit more toned down.
33:08
But some of his vocals throughout that album are also
33:11
very like grading when it needs to be.
33:15
Yeah, but I think he may be more like he may.
33:20
It's a great example of like some musicians aren't
33:23
necessarily great vocalist and I don't think he was.
33:27
It wasn't as much as I hear this one because you know, I'm I'm a
33:32
should be no secret if you've listened to enough episodes.
33:36
I'm a huge Pearl Jam fan, so I I love Eddie Vedder's voice.
33:41
I I would not, you know, hopefully he doesn't listen.
33:44
I would not put him up as one of the greatest singers of of all
33:48
time, right. But again, he because I because
33:56
his a lot of his imperfections are in a lower register.
34:03
It doesn't it doesn't great. It doesn't, you know, jab at you
34:08
as much maybe as this one does. No, you're, you're giving me
34:13
faces. Sorry, no, I'm that's.
34:15
Not to say that they don't have some in the higher ones, you
34:18
know, I. No, no, no, that's not what I
34:19
was. I was making a face because I
34:21
was saying, you know who the vocals do sometimes remind me
34:24
of? Now that I'm thinking about it,
34:27
that would be group love. Yeah, I could see that.
34:31
That higher register. But even even there's, there's
34:34
something different about theirs too.
34:36
Because and I don't, I don't, I don't know what it is.
34:42
I think the difference. Some about these vocals and some
34:45
of them that just got me. And I'm gonna say.
34:48
Combination of but because it's like you said, there's, there's
34:52
others that it doesn't do it for me.
34:54
So I don't. I'm not sure.
34:55
I think that so Grouplove to me does very similar things.
34:59
He plays with his voice a lot. He does a lot of forced vibrato,
35:02
does a lot of like weird things that you're like, all right, OK,
35:06
and has that high register. I think the difference is most
35:10
every group love song is not emotional so them playing around
35:15
with their voice is more like sounds like it's supposed to be
35:19
playing around with their voice whereas or like they're just
35:23
messing around whereas this one like with the lyrics being
35:28
there. For those that may not know
35:29
Grouplove, this is itching on a photograph which I think has his
35:35
voice to kick in pretty quick that you can hear it.
35:42
And he does his weird. I'm itching on a photograph.
35:45
I'm scratching on a thermostat. I'm
35:59
scratching on a thermostat. So where's the?
36:05
I like group love too. Here it is.
36:09
Yeah, but, but let me. But let me say what I was
36:15
saying, I think. That's different to me.
36:17
I don't know what. With these songs, I think the
36:19
difference is that song is a fun song.
36:23
Yeah. So with Grouplove, what I've
36:25
said about Grouplove before, and I, I think Grouplove is so
36:28
talented. So don't take it as this.
36:30
Grouplove feels more approachable to sing along, too.
36:33
I Can't Sing along to Aretha Franklin.
36:35
I Can't Sing along to most Michael Jackson.
36:37
I Can't Sing along to even most Chris Cornell.
36:39
Try as I might, there's something unapproachable about
36:42
it. Whereas Group Loves is a lot
36:44
more approachable. It's a lot more like, oh, it's a
36:46
fun song. This man is going through
36:48
turmoil. It is not a fun thing to listen
36:51
to. It's the same way listening to a
36:52
baby cry versus laugh. A baby's cry and laugh sounds
36:55
very similar, but one has a joy undertone and one has a holy
37:00
crap things are falling apart. And I think that's the
37:03
difference is like that, that feeling that's behind it.
37:06
Grouplove doesn't have that dark ominous feeling behind it the
37:10
way, and neither does well. Progrem has a lower register,
37:15
but they do it. They they can subvert
37:19
expectations too, because Jeremy never strikes people as what it
37:23
actually is about. If it did, it would be very
37:26
different type of song. It's it comes across more angry
37:29
than anguish. And this song, this album is
37:33
just, this album is pure anguish.
37:36
And it's just meeting someone where they're at.
37:38
So, yeah, I completely understand.
37:41
This voice isn't for everyone. That's why I said give it a
37:43
shot. It's weird.
37:44
I understand that. Yeah, I think it.
37:46
Deserves it. I would, I would agree with
37:48
that. Just because I've said I don't
37:50
like it, it's worth going to listen through.
37:52
Just just because again, light listen to it for what it for
37:56
what it is. Right.
