late bloomer

I am late for everything. Not just late to appointments or meetings -- but late to new technology, fashion trends, you name it. That's where this story starts. I finally bought an iPod about a year ago and got around to actually putting music on it a few months later (thanks Josh!) Frequent trips to Clearwater and Jacksonville (not to mention the demise of "The Dan Patrick Show" on ESPN Radio) encouraged me to actually listen to music on my iPod. It's really helped bring my attention back to older albums I haven't bothered to pull out in years. One such album has really caught my ear in the last few months despite me virtually ignoring it when it first came out.

At least one song from Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" has been in my head daily for the last five or six months. I was vaguely interested in NMH in the height of their popularity (mid- to late-90s.) I tried to like the music of the Elephant 6 Collective because it was so prevalent in the indie music scene at the time (I'll admit to liking several songs off of NMH's "On Avery Island" and some Of Montreal), but my overall opinion was it was mostly just noise. When I re-listened to "In the Aeroplane..." I was blown away by the beauty of the album. The album flows together in such an effortless, unusual way. Jeff Mangum has a truly innovative musical vision.

So why am I bothering to post about it now? Well the album came out ten years ago this month. I encourage you to pull out your copy and re-listen to it now, or click below to hear my favorite song off the album, "Holland, 1945":



The combination of his voice and the energy of the music is ... amazing. Have you ever found yourself a late bloomer to such an album?