In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Thank you to whomever submitted this album. This is mandatory listening and should have been on the original list.

The voice, the instrumentation, the production. It’s grating. I really don’t understand why this album is so popular.

There’s a stigma around this record in present day - that’s it’s peak hipster, or that it resides in “my-first-indie-record” territory - which might make you want to listen with the intent of finding faults, but the truth is this is a pretty great record that 100% should have been on main list. To be honest, if the original book came out in 2010 instead of 2005, it probably would’ve been. When the worst criticism I’ve got for this record is “I like (Elephant 6 compatriots) The Olivia Tremor Control better”, then I don’t think I can honestly rate it anything less than 4 stars.

Fantastic album. Big omission from the main list.

It's weird this wasn't on the main list. A true classic. Enjoyed the excuse to re-listen to it.

I really enjoy listening to this album!

I know this is a critical darling, but it just doesn't do it for me. I think it's mainly that I don't like Mangum's voice

Has to be the most overrated Indie album ever. While I don't hate it, it comes no where near the levels of other contemporaries like Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, etc. 3.5/5

one of the most overrated albums ever

How strange it is to be anything at all. Jeff Mangum's surrealist lyrical offerings twist and contort in the wind of his band's acoustic distortion and unconventional instrumentation. Each song captures a different dimension of sentimental obsession that finds strange lineage with the songwriting of Brian Wilson and Daniel Johnston. Refined to a sharp point, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is an album by weirdos and seemingly for weirdos. It comes as no surprise, then, that it found a cult following amongst internet message board hipsters who came to appreciate it years after its initial release. It is tragic, it is authentic, and it is beautiful. What a profoundly wonderful album. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Yes! Add it!

Bon, le classique, «l’album de l’Internet», le rock indie à son apogée créatif. Pour un album avec autant de hype, j’ai pas pu me retenir de l’écouter avant qu’il me soit généré (j’ai quand même attendu un méchant bout par contre). Je savais pas vraiment à quoi m’attendre, mais je me souviens d’avoir été un peu underwhelmed, genre je pensais que l’album allait BEAUCOUP plus ressembler à la track [untitled] (turbo banger), un genre d’orchestre complètement pété avec une vibe presque steampunk, mais c’est plus juste un gars avec sa guitare qui chante presque faux dans sa chambre. Malgré ma déception, il y avait quand même une petite lueur qui brillait malgré tout, la petite flamme cachée dans tout les grands albums, il me fallait juste convaincre d’y revenir la tête vide dans quelques mois. Donc me revoilà, plus tard et la tête bien vide, prêt pour la deuxième couche. Effectivement, en sachant plus à quoi m’attendre, tout coule plus doux dans mes oreilles, la déception laisse place à la contemplation. C’est toujours pas mon jam, mais je me revois l’écouter dans un avenir proche, ce qui est rare pour du indie rock!

I’ve been listening to Trees recently having found a new appreciation for acid folk so this is a nice discovery (I reckon if this had come up two months earlier I wouldn’t have given it a chance) 3.5 rounded up

Surprised this wasn't on the original list given its cult status. That said, it is just another indie-folk album, albeit a good one, in an already crowded scene

Simultaneously sniffing and interesting. Not enjoyable enough to get 4 stars really, but maybe it just needs a second, third and fourth listen.

Idem vidit jel mi i dalje dobar, je😃

yeah I’ll listen to this album for the fucking billionth time, why not? I also relistened to the rest of their discography on streaming services, and their demos I keep on my Plex server such an incredible band, I love them with all my heart this album is WAY too good to rate lmao

A slightly decent folk album that became a 4Chan darling. Not my thing, but it's listenable.

Knew it was only a matter of time before this one showed up. Indie heads absolutely adore this one and I remember it being fine, but it has been years since I gave it a spin. And yet, I will never forget that opening line.. Something about it has a retaining quality. This is one of those acts where the fact that the singer objectively is sort of awful just works. Can't explain why, but I feel like if he were hitting notes properly on KoCF it just wouldn't feel right. Like deliberately wearing a hat askew can work for some. Can't deny this album does have a certain inescapable coherent energy about it. Like once you strap in you can't get off early. Of the ride, Holland, 1945 is probably my favorite. I do find Oh Comely to be kind of testing on the vocal front. Although a bit whiny in tone, I do enjoy this album. Somewhere in the 4 range.

