Basically I dig it.

Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. No question. Not even a hint of an inquisitive thought pops up. You see it, you hear it, you accept it as inevitability. It is truly one of the more tremendous things I've ever heard or ever care to hear in the future and I am totally proud to wear a shirt that bears its image on it

Apples in Stereo, Fun Trick Noisemaker. Pretty much the feel-good album of the 90s-- totally impeccable in terms of awesomeness and it sort of claws you in your eyes and injects you with a serum that makes you just totally happied out-- I mean just listen to "Glow Worm", ferchrissake, and try not to just break into a wild toothy grin and tap yer toes and imagine how much you would be laughed at if anyone knew you liked a song this overtly goofy

Minders, Hooray for Tuesday. Just got this one in the mail and it kinda cought me by surprise how good it is, totally Kinksy Beatlesy and more of that East-of-the-drink giddiness that is still planted firmly in say 1965 and it's 1965 okay, another year with me and you another year with nothin' to do and you better believe I feel all right nananana I feel all right-- also they mention Pez in one of their song titles which is a tad bit of an anachronism here but what the hey you roll with it because that song is absolutely terrific

Olivia Tremor Control, Black Foliage: Animation Music. Like okay the Beach Boys made some awesome tunes and then mixed in some totally impenetrable noise tracks and created this massive beast of a hoedown that just keeps you always on your toes but sometimes those toes are on a surfboard and sometimes they are sort of in static and the static is blurring the physical dimensions of said toes and basically you can just say goodbye to your toes now and get it over with (it's easier in the long run)

A Hawk and a Hacksaw, A Hawk and a Hacksaw. Well. If Dana Carvey heard this one he would call it special and really that's pretty much what it is (special)-- totally french accordion songs for roosters and a bit of brie and morning luncheon on the chapeau du sanglier-poisson and you reach into your pocket and pull out a french confection of some sort (a croissant perhaps) and just sort of watch in total amazement as the coolest circus EVER comes by

Circulatory System, Circulatory System. Okay the Olivia Tremor Control grew some teeth and retuned the picture and instead of a surfboard they are sitting on the beach coolly surveying and remaining in firm control of the scene as they see it and between fits of being awesome they record some tunes that blow yer mind

and other

Who? I only listen to oldies but goodies.

Nice post, nojax. I haven't heard some of these records, but my experience with Elephant 6 bands has been iffy at best. I lived in Ath-lanta for 10 years and was witness to most of the E6 bands live (usually as openers) and was never converted by the live shows. One of the worst shows I've ever seen was an Olivia Tremor Control show opening for Sloan which featured 11 musicians on a very small stage, all (unintentionally) playing a different song. Tuneless, shapeless, and fully annoying.

I need to check into a few of these discs more, but my time working in an indie record store allowed me to listen to many of the E6 bands, and I was never converted.

So many people swear by Neutral Milk Hotel. I've never gotten that record, and I've tried. Maybe I need to listen to them in my home environment and that'll change my tune.

I like the Apples in Stereo to some degree. I like the poppy Beach Boys-isms they project, but none of the albums has ever stuck with me as a keeper.

And I like the influences that the E6 bands make no bones about having.

I'll check into some of these records and see what I've missed.

Aeroplane is one of the saddest albums of all time. The part of the title track when the ghostly whistling sound comes in is one of the most gorgeous musical moments ever. I won't ramble on about the endless brilliant moments of this classic, classic album. :blowjob:

I like OTC just fine, but I find their albums to be quite long. Truthfully, I skip the ambient sound-collage tracks every time I listen.

Fun Trick Noisemaker is a good album, and "Winter Must Be Cold" is a fantastic song. It's upbeat and cheery, but really really sad at the same time.

EDIT: I wonder if indie record stores put "Recommended if you like Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, the Shins" stickers on their copies of Brian Wilson - SMiLE.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is in my top five of all time, hands down, without even a second contemplation.

But it's not number one. Nothing will ever top Wowee Zowee.

OTC's Dusk at Cubist Castle doesnt seem to be getting any recognition. I think it is one of the best E6 albums. Also On Avery Island is so underrated. People only talk of Aeroplane, but i think the highpoints on Avery are even higher than Aeroplane's.

In response to Nojax, Robot, and Sweetie, I will (as part of my New Year's Resolution) re-purchase and try to reevaluate In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

Sweetie...that's a pretty good idea for the Brian Wilson disc...talk about working your way BACKWARDS through rock history!

But, I suppose that's not uncommon. I got into the Byrds vis-a-vis Uncle Tupelo and Tom Petty.

quote:

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Originally posted by Crash:
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is in my top five of all time, hands down, without even a second contemplation.

