Artist Jeff Mangum

For a certain slice of indie-rock fandom, Neutral Milk Hotel’s 1998 album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea remains a musical and emotional Holy Grail. It was certainly a high-water mark for singer-songwriter Jeff Mangum, who crafted a dense, complex album (inspired by the life of Anne Frank, no less) that both defined and surpassed the twee psychadelia of the much-lauded Elephant Six musical collective. That Mangum dropped out of the public eye just as Aeroplane was being embraced further cemented the album’s iconic standing, and established Mangum as indie’s great, untouchable recluse. Thankfully, his years of hiding out seem to be in the past. The former Neutral Milk frontman has been relatively busy as of late, curating the All Tomorrow’s Parties music fest, and even dropping by the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Updated 04/19/2012