Obscure details

[tomatoesandradiowires]

I'm not sure how great of a topic this will make, but maybe the troll haters will appreciate it solely because it actually has to do with NMH.

So I just ended a bit of a hiatus from Neutral Milk hotel, listening to the Mountain goats, The microphones and Rilo Kiley for a bit. I decided to throw on oh comely, and when it got to the part that goes "Know all your enemies...we know who our enemies are.." i heard the bass drum part like I heard it the first time I listened to the song, those simple, few notes that I love every time I hear them. Does anyone else have a really obscure part of some NMH song that they absolutly love?

[idrankhemlock]

ewww rilo kiley??

[tomatoesandradiowires]

What's wrong with Rilo Kiley? :(

[defgav]

I <3 Rilo Kiley

[idrankhemlock]

nothing if youre into that sorta thing

[cpanighetti]

Originally posted by idrankhemlock
ewww rilo kiley??

you are wrong. your opinion is wrong

[Stormx]

I like the bit in Track 10 of Aeroplane where the irish pipes just come back for more =) Like you expect them to go away but NO THEY'RE BACK WITH A VENGENCE!

[eggcup]

i always thought that sound was mr. mangum tapping on the guitar with his fingers...
Originally posted by tomatoesandradiowires
I'm not sure how great of a topic this will make, but maybe the troll haters will appreciate it solely because it actually has to do with NMH.

So I just ended a bit of a hiatus from Neutral Milk hotel, listening to the Mountain goats, The microphones and Rilo Kiley for a bit. I decided to throw on oh comely, and when it got to the part that goes "Know all your enemies...we know who our enemies are.." i heard the bass drum part like I heard it the first time I listened to the song, those simple, few notes that I love every time I hear them. Does anyone else have a really obscure part of some NMH song that they absolutly love?

[Laika]

More like pounding on the guitar with his fists. But yeah.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

hmm. might just be be. ô_o
That's another reason I started this thread though, so I could listen to things differently. thanks :]

[Aqualad]

i'm pretty sure he'a just hitting tapping on the guitar. Pounding would be way too loud. Maybe knocking, but notr pounding. but whatever.

[NineteenFourtyandFive]

everyone loves the train in the Holland 1945 b-side version of engine.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

Originally posted by Stormx
I like the bit in Track 10 of Aeroplane where the irish pipes just come back for more =) Like you expect them to go away but NO THEY'RE BACK WITH A VENGENCE!

I've always liked that too, the first time I heard it I actually laughed.

The more I listen to oh comely, the more I agree that it's jeff making the percussive noises with his guitar, it makes no sense for the drums to come in when they've been absent the whole song for something so simple.

Rilo Kiley is a pretty tight band musically speaking, and though I can't say I'm too fond of 'More Adventurous' (sparing the always wonderful, 'It's a hit') I'd say to anyone not familiar with the band to give 'The execution of all things' a listen. Plus, Jenny lewis is a babe.

Back to NMH: in ghost, when at the end the saw and the organ play the same melody. I've always loved that coupling.

[untalkative]

i love rilo kiley and the mountain goats. except rilo kiley's cover of nmh was pretty great while the mountain goats fucking destroyed two-headed boy.


back to the topic. that little drum roll that introduces the drums on Naomi is perfection.

[sashwap]

the mountain goats' "two-headed boy" is a definite grower. not that i wouldn't love to hear a better recording of it after he practised a few times, but hey, he gave it a great shot.

[idrankhemlock]

mountain goats > panic at the disco > toby keith > rilo kiley<*

[raoulduke87]

is that like the haughty hipster hierarchy?

see... its funny and its alliteration.

[idrankhemlock]

w3rd

except it really isnt hipster..unless toby keith is hipster now

[raoulduke87]

hillbilly hipster

...god... more h's

[idrankhemlock]

exactly!

[cpanighetti]

jenny lewis' voice makes me want to take my pants off and beg.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

exactly!

[idrankhemlock]

ewwww

[Aqualad]

Originally posted by idrankhemlock
ewwww

[buttsex-chan]

I actually did take off my pants and beg, but for Blake Sennett, not Jenny Lewis. He's the real hottie in RK.

[damonin]

i really liked noise loop on communist daughter. YOU KNOW.

[defgav]

a little something to piss of all you haters:
Rilo Kiley / NMH medley
http://www.myspace.com/fiberoctopus
screwed up at the end... should've went back to E but went to C.

[glovguy]

The oh comely bass thing is actually, as previously said, jeff hitting the guitar. I love it.