But it's not number one. Nothing will ever top Wowee Zowee.

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Yeah I guess I was limiting myself to one album per artist for no very good reason but I definitely totally enjoy "Song Against Sex", "You've Passed", "A Baby for Pree"/"Where You'll Find Me Now", "Gardenhead", "Three Peaches", "Naomi", yeah it's solid as a freakin' uh

It is: the same but different

quote:

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Originally posted by nojax:
The Elephant Six! Let's discuss/discus

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I thought "Gay Bar" was kinda fun, haven't heard their cover version of Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" yet. Plus, they're from Detroit, which is a pretty nasty city in and of itself, but there's some good bands coming out of there lately.
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What's that?
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It says Elephant?
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Oops..sorry, couldn't read the handwriting. Yeah, I got it now, Cubist Castle, model portrait heads of Getrude Stein, green typewriters....Very cool stuff.
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Haha! I get it! That makes me cool!

quote:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
In response to Nojax, Robot, and Sweetie, I will (as part of my New Year's Resolution) re-purchase and try to reevaluate _In The Aeroplane Over The Sea_.

Sweetie...that's a pretty good idea for the Brian Wilson disc...talk about working your way BACKWARDS through rock history!

But, I suppose that's not uncommon. I got into the Byrds vis-a-vis Uncle Tupelo and Tom Petty.

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And it is done. I picked up a used copy of "Aeroplane" while I was in Atlanta. I will attempt to re-evaluate this record and see what I missed on the first go-around.

That is a truly tremendous thing to have done I think because I think you may or may not find it awesome but anyway I commend you sir

Dusk At Cubist Castle is great because it's very poppy and it has a ton of awesome songs, so I like it, but it doesn't have the ambition or density of Black Foliage. The latter, I felt, skirted the boundary between being very dense (classic OTC) and being too dense (see: Circulatory System) perfectly.

Does Dressy Bessy count as an Elephant Six band?

I've always thought Tammy Ealom's stuff was pretty stylin'.


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Yeah I think they do but I have never partaken of them. Maybe I should partake of them sometime

I just scored another Minders album-- "Cul-de-Sacs and Dead Ends"--and seriously very seriously I have not yet heard a song by this band that I have not completely enjoyed the total crap out of. It's pretty remarkable how much this band never sucks

Can't hate Neutral Milk Hotel. That is one hell of a cd, but for some reason I just can't stand the second track. The lyrics are pretty cryptic also, but that can be overlooked just on merit of his delivery.

quote:

Originally posted by Conor:
Can't hate Neutral Milk Hotel. That is one hell of a cd, but for some reason I just can't stand the second track. The lyrics are pretty cryptic also, but that can be overlooked just on merit of his delivery.

I'm not crazy about the "I Love you Jesus Christ" section (part 2) either, but once the punkish section (part 3) kicks in, it doesn't get any better. Its one of the many, many highlights of an absolutely incredible album.

I'm not a big fan of most of the Elephant 6 bands. I'm happy to see all this praise for Neutral Milk Hotel. I really think In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is one of the best records of its time. Of Montreal is also excellent if you like the weird psychadelic stuff.

The E6 were probably my first forays into indie, thanks to a "soyouwanna" article about being a hipster that piqued my interest (I was more interested in the bands, not being a hipster). The Apples in Stereo have had some great output, but I couldn't listen to them all the time. NMH... well, it's been said, Aeroplane is brilliant, and one of the best albums of the 90's.

What perplexes me is, why hasn't anyone mentioned Of Montreal? In my opinion, Satanic Panic in the Attic was the best album of last year, despite all the good albums released. And The Sunlandic Twins is almost as good, I predict it will make my top-10 easily. They are such a terrific pop band with a pretty nice vocabulary to boot.

quote:

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is in my top five of all time, hands down, without even a second contemplation.

But it's not number one. Nothing will ever top Wowee Zowee.

Weird Crash...those two seem to be two of my favs also.

Also enjoy Of Montreal, Apples in Stereo, OTC.

Anyone heard any Elf Power? I've heard of them, just wondering if they're any good.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is currently my Favorite Album of All Time, and I don't ever see it sliding out of the top 5, future Radiohead/Flaming Lips albums notwithstanding.

Other than NMH, I've only heard two Elf Power albums, one of which was great (A Dream In Sound) and another that was good but hit-and-miss (The Winter Is Coming). Just on the strength of those two artists I plan on checking out much more E6 stuff.

I've heard Summer Hymns mentioned as an Elephant 6 band before, but the E6 website doesn't mention them as a band. Has anyone heard them? I've thought about buying one of their CD's, but I don't have much cash and have to be pretty selective about the albums I buy. Let me know what they're like if you've heard them.