Neutral Milk Hotel performing Oh Comely at the Knitting Factory in NYC, 1998. This is not my video, I'm uploading it because the old one has been removed from youtube for some reason.
+Zach Mettler Personally, the first time I listed to this was while on magic mushrooms. While it was an incredible experience in itself, the album improved it 10 fold. Even now the album gives me chills just listening to it. What a masterpiece
Definitely. ..my wife passed away on the 27th and I can't even listen to it right now. Not that it has anything to do with it- just the association. Take care..
I had the honor of seeing Jeff Mangum do an acoustic set five feet from me in Lexington, KY last month. I cried throughout the entire show. He even signed my vinyl of ITAOTS. I'm still not sure what else I'm supposed to do with my life.
NMH were not the first on using a saw as an instrument, and that's how they sound, based on some TH-cam research. But yeah, they made such a beautiful music.
@@stevegoodson9022 he plays bass on other songs during the set, hes actually fairly commonly associated with the singing saw because of his affinity for it. he did a whole album of christmas songs performed on it.
@@stevegoodson9022 there's a few differences between a singing saw and a plain old sawing saw, mainly being no less than 30 inches and being thinner. But it definitely can still be used as a woodworking tool lol
imagine having a set of lungs like that. they've always been haunting
8 ปีที่แล้ว +342
After all these years of listening to Jeff, I never considered looking up what he looked like, I just enjoyed the music so deeply...Jeff was cute though.
Very few bands have been able to keep me fully invested in an 8 minute long song, and NMH is certainly one of them. This is arguably their masterpiece.
how cool would it have been to see them when this album initially came out. Saw them in toronto this year and it was everything i hoped for but still, can time machines exist already? ♥
I saw NMH play two shows at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in 1998. Jeff opened the first show with this song, and everyone in the place stopped dead and watched in silence the whole time--even the bartenders. Everyone knew real magic when they heard it :)
@@juangalobiset925 When a person goes from playing music as a hobby to expecting the public to pay for their work, I expect a certain level of basic competence. I have found out that not everyone does. NMH fans seem to find musical ineptitude charming, earnest, authentic, and "emotional."
@@briancrawford8751 >can't sing some people might not like his voice-but to try to argue that he can't sing? like, he fails to get his pitch right, or he doesn't have decent enough lung capacity for his work, or he's off-rhythm? you'd be wrong on each of those fronts if you tried to make that argument >can't perform he can perform just fine-especially solo. this is hardly even debatable; i have no idea what you're even referring to here. i've heard more live errors from bands that are scarcely remembered for their errors. the one who seems to perform with the most issues during NMH concerts (or at least is the most noticeable) is scott, who plays horns; i'll certainly agree and say that it'd be great if he never fouled a single note (but that the probable reason as to why he's in the band in the first place are because his contributions to the band's horn arrangements are numerous and of very high quality) >or write decent lyrics flat-out, anytime someone tells me jeff isn't a good lyricist i'm just bewildered i _can't even imagine_ what it would be like to be someone who can listen to the first verse of two headed boy pt. 2 and not feel _anything at all,_ let alone to think _absolutely nothing of it_ GENUINELY curious as to what you consider a song with "good lyrics" to be, because they must just be out of this fucking dimension, man
it works especially due to the mode mixture between E major and C major. The C chord lives in a key that shares many notes with E minor. That's part of how it sounds so natural.
you're a cool dad. if i showed this to my dad he wouldn't understand it at all. he listens to the same songs by the same bands over and over again; as someone who loves music, it drives me nuts!
Wow. Just wow. I loved nmh since I was 14. Now I'm 30.. never knew there was live shit on youtube.. can't wait to show my buddy this.. he got me hooked on nmh
Everything about NMH is amazing and awesome, but I'd like to point out one thing in specific in this comment: how the meaning of the lyrics changes from person to person. and by that I mean even the person I was a month ago and the person I am today perceives these lyrics differently. Today, what got into my heart was the stanza that starts with "I know they buried her body with others (...)". That was the part that struck out as the core from which all the rest should be derived, so the feelings evoked by the song today were very different from the last time I listened to it.