I went into this thinking it was going to be hipster trash (because it's April Ludgate's favorite band). Damn was I wrong. This is really really great. Reading up on the recording techniques before I listened definitely helped. [untitled] was a fun trip. Fuck it, low 5. Happy Friday, Milkers!

Always thought this was the weirdest band name. Also, lady on the album cover needs to be carful on how she's raising her hand! My review for this album: That was Milky.

Was surprised this wasn't on the original list. I've never thought of it as the classic that people say it is, but I can recognize the impact it had on the indie scene and honestly, it's become a bit endearing over the years listening to it. The heavy background noises mixed with the chill folkiness is definitely a cool touch.

Top 20 album.

I can hear what makes it good, but I don't hear what makes it great. It's somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. I think it's overrated, so I rounded it down.

Saw this and thought, "phew, glad someone added this one." So good.

I have a weird relationship with this album. I like it, and I want to buy it, but I feel like the guys at the record store will judge me for trying to pick out an indie album to impress them with my knowledge of music but they'll think it's such an obvious choice that they'll assume I have a very surface level knowledge of indie rock and make fun of me behind my back while patronizingly saying that they like my taste in music, and you know, writing this all out it feels like maybe I have an anxiety disorder. Regardless, this album is really good. Also, please don't tell the guys at my local record store about this album review. I want them to like me, even though I don't actually want to hang out with them or be friends outside of the record store 5/5

One of the greatest indie rock records ever

I've had this one before on similar charts and it has a certain unusual charm. Oddball and charming almost thrown together but nevertheless is consistent.

This was bad and discordant. I don't know why you would want to listen to this, let alone recommend it to anyone.

I find this as exhilarating now as when I first listened

Love this album very much

What 3 Words. A lake on an Island in Canada.

more sour than neutral

This is a good album that represents a weird time in popular music. At the time it was a good trend, that trend just hasn't aged well. Not NMH's issue though. 3.5/5

Weird, but not unpleasantly

This album pops up all over the place in online discourse, but I've never listened to it til now. I mostly did enjoy it! I didn't realize how much of an influence they were on bands I enjoyed like Beirut, with whom there is a lot of overlap here. 7/10

For everything I’d heard about it I was expecting a masterpiece. It’s good, not great. But I’d listen again I think. 3.5 rounded to a generous 4

Some good songs, but for the most part it was a bit samey and vocally boring. Nothing worth taking to my grave.

Fair to good vocals and such

One of my favorite albums of all time. Brilliant from beginning to end.

It's simply peak.

Foundational high school memories.

Another one in the category of I would have sworn this was on the original list. A major oversight that it wasn’t.

Indie rock, psychedelic folk, lo-fi. Ni fu ni fa.

Indie rock, psychedelic folk, lo-fi. Me gustaba ya In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

I didn't get this album fully when I first listened to it a couple years ago. I do now.

Even before forming an opinion on this album, you have to admit that its absence from the original Dimmery list is a massive oversight. Whether you enjoy it or not, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has had an enormous impact on music and on music fans. It’s the record that made half the indie men in the world pick up a guitar (for some reason it was always the men) and it shaped how a generation thought emotional honesty should sound. It’s lo-fi, cracked, and often out of tune, but that’s exactly why it hit so hard for many. It came out at the moment when irony was collapsing, when sincerity was starting to feel radical again. Suddenly it was fine to sing too loudly, to be weirdly intense, to write about ghosts and grief and Anne Frank. That shift opened the door for everything from Funeral-era Arcade Fire to Bright Eyes and Beirut. Even if you can’t stand Jeff Mangum’s voice, it’s impossible to deny the influence. This album made imperfection fashionable again. Whether you think it’s a masterpiece or a myth, it changed the conversation and that alone earns its place in the canon.

I think about the title track a lot, stemming back from when I learned the trombone solo to play in a band that never made it to its first gig. It's been quite a while since I've actually listened to this in full, recognizing it mostly as the butt of online jokes about online music communities now. Maybe it just has to do with the passage of time, but the production doesn't faze me considering how often I grumble about lo-fi techniques (e.g. The Mountain Goats). It definitely abets the surreal atmosphere created by the lyrics, the artwork and unconventional instrument choices, e.g. the musical saw in the title track. HL: title track, "Two-Headed Boy", "Holland 1945", "Ghost"

It's an important cultural moment for a certain generation. Unfortunately I'm too old and I'm not American. So it's just a bit rubbish.