37:58
I also think the reason I was saying it's this, I really do
38:02
think it's one of my favorite albums of all time.
38:05
I think it is one of the most interesting albums of all time.
38:09
Like or dislike, I think it's interesting in the sense of yes.
38:16
I think Arcade Fire is pretty similar.
38:18
I haven't heard much music that sounds like this other than
38:24
Neutral Mole Hotels. It's it's a specific sound that
38:28
they found and the experimentation behind it and
38:31
how kind of free they were within that is very interesting.
38:37
And I think they inspired a lot of big indie artist.
38:40
Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire are the two that come to mind that are
38:43
listed as some of the main people within indie.
38:47
And so I thought it was kind of weird that this song wasn't on
38:50
there just because it it kind of started a lot of that.
38:53
Yeah, yeah. Which the which that was, you
38:56
know, as I go and look at this for our little poster that we
39:00
were going through. I am I am surprised that Arcade
39:03
Fire was there, but this one wasn't.
39:05
That was my point. Because if if you if you've got
39:07
a list which which we did, you know, there's been a couple that
39:11
we put on there, but like 10 and the perfect example to me is 10
39:16
and Nevermind are both on there. Yeah, the, you know, Arcade Fire
39:23
funeral and this one are are close enough to where and and
39:28
really. Even the album already is pretty
39:30
similar. Yeah, this one inspired the
39:33
second one. So it seems to me like this one
39:35
at least should have been on there over funeral.
39:39
I don't know. But anyway, it, it, it, it, you
39:43
know, for, for some people it just to go back to influences,
39:48
you know, because a lot of people may not go listen to it
39:51
just because I'm down in the guys vocals, which I, I hope you
39:55
ignore that part. But they some of their
39:58
influences and, and this may strike you as you get into it,
40:02
but some of their influences are like 50s and 60s music,
40:07
specifically the psychedelic rock of the 60s.
40:10
Like they, he talked about how Pink Floyd said Bear.
40:14
Like those are. Influences of his that he said
40:18
heavily influenced his work. You do hear a lot of that
40:22
psychedelic rock in it. But then they took their own 90s
40:27
alt that was going on at the time and put it into that
40:32
psychedelic rock. And then all the emotion that
40:38
goes behind it and this album pops out.
40:41
So it, it, it's, it's musically for me, it, it, it was, it was
40:48
good. Yeah, I also the last thing I'll
40:51
say. Parts that I had to go.
40:54
Oh, but over, Yeah. The last thing I'll say, because
40:58
I'll I could go on and on, is kind of the intentionality
41:04
behind everything. The more you listen to it, the
41:07
more you dive in. It feels like more everything
41:09
has a place like, like the whistling kind of sound with the
41:16
trees. There's, there's one the fool.
41:19
I talked about how the fool is an instrumental and yet it
41:22
wasn't one of my least favourites.
41:24
It's a funeral March mixed with a like almost a villain's March.
41:30
Like it. It kind of goes back and forth.
41:33
Is that the one with the bagpipes?
41:37
There's one that I think so bagpipes I I learned as I was
41:41
looking at it, but it's close enough.
41:44
I think so. They have that one and then
41:45
Untitled. Untitled is more of a frenzy,
41:48
whereas the Fool is a March. I liked Untitled too.
41:53
Yes, so like even those were placed there pretty
41:56
intentionally. The Fool being like a funeral
41:59
March, following the interests, intro songs and kind of bringing
42:03
you into a new part. The more layers you break down,
42:07
the more you find. They were experimenting, but
42:11
they were only keeping things that they thought really
42:13
mattered. Yeah, it seems.
42:15
And the other thing that I'll say before we can move on to
42:18
best beats and bars is that and you mentioned it and I want to
42:21
make sure that that I agree with that.
42:25
It has a reason to go listen to it because a lot of times say
42:30
you, you listen to, you know, an album and it's like, all right,
42:35
this is a rock album and you can just rock out or you can.
42:40
This is an album that is truly about the art of music.
42:47
And so the lyrics and the emotion and the instruments and
42:52
the way the instruments sound, all of that combined makes what
42:57
they were going after. So to your point, like it it in
43:01
the airplane over over the sea with the the saw that that makes
43:06
it seem like you're give you that illusion, you know,
43:09
imagination of of flying like that's that's intentional for
43:13
for this particular group. So if you do go listen to it,
43:17
pay attention for those things with lyrics and music and how
43:21
they're, how they're interacting or how they're creating conflict
43:27
with each other and, and creating, like you said, that
43:30
that anxiousness. So it's, it's it's, it's pretty
43:34
neat when you get groups that do that.