At the end of the song, Ghost has a saw and a zanzithophone (not an organ), and it is downright awesome. I like how right at the end, that strange noise kicks in (it's hard to describe, but just listen for it), it really adds to the song.

Ooh, I also like the intro to the part 3 of king of carrot flowers, with the trumpet and the fuzz. I also love the intro to two-headed boy pt.2. I'm pretty sure (if you listen really carefully) it's a saw put through the two-way radio mentioned in the instruments with a wind-esque noise that fades out in the beginning.

[grimble gromble]

i love jeff's final parting words... "But don't hate her when she gets up to leave" ...followed by the sounds of him actually getting up and leaving.

that part gives me chills... it's such the perfect ending for neutral milk hotel.

[Big-H]

The end of Communist Daughter, where the trumpets start to follow Jeff's de-de-de-de-de's

[TitusGroan]

uhhhh, pretty much all of my dreamgirl dont exist. I didnt hear it for years so it feels secret + obscure to me

[Zop]

Yeah, I feel that way about Sinking Ship.

[Optikos]

I like the guy yelling "Holy shit!" Or something along them lines, at the end of Oh Comely.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

Haha yeah that's always great
Also on jittery joes I like that spot where Jeff can't figure out how to word something so he just rambles "uhh well."
and then that baby joyously screams like YES or something and jeff just says "Yeah"

[Big-H]

Jitter Joes has a lot of good moments.

This is the part of the song where I didn't write any lyrics

[Code_J]

This isn't really about a song in particular, but I just realized that the last song on the Major Organ and the Adding Machine album is a reference to the "Message Sent" trilogy.

Or...it might just be a reference to the "Transmission" song.

But it should be a reference to Message Sent.

[sellout250]

I have finally realized mine. It's during "Ghost". It's during Jeff sings "and when her spirit left her body how it split the sides.." and the trombone?/trumpet?/flugelhorn? is doing the drone and then goes "BA BAHHH Bahhhhhh". Makes me hang my head down and sulk in it's awesomeness.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

I've always liked the "holy shit!" at the way end of oh comely. Does anyone know who that is/why they say it?

[PÃ¥l]

read the book! it's because robert was mighty impressed with jeff's perfect take on such a long song

[blasticpubble]

Originally posted by PÃ¥l
read the book! it's because robert was mighty impressed with jeff's perfect take on such a long song

but "the book" suggested it was probably Scott Spillane, and I had heard that earlier too.

though it doesn't sound a lot like him, it could have been one of the roomful of friends that was described in The Book as having been gathered in the studio during that take.

[PÃ¥l]

in a post somewhere hilarie said it was robert. but if it's scott, that's just as fun.

[tomatoesandradiowires]

Originally posted by PÃ¥l
in a post somewhere hilarie said it was robert. but if it's scott, that's just as fun.

Yeah, I guess it's not really important who said it, I think it's cool that it was a conscious desicion to leave it on the album. It occurs after the final chord has dissipated, so clearly there was a choice whether to cut it or not without sacraficing any musical content.

[PÃ¥l]

yes, it's nice. my favourite detail on the album, is the chair squeaking at the end of two headed boy pt. 2. the chair in my room (and a lot of others chairs as well, i guess) make that exact sound. and when i try to record songs on my computer i also get those chair-squeaking sounds after the song is over and i lean over to the computer.

[atrocities]

the part that of ITAOTS is the horn solo between the 2nd and 3rd verses. it's just beautifully perfect.

and on Avery, I'd have to say in Pree sisters (I'm not even going to bother describing it, so I'll just point to the point in time) at around 3:00 when it's just echoing, then the really creepy melody appears at around 3:25. lovely.

and I think I like the end of Oh Comely in Goldaline better. just the pace of it, if I had to listen to it seperated from Oh Comely, but it certainly suits and still sounds great tacked on the end of Oh Comely.

[atrocities]

Originally posted by atrocities
the part that of ITAOTS is the horn solo between the 2nd and 3rd verses. it's just beautifully perfect.

and on Avery, I'd have to say in Pree sisters (I'm not even going to bother describing it, so I'll just point to the point in time) at around 3:00 when it's just echoing, then the really creepy melody appears at around 3:25. lovely.

and I think I like the end of Oh Comely in Goldaline better. just the pace of it (+ i think Jeremy's brilliant drumming has a bit to do with it too), if I had to listen to it seperated from Oh Comely, but it certainly suits and still sounds great tacked on the end of Oh Comely.

shit. i pressed quote instead of edit.

[Edited on 1-12-0606 by atrocities]