![]() ![]() (Lindwer is currently at work on a new documentary on Frank, which is planned for release next year to mark the 90th anniversary of Frank's birth.) Willy Lindwer, a Dutch documentary filmmaker known for his award-winning documentary The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank, was impressed by the album's title track. It is not that I object against the use of the name of Anne Frank-far from it-but using her name like this only contributes to further fetishization of her as a symbol for whatever. Even in 'Holland, 1945,' they remain vague and obscure. "I like the album, I like the lyrics, but as far as I am concerned they could be about any other girl as well. "I am sorry to say that apart from a few oblique quotes and semi-quotes, I don't hear it," says Wolfswinkel, who co-authored the book Anne Frank and After: Dutch Holocaust Literature in a Historical Perspective. In fact, Rolf Wolfswinkel, a Holocaust scholar and history professor at New York University, says he's been getting asked what he thinks of the album's Anne Frank references since it was released. In the U.S., Neutral Milk Hotel is far better known. Related: Arcade Fire's 20 best songs, from "The Suburbs" to "Reflektor" "I'm afraid there aren't too many Neutral Milk Hotel buffs in the office," the communications manager told me, "fewer still who were aware of the inspiration behind the album." ![]() When I contacted the Anne Frank Trust in London, I encountered similar confusion. I asked if they were familiar with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. "We are no experts when it comes to musics and therefore cannot cooperate with your request," one staffer responded. The kind staff members there had no idea what I was talking about. So I reached out to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the museum preserving the hiding place where Frank lived from 1942 to 1944. In other words, let's hear from the people who stumbled upon this indie-rock record because of their interest in Anne Frank's diary rather than the people who stumbled upon Anne Frank's diary because of their interest in an indie-rock record. Revisiting Mangum's classic, I found myself wondering what Holocaust experts and Anne Frank scholars might think of it. But we already know what critics and music bloggers think of the album: They revere it! It has been part of the indie canon since the Car Seat Headrest guy was in a literal car seat. And the wailing vocals are mixed so loud they might awaken Frank from the dead.Īeroplane turns 20 this month, and the milestone anniversary has prompted a wave of renewed attention. The instrumentation is a kaleidoscopic tapestry that includes flugelhorn, trumpet, euphonium and God knows what else. Songs like "Holland, 1945" and "Ghost" resurrect Frank's story with an odd mix of historical detail and hysterical longing. If you've set foot on a liberal arts college in the past two decades, you've heard it. Mangum's fascination with Anne Frank's story resulted in the band's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, one of the most beloved and unusual cult albums of the late 20th century. The songwriter would move on with his life Frank's story would remain lodged in the past, fodder for classrooms and Holocaust remembrance museums.īut this particular songwriter was Jeff Mangum, the singer and chief creative force behind indie-rock outfit Neutral Milk Hotel. In most universes, this story would end there. "While I was reading the book," the songwriter later said, "she was alive to me." And- as the legend goes-he "completely flipped out." Deeply moved by Frank's tragic story, the songwriter spent days crying and having strange dreams about traveling back in time and rescuing Frank from the Holocaust. A young songwriter walked into a bookstore and stumbled upon The Diary of Anne Frank. ![]()
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