A man once came up to me after an open mic that I played Oh Comely at, in my drooling, incoherent way I made it through the entire song. He really liked the end, the " Godaline my dear, we will fold and freeze together, far away from here, there is sun and spring and green forever, but now me move to feel for ourselves inside some strangers stomach place your body here, let your skin begin to blend itself with me" partially so beautiful because of the words, but also the only way that the emotion behind it comes out is if you just sang the other 7 minutes
so weird to think this was 14 years ago. he looked exactly the same when i saw him live in march and the music is just as incomparable to anything today as it was when it came out
Just wanted to say hello to all my friends. I have more in common with the strangers in this comment section than anyone else I know, as no one I know gets this song or album or music but it seems everyone here does. May god bless you all, each and everyone.
my best friend in the whole world hates me, i can't listen to this song without thinking about her. sometimes crystal clear memories are a burden, especially when atteched to this piece of art
Oh comely I will be with you when you lose your breath Chasing the only Meaningful memory you thought you had left With some pretty bright and bubbly Terrible scene that was doing her thing on your chest But oh comely It isn't as pretty as you'd like to guess In your memory you're Drunk on your awe to me It doesn't mean anything at all Oh comely All of your friends are all letting you blow Bristling and ugly Bursting with fruits falling out from the holes Of some pretty bright and bubbly Friend you could need to say comforting things in your ear But oh comely There isn't such one friend that you could find Here standing next to me only my enemy I'll crush him with everything i own Say what you want to say hang for your hollow ways Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me Your father made fetuses with flesh licking ladies While you and your mother were asleep in the trailer park Thunderous sparks from the dark of the stadiums The music and medicine you needed for comforting So make all your fat fleshy fingers to moving And pluck all your silly strings and bend all your notes for me Soft silly music is meaningful magical The movements were beautiful all in your ovaries All of them milking with green fleshy flowers While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines Smelling of semen all under the garden was all you were needing When you still believed in me Say what you want to say and hang for your hollow ways Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me I know they buried her body with others Her sister and mother and 500 families And will she remember me 50 years later I wished i could save her in some sort of time machine Know all your enemies We know who our enemies are Know all your enemies We know who our enemies are Goldaline my dear We will fold and freeze together Far away from here There is sun and spring and green forever But now we move to feel For ourselves inside some strangers stomach Place your body here Let your skin begin to blend itself with mine
the lyrics really translates the discust and detatchent you have with some of the people around you when you go through changes and Anne Frank as well lol
There was somethign so beautiful about that period just before smart phones took over our lives and our psyches. you can see the space, mental and emotional, in their eyes. so much more mystery.
Jeff sings with so much presence and authenticity.. very genuine emotions are conveyed without a shred of self indulgence. I will never not be impressed.
i wish i could see them in
some sort of time machine
Ethan Nick time machine you say?
Use mangums
The_Longest_Wave lmao true
Save her
Will they remember me? 20 years later
Every time this song ends I get the uncontrollable urge to say HOLY SHIT.
Prebuiltpancake once you hear it you can’t unhear it 😂😂
i still think the "holy shit" was a horrified engineer with a Motorhead shirt on frightened by the madman in his studio ;)
Yeah, I missed hearing it, thought I maybe heard someone in the audience shout it, but probably just my imagination filling it in
@@DaveAnchovies Thanks, another weird image in my head when I listen to ITAOTS, along with the jizz-stained mountains
me too 😭
This entire album is some kind of sorcery. Like nothing I ever heard before. Amazing.
patrick kinnear timeless
Well said. It gives me chills
Seeing them live this year was one of those special experiences you only get a few of in this life...
+Zach Mettler Personally, the first time I listed to this was while on magic mushrooms. While it was an incredible experience in itself, the album improved it 10 fold. Even now the album gives me chills just listening to it. What a masterpiece
Definitely. ..my wife passed away on the 27th and I can't even listen to it right now. Not that it has anything to do with it- just the association. Take care..