ei pahaa sanottavaa

One’s always struggled with the record – never quite got the appeal (or reputation) – despite repeated efforts to sort and solve it. Still, no dice in getting anywhere near appreciation. Perhaps part of the problem is the legend; it’s incumbent on fans only to love the records they love, not the ones which they are supposed (much less browbeaten) to love; that latter category should actually inspire a touch more skepticism (certainly that’s one’s initial reaction to the overhyped or culty classics). One’s fine with oblique-surreal -nonsensical-whatever lyrics. NP re low-fi vibes, oddball instrumentation and egregious distortion. Re the Anne Frank enigma, one doesn’t much care – it doesn’t constitute anything like a meaningful mystery. The more relevant questions: why did they never do anything else important and why did the editors not include in the list proper? There are moments of musical note and interest – the horns on “The Fool” and “Ghost” and bagpipes on “Untitled” and the powerful harmonizing toward the close of the record. Sure, the feeling’s intense, but that can’t make up for massively annoying vocals (off-key, overstrained) and the many rudimentary passages. That influenced Bright Eyes and The Decemberists is a distinct con, not a pro. And just because Mangum was troubled and disappeared doesn’t make him JD Salinger or Nick Drake or Syd Barrett. Judged wholly, the music doesn’t merit the myth – no, not even close. It should probably be on the list proper because of its reputation and impact. So, good job recommender for putting it out there so the debate can continue, which debate might be the best thing about the record, so could be worth digging into the 33 ⅓ book.

Undoubtedly should have been on the list. Had me at Pt.1, lost me on Pt.2 though. Alternating stretches of annoying and boring with the occasional dash of charming.

Courtesy of my brother this is one of the first albums I listened to, so it is very hard to see this as music and not ”In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”. In retrospect this could explain why I have some abnormal expectations in music

This be the fuckin ‘go to’ album for folks who want to sound real damn cool when asked about what kind of music they like. I really like this album, I do enjoy it, but it ain’t the best thing music ever shat out. I mostly struggle with the lack of a central theme. The songwriting is consistent throughout and even the lyrics have the same endearingly nonsensical tone the whole way through, but I can’t really tell what’s driving this record. The mix of common and strange instruments is done beautifully. Vocals stand out as unique, though not annoying, at least, not after listening once through. Very good stuff. 4/5

I don’t fully understand all the hype, but it was decent enough.

Heard a lot about this so was interested to see what the fuss is about. I don’t rate it.

Buen disco que me ha sorprendido para bien con toques folk, algo country, algo rockero,... y con una voz con un gran timbre y con ciertas notas altas en algunas canciones. Todo un descubrimiento positivo

One song at a time is fine, but I can't do a whole album of Neutral Milk Hotel. I find they really start to grate on me. I walked out of Pitchfork 2014 as they were playing.

No idea why this wasn’t in the original 1001 song list. It's an absolute classic!

*potentially heretical opinions follow* possibly the biggest disappointment on the list - i had heard it was good, maybe even great, but it is absolutely rubbish. the guy can't sing and, to make it even worse, keeps putting on these stupid voices and weird accents. the lyrics are terrible, the melodies boring and uninspired, and the instrumentation choices make no sense. for such an "influential" album, i was definitely expecting better. not just bad, actively offensive - i didn't even make it through a second listen, possibly because i knew what rubbish was still to come. this probably deserves a place in the list, and maybe even in the book, on reputation alone, but not on quality. the only positive of it being included would be that more people would see through the online praise - and see that the emperor's clothes are invisible. From this day forth, I will announce loudly and repeatedly, whenever this album (or this band) is discussed, that this is one of the worst few albums i have ever had the misfortune to endure. 0 stars *heresy complete*

4? a classic, and one im voluntarily listening to twice. At its best moments it sounds like its peer the decemberists, but IDK if it has had quite the emotional reaction from me as them.

This album is outrageous for 1998. What a tastemaker this album became. As a dyed in the wool not indie kinda guy, i appreciate the crap out of this album. I don't know that I love it, but the impact alone is huge.

It okayed a few times because I got busy and didn’t bother changing it, so it didn’t annoy me that much.

A bit of a voyage, this one. Wasn't expecting it to be this - for some reason I imagined that it would be some minimalist ambient thing, but no - it started out being awful, lumber-shirt wearing indie tosh, obviously from before it was cool. Honestly though - it got better. I'm not going to hurry out and listen to it again, but meh, it's OK innit?

