Little Birds (song)
| "Little Birds" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neutral Milk Hotel | ||||
| Released | December 12, 2011 | |||
| Format | 7" Vinyl | |||
| Recorded | December 1998 – January 1999 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, lo-fi | |||
| Length | 10:38 | |||
| Label | Neutral Milk Hotel Records | |||
| Producer(s) | Jeff Mangum | |||
| Neutral Milk Hotel singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Little Birds is the fourth single by American psychedelic folk band Neutral Milk Hotel, released in 2011 as part of their Walking Wall of Words compilation package which contains two versions of the previously unreleased song.[1][2][3] Both the studio version and the live version were performed solely by Jeff Mangum. The studio version of the song was recorded by friend and regular collaborator Robert Schneider and engineered by Craig Morris while the live version of the song was recorded by filmmaker and cinematographer Lance Bangs. The record is dedicated to University of Wyoming murder victim Matthew Shepard. The album art was designed by Mangum and Mark Ohe.[4]
Background
"Little Birds" is one of the only two known songs by Neutral Milk Hotel written after the release of In the Aeroplane over the Sea of which a recorded version exists. It is also the only post-Aeroplane song that has been performed in public.[5] Jeff Mangum played the song live and before the song described what it was about:
| “ | It's the beginning of a story where a boy is in a not-so-nice situation. One day, little birds start to form around him in his room. They start coming into his body and he was very happy about this. But unfortunately he tries to share it with other people and they get very upset because this is something that he finds to be very beautiful but they don't find very beautiful and they want to destroy it. | ” | |
| — Jeff Mangum (Quote from the start of the live version of the song) | |||
Track listing
- A-Side
"Little Birds"
- B-Side
"Little Birds" (Live)
References
- ↑ Young, Alex (2011-09-16). "Check Out: Neutral Milk Hotel – 'Little Birds (Unfinished Version 2)'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (2011-09-16). "Listen to Another Unreleased Neutral Milk Hotel Song, Mix From Jeff Mangum". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ↑ Martin, Andrew (2011-09-16). "Neutral Milk Hotel: 'Little Birds' (Unfinished Version 2) (Unreleased)". Prefix Media. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ↑ walkingwallofwords.com
- ↑ Cooper, Kim (2005). In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. New York; London: Continuum Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-0826416902.