MindFreaksLetsPlays
I had the honor of seeing Jeff Mangum do an acoustic set five feet from me in Lexington, KY last month. I cried throughout the entire show. He even signed my vinyl of ITAOTS.
I'm still not sure what else I'm supposed to do with my life.
Where are you now sir? Did you do something with your life? It has been 8 years from your comment and I'm interested. Happy 2021! ;)
Have you stopped crying yet?
i have had the same feeling since I saw NMH at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin...what now? can die and be happy lol
You'll figure it out my friend ✊
We can says you are a luckyly man
This band is magical. I mean, a hand saw that sounds like ghosts crying....come on. How much more magical can it get.
sad saw ;(
NMH were not the first on using a saw as an instrument, and that's how they sound, based on some TH-cam research. But yeah, they made such a beautiful music.
The guy playing it looked a bit pised off to be the only one playing a carpentry tool instead of a ''real' instrument, did an awesome job though.
@@stevegoodson9022 he plays bass on other songs during the set, hes actually fairly commonly associated with the singing saw because of his affinity for it. he did a whole album of christmas songs performed on it.
@@stevegoodson9022 there's a few differences between a singing saw and a plain old sawing saw, mainly being no less than 30 inches and being thinner. But it definitely can still be used as a woodworking tool lol
No Country For Old Men haircut lol
lmao ! lol
+George W Kush whats the most you ever lost on a 2 headed coin toss, boy?
+George W Kush greatest username ever
Yes! haha
How can you people not know Dee Dee Ramone?
Singing along to this song alone in your car is a damn near orgasmic experience. I honestly think this is my favorite song in existence.
Sex is vastly overrated when compared to music.
@@kkoyaanisqatisfy1432 how bout both at the same time yo
imagine having a set of lungs like that. they've always been haunting
After all these years of listening to Jeff, I never considered looking up what he looked like, I just enjoyed the music so deeply...Jeff was cute though.
you're cute too
i would be if i cared about what youre saying
you know what's up
I am sad that I missed this when it came out. I didn't discover it until almost 20 years later.
IRosencrantz nobody knew about this when it came out my good man, only gained traction a decade later
Julian is the best saw player I ever saw.
I love this song so fucking much I can't even stand it.
+Ellie Joy Me tooo! :)
Ellie Joy it breaks my heart in such an exquisite way... perfect.
Neutral Milk Hotel is seriously my favorite band of all time but I will never get to see them live because I WAS TOO LATE GODDAMMIT
Hold out hope, they're unpredictable
I would do terrible things for a chance to see them live.
I didn’t find out about them until this year, So I really feel this comment
am i a little late?
Very few bands have been able to keep me fully invested in an 8 minute long song, and NMH is certainly one of them. This is arguably their masterpiece.
No need to argue. It is.
bands that are more than great and then walk away...
well done, boys.
thank you for all of it.
because bears aren't dragons Well don't hate them when they get up to leave
like Slint.
1998 wasn't the year of autofocus.
and more
this song got me through the worst time of my life
The entirety of ITAOTS was really helpful during a particularly crappy time in my life.
Abigail Swanson same! It help me through many things
Jami Wagner helping me now
i tripped DMT to this song
@@chasecanady9019 Shame on your for not sharing with the rest of the class!
Saw guy is the star of the show here
No
julian koster****
Eric Foreman zoom in YEAH
julian koster.
The saw player must've been pissed when he saw that the mic wasn't on
ZOZO-PROductions nobody dare disrespect mr Julian chocolate
his name is julian koster do not disrespect him like that
He just wants to play his damn saw.
The lyrics in this song are just...indescribable. The whole album itself. You can't put it into words.
how cool would it have been to see them when this album initially came out. Saw them in toronto this year and it was everything i hoped for but still, can time machines exist already? ♥
couldn't agree more.
+Christian Armstrong who are we actually talking about?