Funny how an album almost nobody from my neck of the woods had talked about the time of its release retrospectively became the top one from 1998 (not to mention the nineties in general) for so many indie hipsters. I don't know, maybe *In The Aeroplane Over The Plane" is indeed a tiny wee bit overrated now -- the couple of cuts before the reprise of "Two-Headed Boy" concluding the tracklist might be a little secondary compared to the rest. But c'mon, it's still an album harbouring so many stellar moments, going from barebones acoustic guitar-driven performances to more arranged tracks lush with brass almost sounding balkanic in their intensity. Speaking of intensity, Jeff Magnum's vocal performance is quite extraordinary as well -- I guess you can either love it or hate it, but you just can't ignore it. I love it, of course. And the songs.... I've already mentioned the two versions of "Two-Headed Boys" and they're just incredible compositions based on such a great tune, of course. But there's also opener "King Of Carrot Flowers", "Holland 1945", "How Comely", etc... A good friend of mine once told me that I made him think of the song "Two-Headed Boy". I don't know how I should interpret this, but let's just say that Neutral Milk Hotel's craft and art certainly elicit that sort of emotional "reappropriation" in their audience, which surely explains why their magnum opus is so endearing for so many people. And also, why it has this place on this list. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5+4.5). Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 15 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 28 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 53 ---- Émile ! J'ai répondu à ton message. Regarde environ treize reviews au dessus ! Pas de nouvelle réponse de ta part, mais c'est pas un souci, je compte juste vérifier toutes les deux semaines environ. On est pas aux pièces, comme on dit sur le vieux continent.

Bugs me that it's basically a coin toss whether I'll like one of the audience favorites. Gave it a couple listens, and there's definitely stuff I liked in it, but I can't access whatever gets people enthusiastic about it

Just a couple of days after Discovery (which at least had an alternate Daft Punk record for representation) comes another one of the most ridiculous snubs from the original list. I have no idea how Robert Dimery didn’t include this as one of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Maybe he just didn’t like the idea of a concept album about being a bit too into Anne Frank? (honestly fair enough). In the Aeroplane… is a strange album. Its premise is strange and its lyrics are often unsettling - ‘your father made foetuses with flesh-licking ladies’ is one that always strikes me. Musically it’s very simple until it’s not. It’s one of very few albums I can just play all the way through on guitar, though there are a lot of production details that really stand out - the lo-fi fuzz that breaks through on songs like Holland, 1945 and Ghost to the slightly mistuned brass and electronic orchestration that gives everything a uniquely eerie quality. But it’s also very jovial in places - in particular the bagpipe-led untitled instrumental, which always reminds me of my friend Chris saying it would make great entrance music for an improv group or professional wrestler. There are so many fantastic touches that make this great record even more rewarding. The theremin wail climbing higher and higher in pitch during the verses of the title track, most notably over the lyric ‘how the notes all bend and reach above the trees’; the two wild mid-syllable octave jumps in Oh Comely; the final seconds of the album after its closing line ‘Don’t hate her when she gets up to leave’ when you hear someone stand and leave the room. It’s a sparse acoustic album until it’s not, it’s incredibly emotional despite being so cryptic that I don’t really know why it makes me emotional, and every song is anthemic and catchy as hell

Into The Aeroplane Over The Sea is quirky and okay in places, not so okay in others. It's better when the dude doesn't sing, because he can't really sing, and its often clashes with what they're doing musically. I liked Holland, 1945 and [untitled] (of course, it's instrumental) but the rest of it was mostly meh, I didn't hate it, just minor irritation by work that could've been better. 2/5 but not a low 2, the compositions were decent.

7/10

Interesting. A stepping stone between Wilco and The Flaming Lips. Liked the instrumentals. Yeah.

A classic!

Arguably one of the most influential album of the 90s, even if mostly retrospectively. Changed both indie music and annoying music discussion forums forever. Like another reviewer said - this truly was like the second coming of "The Velvet Underground & Nico". I dare to say that this is the original list's most glaring omission. A beautiful masterpiece with some of the greatest and most genuine lyricism of all time. It's a 5/5. Actually even a 10/10.

I didn't mind it

It's very strange and hard to get, but I did understand really started to enjoy listening to it.

3.5

Silly music with a dreadful singer. Not deserving of the hype surrounding it.

It was good

This album has a reputation, but I'll be honest...I've now listened about 3 times and I'm not getting it.

