YMMV / Neutral Milk Hotel

• Awesome Music: WITH HORNS!
  • The climax of "Ghost."
• Memetic Mutation: The cover of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea◊. Just look at it. So much so that there's debate over what it is, with the usually common answer being "It's a potato".
  • IIIII LOOOOOVE YOOOOUU JESUUUUUS CHA-RIIIIIIIIIIIST
    • JEEEEESUS CHRIIIIST III LOOOOOVE YOOOUUUU YEEEEEES III DOOOOOOOOOO
    • And a multi-fandom version with Doom and Fate/Grand Order.
  • SEMEN STAINS THE MOUNTAINTOPS
  • "ARE YOU RECORDING ME?"^ExplanationNeutral Milk Hotel's live shows will often request that all recording equipment be put away. One 4chan user decided to parody this by posting an audio clip on /mu/ of himself doing an impersonation of Jeff Mangum where he flips out at an audience member for having recording equipment out during a show. The clip quickly became popular to parody and quote in reference to the band, so much so that many people mistakenly believe that it was a quote from Mangum himself.
  • Fans will joke that the album was Jeff's way of going back in time to save Anne Frank.
• Narm: Some of the Word Salad Lyrics really push the Rule of Symbolism as far as it will go, and Jeff's voice doesn't help when he reaches his higher register. See Memetic Mutation.
  • Despite its heavy dose of Nightmare Fuel, Jeff's breakdown at the end of Sailing Through is this for some.
  • The infamous "I love you Jesus Christ" bit in "King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2". It became memed for a reason.
• Sacred Cow: Due to being an indie band that hasn't sold out beyond its massive cult, any criticism towards them is met with massive backlash.
• Signature Song:
  • "Holland, 1945"
  • "Song Against Sex"
  • "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
• Spiritual Successor: While Arcade Fire is the most immediately discussed candidate, their work after Funeral became progressively further from their NMH influence. Commonly discussed successors in certain communities that idolize Neutral Milk Hotel include Phil Elverum (specifically his album The Glow Pt. 2), jordaan mason and the horse museum, and Seamonster.
• The Woobie: Jeff Mangum really deserves a hug.

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