Mifune said:
What in particular do you hate about it so much? Because the way you talk, it just sounds like the "inevitable indie backlash."
I didn't think the album was anything special for a little while, but one day it clicked and I became obsessed, listening to it for hours on end and tracking down every scrap of music Jeff Mangum ever recorded. As far as I'm concerned, Aeroplane is the most perfect synthesis of imagery, melody, and gut-wrenching passion that rock music has seen in a very long time.
And I know that it has become hip to hate on it, but I will never understand why.
One of the things I hate is that he uses his voice too much. The first two tracks are evidence of this (The second being one of the worst songs I have ever heard. Ever. I neither know nor care whether it is supposed to be sarcastic, or ironic, or genuine, or what, but it's miserable. It's somebody who can't sing well yelling over and over with the apparent intent of pissing me off. And he succeeds). Without these first two tracks, the album would likely go from "Good lord, set that ablaze" to "Eh, it's not bad." I don't have a problem with singers who don't have the best voice, provided that they know what their limits are. If your voice is the weakest point of the band, then shut the hell up every now and again
And since I'm on the way down that road, I'll just do this track-by-track.
The title track is one of the songs that I find decent, and could grow on me if I really let it.
Two-Headed Boy is the kind of thing I'd expect from an album everybody loves so much. I think this song is great. Holland 1945, also good.
Ghost and Oh, Comely are just...weird. There's just something about each of them that puts me off. They show some of the problems that the first two tracks have, but also have pretty good songwriting and music going in their favor. And then there are parts where it sounds like the band just got bored and decided to dick around with the sounds they could make. Oh, Comely eventually falls into the trap of being a long song that turns into a chore to listen to. I actually get a headache by the time the song is over. Don't know what that's all about.
And finishing off the album is Two-Headed boy Part 2, which reminds me of the kind of song you might hear at a drunken acoustic open mic night.
Overall, the album is just so up-and-down that I can't stand it. I tend to be harsher on albums that have a few very good tracks and then a few horrible songs than on albums that are simply mediocre all around. That's probably why I hate this album. That, and I've heard nothing but absolutely excellent things about it. Coming into it with no expectations, or just hearing about half of the songs might have greatly changed my opinion.