The fact that this isn't on the original list is so baffling. If you wanted to list influential indie rock records, this is up near the top. It's like the protoypical indie rock record people point to. Such a mystery why it is overlooked. I say all this and I'm not even the largest fan of it. I think it's fine and others have come along and iterated immensely on the formula, but it's influence is still seen today. I don't really pick it up to listen to all that often, but relistening to it today I appreciated it more than normal. My personal rating: 5/5 My rating relative to the list: 5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Absolutely 100% YES.

Intentionally low quality sound? That’s the excuse they went with? And the studio believed them? Dude had busted equipment and needed a paycheck fast. May need to confirm with Elong Mah if tambourine head lady is doing a Roman salute.

Certified classic! Was this seriously not on the main list? The bible for hipsters. Seriously great stuff though, I love the contrast between the folksy sound and the loud, harsher vocals. It pairs well. 4.5/5

The mystery that shrouds this album helps to catapult it into the upper echelon of the all-time greats.

Surprised this wasn't on the list... It was the hipster's hipsters album of choice for the longest time. It is a very good album TBF.

An enjoyable bop.

This is one of the expected ones to the point where I honestly just assumed I had already gotten it on the user list. Not much I need to say about the actual album. It slaps

There are so many people obsessed with this band. It seems like if you love it, then you LOVE it, to the point that your whole personality is based on your love of this band. I know it, and I like it. But I don’t LOVE it. It doesn’t blow me away. It’s neutral. Heh heh

I was going to nominate this. Absolutely 5* album from left field. Who knows what it is about, but who cares. Low fi brilliance. An indie classic.

The most beloved darling of hipsters everywhere, this album is a musical document I came to without knowing any of the cultural baggage surrounding it. It wasn't until after I'd heard and loved this album that I found out it was the darling of other music nerds, thus making me more hipster than them. Oh, and just for the record, I love Jesus Christ, too.

There’s just something about this album that makes it so great and it’s hard to describe. Maybe it’s the lo-fi sound. Maybe it’s the wide range of instruments used. Maybe it’s the lyrics that resonate with a lot of early 20 year olds where their music taste is still molding. Not sure why I and other people love this so much but every time I listen to it I enjoy it. It’s a great album and one of my favorites. 9.4/10

Not Anne Frank

Given the reputation of this album it's amazing that it wasn't included in the book, especially considering some other albums that did make it in. Overall I do enjoy this album. I dont think it's a 5 star undisputed masterpiece but is very good and certainly a blueprint for many to follow. I'd bump it to a 5 for it's influence power, but honestly I feel better giving it an emphatic 4.

Really very enjoyable. Melodic with appropriate use of non-"traditional" instruments on a pop album. Oh comedy takes about 20% of the album, and didn't really need to do so. But otherwise, good.

I love this album, and Jeff Mangum's tortured poet vocal style. He really has a great passion and voice that can carry an entire song. Having listened to the Decemberists recently, there is something aligned there. King of Carrot Flowers and Holland, 1945 stand out from the album, but I can even find long tracks like Oh Comely pretty engaging. This stands out as deserving to be in the book.

Even after completing the 1089 album, I never clicked this wasn’t in the book, it should have been absolute masterpiece.

This album is the signifier for "Pretentious and wants to sound like they know more than most people". Can tell without looking that the submitter rated every single hip hop album low while claiming they're just so different to everyone else. In actuality for the music it's a bit of a dirge with grating vocals & accordions and such like appealing it to hipsters

Maybe the best album of the 1990s and it was not on the original list. Mastery crafted folky, indie songs with sort of a concept album story about Anne Frank.

Musically this is pretty great, a high watermark of the indie folk genre, which was embryonic at best in 1998. For what was going on musically at the time, this album sounded like something that fell down straight from Mars, but it ended up being one of the most influential albums of the last 30 years. It could easily replace any number of lesser Indie albums that made the original list. If it has a weakness, I would point to the lyrics, which can be willfully obscure to the point of being a distraction. Ultimately this is a more rewarding listening experience if you don't try to spend a lot of time trying to unpack the lyrics. Fave Songs: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea; Two-Headed Boy; Holland, 1945; Communist Daughter

For an album considered by many to be one of the list's GLARING OMISSIONS, I was a little underwhelmed. It's a lo-fi indie album, and I thought it was fine. No, I thought it was good. But I was expecting BIG things and it just didn't really grab me. Rating: 3 Playlist track: Neutral Milk Hotel Date listened: 20/09/24

Very happy to hear this album I'd not heard of before. Loved the folky indy intimate and interesting instrumental sound!

This is a new one. Really good!

I'm so glad someone submitted this one. It means a lot to me.