43:37
Yeah, I. Agree.
43:38
So best beat and bar rally? What's what's your favorite
43:43
lyric? I I really do love this.
43:55
There's so many lyrics in this. Album For a lyric person, this
44:00
album is dangerous because yes man, there's I will give it to
44:05
you. There's a lot to choose from.
44:07
Yes, surprisingly, I'm going to go with a pretty simple one that
44:11
I just keep coming back to. It's from In the Aeroplane Over
44:15
the Sea. I think this song doesn't get
44:18
give enough get enough flowers for its lyrics because it's
44:21
considered one of the happier ones.
44:23
Enough carrot, enough carrot flowers.
44:26
Yes, exactly. That's funny.
44:31
But the one that I just keep coming back to is very simple.
44:34
It's the opening line. What a beautiful face I found in
44:38
this place that is circling all around the sun.
44:41
So simple. Just a happy lyric.
44:44
But I think that simplicity is really just pretty here and it's
44:52
a nice little break. But also we've talked about love
44:59
songs and all of that in such a strange album to have a verse
45:05
like that that's such a pure like love, like just what a
45:09
beautiful face I've found in this place, Like just the whole.
45:12
And he's talking about like the whole world.
45:14
Like how did I manage to find this so?
45:16
Play it. So play it again.
45:17
We we played it a couple times. So play it again so people can
45:20
hear that specific portion and and pay attention to it.
45:25
I will let me pull that. Up.
45:28
I caught you. I got it if you.
45:31
I have it. It's just being rude, OK?
45:35
What a beautiful face I have found in this place that is.
45:53
Circling all around the sun, I mean.
45:54
And the vocals for it is so pure.
45:57
Like it's just such a pure love in that little part.
46:01
And I, I just, I love all of it, but just opening with the lyric
46:08
like that is such a beautiful sentiment to me.
46:11
And as strange as that's what I pulled out of this whole album
46:14
is a love lyric that's very sweet and innocent.
46:18
That is true, but with with how incredible a lot of the other
46:23
lyrics can be in complex, sometimes it flips and the more
46:27
simple lyric kind of stands out. And I wouldn't say it's simple
46:30
either. It sounds simple, but it it is
46:33
kind of, I don't know. That's just a lovely thing to
46:36
hear of just what a beautiful face I've found in this place.
46:41
And I also think that what she talks about in other songs, like
46:45
2 headed boy, he explores love, not just being like a a romantic
46:49
love. Like you can view that your
46:52
friends that way or like your kid that way.
46:54
Like what a beautiful face I found.
46:57
And and then to like diminish the earth, like just this place
47:01
circling all around the sun, whatever it is, I found you.
47:04
Nothing else matters. I just think it's super sweet.
47:07
Yeah. So my best beats is, like I
47:12
said, similar to Holland 1945, but it is this 1.
47:23
And so it's the intro of a song, but this one gives a little bit
47:27
heavier feel in a sinister, ominous kind of way.
47:33
So just let that marinate as I hit play on the opening of maybe
47:42
your least favorite, but maybe a new favorite.
47:46
Add it to your like playlist, but it's the opening of Ghost.
48:08
So you know, it's got that acoustic clean guitar start over
48:15
like play in the background that clean acoustic like OK.
48:20
And then again, the the buzz distortion of that guitar is
48:28
just like a, a ghost, a cloud or something that's hanging over
48:34
this happiness and, and, and trying to overtake it.
48:39
But I really like the way that the the beginning of that one
48:41
did. And again, similar to Holland
48:44
1945, but this one I liked musically.
48:48
For me, like I said, it's it's this clean happiness of that
48:52
acoustic guitar and then this ominous presence of of the
48:57
distortion that's coming on on top of it.
49:01
So I I really, I really like the way, again, juxtaposition and
49:06
musical sounds, not just lyrically.
49:09
So the opening of Ghost is my best beat.
49:17
That brings us to ratings. Riley, what are your ratings?
49:24
Well, my personal rating is A10. I really do love this album.
49:27
I, I, I think it's an incredible album.