+Anthony Blank anne frank my dude
well unfortunately most people are doomed to be trend followers and will never find stuff before its "cool" lol
I saw NMH play two shows at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in 1998. Jeff opened the first show with this song, and everyone in the place stopped dead and watched in silence the whole time--even the bartenders. Everyone knew real magic when they heard it :)
So perfectly written and performed. Jeff is a near perfect musician in my opinion.
near perfect, yes perfection ACQUIRED!! lmao im laughing at you you stupid fuck
@@juangalobiset925 I can't tell if these people are serious or not. Jeff Mangum can't sing, play, or write decent lyrics.
@@briancrawford8751 ehh. I like his singing and writing. I just find it stupid to think about "perfection".
@@juangalobiset925 When a person goes from playing music as a hobby to expecting the public to pay for their work, I expect a certain level of basic competence. I have found out that not everyone does. NMH fans seem to find musical ineptitude charming, earnest, authentic, and "emotional."
@@briancrawford8751
>can't sing
some people might not like his voice-but to try to argue that he can't sing? like, he fails to get his pitch right, or he doesn't have decent enough lung capacity for his work, or he's off-rhythm? you'd be wrong on each of those fronts if you tried to make that argument
>can't perform
he can perform just fine-especially solo. this is hardly even debatable; i have no idea what you're even referring to here. i've heard more live errors from bands that are scarcely remembered for their errors.
the one who seems to perform with the most issues during NMH concerts (or at least is the most noticeable) is scott, who plays horns; i'll certainly agree and say that it'd be great if he never fouled a single note (but that the probable reason as to why he's in the band in the first place are because his contributions to the band's horn arrangements are numerous and of very high quality)
>or write decent lyrics
flat-out, anytime someone tells me jeff isn't a good lyricist i'm just bewildered
i _can't even imagine_ what it would be like to be someone who can listen to the first verse of two headed boy pt. 2 and not feel _anything at all,_ let alone to think _absolutely nothing of it_
GENUINELY curious as to what you consider a song with "good lyrics" to be, because they must just be out of this fucking dimension, man
Singing in E minor over a E major chord, always so magnetic
Can you explain what that means? The root note of his vocals is e minor?
how can you sing a chord? u mean Eb?
He sings the note G alot which is the minor third of E.
@@bandaralmohsen3339 hes singing that scale not that chord
it works especially due to the mode mixture between E major and C major. The C chord lives in a key that shares many notes with E minor. That's part of how it sounds so natural.
Came here because it's sunday and there is nothing more powerfuly breaking than this fucking song. Chills and tears always.
I saw him on Thursday night and don't think I stopped crying once. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I am forever changed.
This song always gives me the feels.
Trav Mamone this album*
+Gui Esteves tru
MY DIDN'T THEY HAVE THE SAW DUDES MIC READY TO GO! Pissing me off!
My son recently introduced me to this band. This album is a damn masterpiece! I’m still shocked I had never heard of him/them.
your son has a amazing taste in music
you're a cool dad. if i showed this to my dad he wouldn't understand it at all. he listens to the same songs by the same bands over and over again; as someone who loves music, it drives me nuts!
I can't stop looking into Jeff's eyes. Great performance.
Wow. Just wow. I loved nmh since I was 14. Now I'm 30.. never knew there was live shit on youtube.. can't wait to show my buddy this.. he got me hooked on nmh
I discovered them at 13 and now 16 they are such a great band:) you got good taste
the songwriting, the instruments the melodies. it’s all wildly impressive and this live performance is so scary but I love it because of that
I for some reason just read your comment to the tune of this song…
It also somehow worked.
@@bluedelerium hahaha i guess it does kind of work with the song
I just discovered this band. Just goes to show, there’s still pleasant surprises around every corner in life.
Holy SHIT!
Their masterpiece. The last 1 minute with that funeral cry sounding off from the 2nd trumpet always gives me goosebumps.
"Pluck all your silly strings,
And bend all your notes for me."
Damn. 🤘
damn i can't stop replaying this
+raisin bread Same here :)
My husband just walked in and asked if he needed to remove any sharp objects from the room.
Something about this seems so haunting and beautiful that I just can't explain it.
