my husband died n 2012 we loved this album so much...if you know the truth of what cremation does to a body, and add to it the Anne Frank factor...and the pure glory of tha album itself, which contans so many mysteries..well, yeas. I cry also every every time.
Four years ago I was at the end of my rope. I was abandoned by everyone I knew and just existed, stuck in my hometown. I went to work and slept, for two years straight. Fresh out of high school and in a community college getting a degree in something I didn't care about. I ended up finding this album at one of my darkest points and listened to the whole thing in one sitting. For the next year, I would sing along to this album every day on the way to and from work. Things ended up getting better and I feel all those emotions just listening to this again.
"I will take you and leave you alone" , "..will wait until the point when you let go" & " but don't hate her when she gets up to leave" these hook me the most...
I dunno what it is, but Part 2 never fully clicked with me until just now. On a Tuesday morning at 6 am. These are undoubtedly Jeff's best lyrics period. Every line feels like a punch to the gut, but in the best way possible. What an absolute masterpiece.
Ageeed. Check out Jolene by Ray Lamontagne, Regret by Fiona Apple, It's Cool We Can Still Be Friends by Bright Eyes, The Pugilist by Keaton Henson, Bruno is Orange by Hop Along, Waltz #2 by Elliott Smith if you haven't already. They're up there too.
its crazy that some people were saved by this album, while other's (like myself) experienced the start of their spiral BECAUSE of this album. this piece of art is beyond description, and dare I say comprehension. fav album of all time
Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet Blister please with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you For the rest of your life when you're ready Brother, see we are one in the same And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies When we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life Two-headed boy, she is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
I had been doing a decent amount of coke throughout the night and started drinking some whiskey when I got home. I stumbled upon 2 Headed Boy pt.2 that night and had one of the deepest emotional connections I've ever had with a song before. I listened to it probably 20 times in a row and its beauty grew deeper and deeper every time I heard it. My favorite memory of finding a new song.
I love neutral milk hotel and Jeff Magnum, but he just can’t sing. It’s more of a shout or a yell. He sounds a lot better when he’s a little more mellow. I think he sounds good, he just can’t sing. But every time he yells, I can’t help but cringe.
My mom grew up in a (then) small Mexican village named Pisaflores in the 70s. Even in the early 2000s, it still had an Old World-feel to it. I imagine the young people that lived there in my mom’s time when I hear this song, dancing to old-timey songs in the city square and discovering each other. An Old World-approach to growing up.
"Two-Headed Boy" Two headed boy All floating in glass The sun it has passed Now it's blacker than black I can hear as you tap on your jar I am listening to hear where you are I am listening to hear where you are Two headed boy Put on Sunday shoes And dance round the room to accordion keys With the needle that sings in your heart Catching signals that sound in the dark Catching signals that sound in the dark We will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy With pulleys and weights Creating a radio played just for two In the parlor with a moon across her face And through the music he sweetly displays Silver speakers that sparkle all day Made for his lover who's floating and choking with her hands across her face And in the dark we will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy There is no reason to grieve The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow And I will take you and leave you alone Watching spirals of white softly flow Over your eyelids and all you did Will wait until the point when you let go
Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams For a lover to bring a child to your chest That could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be Long ago wrapped in sheets warm and wet [Verse 2] Blister please, with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth In a struggle to find secret songs that you keep Wrapped in boxes so tight Sounding only at night as you sleep [Bridge] And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you For the rest of your life when you're ready [Verse 3] Brother, see we are one in the same And you left with your head filled with flames And you watched as your brains fell out through your teeth Push the pieces in place Make your smile sweet to see, don't you take this away I'm still wanting my face on your cheek [Bridge] And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies When we break we'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life [Outro] Two headed boy, she is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leave (creaking, guitar hitting floor, footsteps)
This is poetry with an acoustic guitar and damn I can't stop playing it, even my sons, 6 and 7, are singing this...there is a visceral thing happening with jeff, like he's in tune with our biological need for imagery and it's just delicious brain and soul candy
This is one of those songs that you just know you have to post a comment in honor of what it did to you as you listened but it's so utterly brilliant and so far out of reach that all you can say is something like what I just wrote and go to bed dreaming
i'm pretty sure i suffer from BPD, and i feel like shit constantly. whether it's my manic highs, or suicidal lows, i still feel hollow. it's so hard to feel. but, whenever i dissociate or start feeling terrible, two headed boy has been my therapy song. i don't know whether i would be the same without this song, cuz it's stopped me from doing so many things i would regret. thank you jeff mangum.
a beautiful and touching couple of tracks, that remind me of the preface to the last chapter of Fando y Lis by Alejandro Jodorowsky, and of the film itself. what a tragic but meaningful love.
when i first was exposed to this album and read the info i saw there was a part 2 to this song and also a parts 2 & 3 to KoCF. well, i forgot i had read there was a part 2 to this one in particular, and i remember i was doing.... something..... and when this song came on and he gets to the "two.... heeeeeeaaded booooooyyyy" part, i stopped DEAD in my tracks, and just bawled. there's something about pieces that recall something that happened earlier, throwbacks, or reprises, that always fucking ruins me.