49:31
I think objectively, I think objectively it was also very
49:37
good in a different way. I would still say objectively, I
49:39
would rate it 8 1/2 or a nine. Like it's still up there, not
49:45
because it's perfect, but actually because of a lot of its
49:48
imperfections. Like we were just saying, none
49:51
of it feels accidental, even if it's all a little bit wrong.
49:58
That actually makes sense to this album.
50:00
I think if this album were hooky cut, perfect clean vocals,
50:06
perfect clean instrumentals, it would not be a good album.
50:09
It wouldn't work. It's about, it's about like love
50:12
and loss, the Holocaust and Frank like it's not about
50:16
perfect things. And so to write an album about
50:19
it in such a way that is so imperfect makes it objectively
50:23
better it. It has to.
50:26
Be yes, even with the vocals, like I, I think those vocals are
50:30
tough at times, but I think even in those songs you need that
50:33
grading vocal. You need the vocal that makes
50:35
someone be like, oh, I don't like that.
50:37
Like, yeah, it almost. I can see that fits what it's
50:41
supposed to, yeah. And so objectively, you know, I,
50:46
I, again, I gave it a non just because I, I, I do see the
50:51
influence it has had in other indie rock bands and whatnot.
50:58
Personally, we talked about it. It's, it's not one that I would
51:01
go to. There are some songs on it I
51:03
like. My personal rating is a 6.5.
51:05
Hey, that's higher than I thought it would be, be honest.
51:09
So. You know, I'll take that.
51:11
The, the, the more I listen to it, you know, again, the the
51:14
instrumentals, I like there's, there's some of these that I
51:16
like, you know, again, yeah, some of the lyrics, some of the
51:20
lyrics come through crystal clear and, and there is an
51:25
uncomfortableness about some of them, especially if you don't
51:30
really know what else is going on or what the song is about.
51:33
And, and often times I don't pay attention to that.
51:36
So sometimes it's just uncomfortable for uncomfortable
51:40
sake. And but so 6.5 and 9 for me.
51:46
And that brings us to our song of the week.
51:50
Song of the week. Riley, what is your song of the
51:53
week? My song of the week is a song
51:59
called The Bottom of It That Fruit Bats.
52:02
It came on yes. OK, a little bit more of a weird
52:09
voice. I was in that mood, I guess, But
52:13
I heard that and I, I heard that like opening the ooze and I, I
52:18
liked it and was intrigued. This came on like this
52:23
specialized shuffle from Spotify and very rarely does it play me
52:27
a song I actually like. And then it OK, not what I was
52:33
expecting to come from this. And I love that froggy little
52:38
voice that's going on. And I just fell in love with
52:43
this little song. I I still need to listen to more
52:46
of the fruit bat. But the beautiful part about
52:49
this, usually the Spotify, whatever they suggest a song is,
52:56
yes, they'll play me songs by from the off the same album that
53:00
I've already listened to. And I've decided which ones I
53:03
like and which ones I don't like.
53:05
And they'll pay me the ones I didn't save, which are obviously
53:07
the ones that I didn't like enough to save.
53:11
And it really frustrates me that it does that because it does it
53:14
all the time. I've never heard of the Fruit
53:17
Bats, have no songs by the Fruit Bats other than the song.
53:20
They just thought this is what I would listen to.
53:21
And you know what it is? Love the song.
53:25
Let do you hear that little? It's a good little solo.
53:31
It's just got such a fun little beat, such a good little groove
53:34
to it, and was pretty peaceful compared to the chaos of Neutral
53:38
Milk Hotel, which was sometimes appreciated even for me.
53:42
Yeah. So that's the bottom of it by
53:45
Fruit bats. Also awesome album cover.
53:47
It's just a picture of a deer. Excellent.
53:52
It's really funny. So my song of the week is a
53:57
throwback because as I was going through this it made me think of
54:01
a band actually went back to High school days 1990, the album
54:08
Flood, They Might be Giants. So it is a song.
54:17
That's a weird band too. Yeah, it is, which I, you know,
54:21
I guess you see why I got there the because I love this album
54:27
and, and listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
54:32
And then I'm like, oh, I'm going to listen to Flood again because
54:34
it gave me not not entirely, but some of that same vibe.
54:39
And I'm like, let me go listen to it.
