Welcome. You're among a privileged few. Years from now, you'll be able to reflect back, rocking meditatively on your front porch, and tell your grandchildren you were there. Yes, this is the first post on our very own, very new, very shiny blog. See, we understand that most companies consider their clients needs only as it pertains to how much money it's going to make them. We want to change that. We want to stay connected with our clients and friends on a level never before possible. That's why we've created our own Twitter and Facebook profiles, and that's why we'll be writing here with everything from the latest in social media marketing, to compelling and innovative advertising, to... well, anything else we find interesting enough to share. Hopefully you'll enjoy it all as much as we do.But wait! That's not all!* Every Monday we'll be bringing you the latest in what we deem to be "good music". That can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but we don't discriminate. Jazz, rock, rap, indie, soul, big band, psychedelic lo-fi avant-garde new wave fusion - it's all good by us. What we're striving for is exposing you to something you may not have heard before, unearthing gems we've come across in our musical travels, and passing the goodness along to you, our loyal readers.
And considering this is our very first post, I figured we'd start things off with a bang. Though you may never have heard of them, Neutral Milk Hotel is one of a select few bands that can be credited with establishing the burgeoning indie music movement in the mid-1990s, setting the stage for the influx of independent music that dawned with the advent and proliferation of the Internet. With the release of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea in 1998, the band's status as icon was sealed. The album didn't initially sell well, and early reviews were mixed, but as time passed, appreciation of the album grew, and cult fans propelled the album to sales of well over 100,000 records. In the time since, the album has gained numerous accolades, from The Village Voice's album of the year, to a perfect ten out of ten review from Pitchfork Media, as well as a spot at #4 on the website's top albums of the 1990s.
But none of that truly says anything about the music. From start to finish, it's an experience unlike much else you've ever heard. It's lush and lo-fi at the same time, with warbling horns and strings and the quavering voice of Jeff Mangum floating over it all. And then there's the words. Laced with abstract imagery that ranges in theme from beauty to death (and often both within the same line), the album was conceived as an homage of sorts to the sublimity Mangum felt inherent in the death of Anne Frank. Given all of these seemingly contrasting ideals, Mangum melds them all together into a singular piece. And the result is wondrous.
The amount of time and effort he expended is evident in the flow of the album. Each song, though strong on its own, fits neatly as a piece of the whole, with songs beautifully coalescing into one another. It's hard to put into words exactly how to describe music, as music itself is in some ways beyond words. Suffice to say, though, songs like "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" and "Holland, 1945" are unparalleled in modern music.
Lyrically, musically, this album is a classic. You'd be remiss not to at least give it a chance.
Get the full look on Wikipedia and read a gloooowing review on Pitchfork. If you like what you see and hear, check out the full album on Amazon, iTunes or Insound.
Most of all: Enjoy.
*R.I.P. Billy Mays