I was in a long distance relationship with my gf and I remember us finally meeting and having such an amazing week and being at the airport saying our goodbyes I remember her crying not caring who saw what people thought.I remember waving bye and going inside the airplane tears running down my cheek as this song played. I played this song all the airplane ride back home.
I’ve seen a bunch of people say this song is gutwrenching but to me it feels… warm? Like that moment right before you drift off to sleep. Cozy and warm but still kind of offputting
"...and in the dark, we will take off our clothes and we'll be placing fingers to the notches in your spine, and when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside. Now your eyes ain't movin', now, we just lay there in the clouds..."
Here's the lyrics y'all wanted [Part 1] Two headed boy All floating in glass The sun it has passed Now it's blacker than black I can hear as you tap on your jar I am listening to hear where you are I am listening to hear where you are Two headed boy Put on Sunday shoes And dance round the room to accordion keys With the needle that sings in your heart Catching signals that sound in the dark Catching signals that sound in the dark We will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy With pulleys and weights Creating a radio played just for two In the parlor with a moon across her face And through the music he sweetly displays Silver speakers that sparkle all day Made for his lover who's floating and choking with her hands across her face And in the dark we will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy There is no reason to grieve The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow And I will take you and leave you alone Watching spirals of white softly flow Over your eyelids and all you did Will wait until the point when you let go [Part 2] Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet Blister please with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you For the rest of your life when you're ready Brother, see we are one in the same And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies When we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life Two-headed boy, she is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leaveDaddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet Blister please with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you For the rest of your life when you're ready Brother, see we are one in the same And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies When we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life Two-headed boy, she is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
This song (Two Headed Boy) saved my life.... Seriously. About five years ago, I cracked. No joke. I was a professional who went to work on a daily basis--I did everything I was supposed to do--but it was a cage. See... I snapped like a twig. The doctors called it a "psychotic break." I was forty at the time, and I'd never experienced anything like psychosis or delusions, but suddenly I found myself lost in a jungian world of symbols and synchronicity. How amazing and wonderful and terrifying! Don't believe me? Wait and see... Anyhow, they sent me to four different psychiatric hospitals. My poor family.... They worried about me, but I was lost. I would sing this song (Two Headed Boy) aloud, screaming the lyrics, hoping that something in the universe would respond or recognize the tune. One time, another patient in the hospital recognized the lyrics, and he came up to me and sang, "Two headed boy... creating a radio play just for two..." Ughh! We cried together.... and he kissed me on the lips. (I'm a man, so I was shocked that another man kissed me, but I kissed him back and I loved him in that moment.) We. (Through the music that sweetly displays....) We two "crazy" people bonded over this particular song in a mental hospital and we sang this song.... Madness begets madness, eh? In a brief moment, we saw behind the veil. This song has a message that "crazy" people get. Do you get it? Do you belong with us? If you do, you're one of our kind.
Not necessarily Indie, but the most experimental music I've ever heard comes from the album Trout Mask Replica, by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. Bear in mind that it will make Two Headed Boy sound like the simple pop song it is at its core. Most people say that they find it difficult to listen to the first couple of times, I usually assume they mean the heavily discordant melodies. In most of the songs on the album all of the instruments are not only playing in different keys, but also they're often not even using the same time signature. So not only, do the notes and chords being played clash, but the rhythms are completely different. The first time I listened to it I didn't find that unpleasant, but it did create this sort of anti-hypnotic feeling where I couldn't really focus well on the music, and maybe that's what people have meant by "hard to listen to. If you want experimental, go with Beefheart, if you're just looking for things with a similar sound to Neutral Milk Hotel, AJJ and The Mountain Goats will probably be enjoyable. They lack the Noise qualities of NMH, and I've never really found anyone else who's lyrical style was comparable to Mangum, but they use non-traditional vocal styles, and simple chord progression that rely on extensive vamping. AJJ and The Mountain Goats both have a much more honest and innocent quality to their lyrical styles. They don't really experiment with thought structures like Mangum does, opting instead for finding concise ways of saying things that give their songs a deep sense of sincerity. Hope some of that rambling mess was helpful, good luck in your search for music. Oh and I think Julian Koster, from NMH, is in a couple other bands. Check out The Music Tapes.