54:41
And you know, I couldn't tell you the last time I actually
54:45
went through and listened to all of the songs, but I would still
54:48
sing in every word. So somewhere they're stored in
54:52
my brain. But Birdhouse in your soul.
54:54
It's the main single from the song or from the album.
54:58
And before I play it, it's a song written from the
55:01
perspective of a night light in a child's room that looks like
55:07
a. Berry They might be giants.
55:09
Yeah, that looks like they are. That looks like a blue Canary
55:13
and how the blue Canary wants the child to create a birdhouse
55:18
in your soul for it to live and and be there.
55:23
So it's a very sweet little song.
55:27
But here is no it's not. Here is Birdhouse in yourself,
55:57
Blue Canary in the outlet by the light switch, who watches over
56:01
you. So what a sweet little song.
56:05
Why are you laughing at me? I.
56:11
Think that one of the opening lyrics to me, I have a little
56:13
glowing friend, but really, I'm not actually your friend.
56:17
Yeah, I'm your only friend. I'm not your only friend, but
56:21
I'm a little glowing friend. But really, I'm not actually
56:24
your friend, but I am. And then it's Luke and Airy in
56:27
the outlet by the light switch who watches over you.
56:30
So I wasn't expecting it to be so point blankly from the
56:34
perspective of a night light. Oh yeah.
56:37
When when you hear it, you're like, Oh yeah, that is it.
56:40
You know, it even talks about the, which is, which is fun.
56:44
Oh God, it, it, it, it talks about how it sees a picture of
56:50
it. My primitive ancestry.
56:55
I think that's coming up. Yeah, there's a picture opposite
57:02
me. So his primitive ancestor is a
57:11
lighthouse. Lighthouse.
57:14
I mean, it's so that. Were my job.
57:18
Yeah, because he's a little bitty Blue Canary light switch,
57:22
and he would be fired if he was trying to keep the beaches.
57:25
I mean, it's so cool, so funny and.
57:30
And it sounds nice too. That's the really annoying part.
57:34
So the whole album is good again, It's it's it's from 1990
57:41
and and again, they they were a indie rock band.
57:46
This was actually their first first album on a on a record
57:53
label. But it's a just a fun little
57:57
upbeat song about what the what a night light is going through.
58:02
So next time you have a night light and you turn it on, maybe,
58:08
maybe this song can play in your head.
58:12
But birdhouse in your soul by They might be giants.
58:17
It's also, if you know the song Instant Bull was Constantinople.
58:21
That's on this album too. So fun.
58:24
Fun stuff, yes. So songs of the week.
58:29
Very good. That brings us to our closing
58:33
next album. Yes, I think.
58:36
The poster. I think you're going to be
58:38
excited for this one, uh. Oh.
58:40
We're cutting it close on this one because we're nearing out
58:43
the end of summer and I don't think we could listen to this
58:47
song and it not be summer or this album.
58:49
And it will be summer. You're going to be really
58:51
excited. What do we got?
58:54
Gold by ABBA. So I'd say I'm.
58:59
I'm sensing some sarcasm there, so I'm not sure if I should be
59:03
afraid or. You don't like?
59:05
You don't like disco? Well, Disco Rod, I think we may
59:10
have done a album that had some of that, so you can go listen to
59:15
that one before I ruin it for what you think come from this
59:19
one. Gosh.
59:22
Looking forward to it. Yes, ABBA and, and what was the
59:28
album I got? Gold.
59:31
Gold. OK, all right, perfect.
59:33
All right. So ABBA gold.
59:34
So if you want to listen along with us, go check out that one
59:40
or go listen to one of Riley's most favorite albums, In the
59:47
Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, Song of the
59:54
week, Fruit Bats, They Might Be Giants.
59:57
Go listen to some of their stuff and go find us on socials and
1:00:03
follow us. Watch us on YouTube if you want
1:00:07
to see why Riley starts laughing.
1:00:08
I think she was even Wild Birdhouse and your soul was
1:00:12
playing literally wiping away tears.
1:00:15
It brought me to tears, it was so beautiful.
1:00:18
So there you go. You can go watch her do that on
1:00:21
camera. Barbara Cuts pod is where all of
1:00:25
that stuff is. Instagram, YouTube, e-mail
1:00:30
barbaracutspod@gmail.com and I don't think I have anything else
1:00:35
so I'm time. And I'm Riley, and this was
1:00:40
another episode of Barbara Cuts.