Malnoch tbh TMR becomes more and more listenable every time you listen to it. For me, it clicked the first time. In my opinion Merzbow-Pulse Demon is the most experimental album ever
I haven't delved much into the realm of pure Noise, like Merzbow. I generally feel the same way about instrumental tracks, I have a strong preference for lyrical music. Sometimes I forget about pure instrumental stuff.
These two songs man... I swear they connect me to a past life. The world on the brink of destruction and hellfire, but our bodies on the brink of verdent spring. Meh.
And in my dreams you’re alive And you’re crying As your mouth moves in mine Soft and sweet Rings of flowers round your eyes And I’ll love you For the rest of your life when you’re ready
wow just had thot......emotional life pre and post this rekkid is so profoundly different that i do declare i can say say say that this this this collection of fabulouso songs made the difference in my life so much I draw a line between and after
If I wrote a book, a sprawling Anglian murder mystery for a listless, aging generation, I'd reference this classic. Heathlands by Patrick Norrie. Chapter "Your Heart." Where the needle sings, natch.
@@solartea_ Ah, good try anyway. Wish you the best of luck skateboarding! It is a great album that only improves with the number of times you listen to it. Stay safe!
um... I like it... but... dafuq is it about? from what I can tell, Siamese twincest? which makes me very uncomfortable? I'm not sure why I made that a question?
It was written about how the singer has fallen in love with Anne Frank and fantasizes about spending his life with/saving her but ultimately knowing it's impossible. The other songs of the album provide more context.
@Virtuvirus That all sounds possible and I can see that angel, but there are direct references to Anne Frank's life, from the content in her diary to her entire family's death. Who really knows anything more than how mystically and amazingly beautiful it all is, from music to lyric, just perfect. I don't ever remember listening to anything delivered with such vulnerability and conviction of something not fully understood by the writer. It seems to me like he's just interpreting the sad and powerful imagery in his mind on whatever subject he doesn't fully understand line by line. And that's the best i could do interpreting the powerful imagery and melodies that i don't fully understand of this album. I'm thankful for it, whatever it is. Seems like it means something different to me every other year I submerge myself into it.
People, wtf are you talking about. This song, the whole of it, is one metaphor after another about records and turntables. I know you’d prefer murky and depressing meanings behind it, but it’s all just about records, sleeves, record players, speakers, platters, cartridges, tonearms, needles, grooves, songs and albums with a start and an end. Just listen carefully and relate. If you want to feel sad, better look somewhere else
Two headed boy All floating in glass The sun it has passed Now it's blacker than black I can hear as you tap on your jar I am listening to hear where you are I am listening to hear where you are Two headed boy Put on Sunday shoes And dance round the room to accordion keys With the needle that sings in your heart Catching signals that sound in the dark Catching signals that sound in the dark We will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy With pulleys and weights Creating a radio played just for two In the parlor with a moon across her face And through the music he sweetly displays Silver speakers that sparkle all day Made for his lover who's floating and choking with her hands across her face And in the dark we will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy There is no reason to grieve The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow And I will take you and leave you alone Watching spirals of white softly flow Over your eyelids and all you did Will wait until the point when you let go Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet Blister please with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you For the rest of your life when you're ready Brother, see we are one in the same And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies When we break, we'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life Two-headed boy, she is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
Two headed boy All floating in glass The sun it has passed Now it's blacker than black I can hear as you tap on your jar I am listening to hear where you are I am listening to hear where you are Two headed boy Put on Sunday shoes And dance round the room to accordion keys With the needle that sings in your heart Catching signals that sound in the dark Catching signals that sound in the dark We will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy With pulleys and weights Creating a radio played just for two In the parlor with a moon across her face And through the music he sweetly displays Silver speakers that sparkle all day Made for his lover who's floating and choking with her hands across her face And in the dark we will take off our clothes And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine And when all is breaking Everything that you could keep beside Now your eyes ain't moving Now they just lay there in their climb Two headed boy There is no reason to grieve The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow And I will take you and leave you alone Watching spirals of white softly flow Over your eyelids and all you did Will wait until the point when you let go