Everything about NMH is amazing and awesome, but I'd like to point out one thing in specific in this comment: how the meaning of the lyrics changes from person to person. and by that I mean even the person I was a month ago and the person I am today perceives these lyrics differently. Today, what got into my heart was the stanza that starts with "I know they buried her body with others (...)". That was the part that struck out as the core from which all the rest should be derived, so the feelings evoked by the song today were very different from the last time I listened to it.
A man once came up to me after an open mic that I played Oh Comely at, in my drooling, incoherent way I made it through the entire song. He really liked the end, the " Godaline my dear, we will fold and freeze together, far away from here, there is sun and spring and green forever, but now me move to feel for ourselves inside some strangers stomach place your body here, let your skin begin to blend itself with me" partially so beautiful because of the words, but also the only way that the emotion behind it comes out is if you just sang the other 7 minutes
Its about anne frank
Get chills every time I think I'll actually see them live this summer in Croatia. Dream come true
so weird to think this was 14 years ago. he looked exactly the same when i saw him live in march and the music is just as incomparable to anything today as it was when it came out
24 years ago now. I was 2 when that was recorded
i wept when i saw this live. truly magical
Julian's face just made my day. Love this whole show, one of their best performances all around.
Wow this is such an on point performance. Jeff keep being your beautiful self. Your music is beyond.
saw them live once. no phones or recording allowed. glad I was able to experience it
I grew up with Jeff in Ruston, Louisiana. I love seeing his success!!
wow! thats awesome !!
julian is so
cute
This guy should be in the Rock Hall of Fame if he’s not already!!!
His music is extremely mid
tfw my saw is out of tune
the thing wasn't even plugged in!
This is one of the most perfect songs ever. Amazing! Thanks for sharing.
band from outer space...gotta love them.
august it is!
This version made me realise, that the white stripes shouldve done a cover of one of neutral milk hotel's songs.
Not this one obviously. I'd nominate Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone
Saw man was the purest definition of tragic comedy. I can't breathe.
The only 8 minute song I've listen to again and again.
just saw them in concert tonight and man it was terrific. Jeff looks so different with a beard
Jeff gets emotional and obsessive when he thinks about Anne Frank... i feel the same way about Jeff. 😢
Just wanted to say hello to all my friends. I have more in common with the strangers in this comment section than anyone else I know, as no one I know gets this song or album or music but it seems everyone here does. May god bless you all, each and everyone.
This is the best song ever made.
No
@@Yuriding In my opinion.
i love how jeff stopped playing guitar just so the singing saw could be heard
saw them on wednesday. it was beyond magical
Such a haunting song and video.
Jeff Mangum reminds me so much of Trevor Moore in this, looks wise and sound wise when he hits those really high drawn out notes.
Doom84 Thank you I didn’t realize that I have subconsciously been thinking this for so long
rip trevor ❤️
i tried to think of something clever to say about how great this is but holy shit this is just amazing. End.
3:08 to 3:11 is so sad ...watch his face.. the saw dude :P
Wot
I think I prefer this to the studio version. So good!
I doubt I'm going to "heaven', but I wish the power of this song stays with me beyond today.
Wow, this song has so much emotion when played live. So good
my best friend in the whole world hates me, i can't listen to this song without thinking about her. sometimes crystal clear memories are a burden, especially when atteched to this piece of art
Matthew Patterson :(
Im sorry :(
this is one of the most important videos in history
Goosebumps before he even starts singing
ARE YOU RECORDING ME?
th-cam.com/video/BYKJ05MD-QQ/w-d-xo.html
if time travelers exist, they probably stop for rest and drink at a neutral milk hotel show
Oh comely
I will be with you when you lose your breath
Chasing the only
Meaningful memory you thought you had left
With some pretty bright and bubbly
Terrible scene that was doing her thing on your chest
But oh comely
It isn't as pretty as you'd like to guess
In your memory you're
Drunk on your awe to me
It doesn't mean anything at all
Oh comely
All of your friends are all letting you blow
Bristling and ugly
Bursting with fruits falling out from the holes
Of some pretty bright and bubbly
Friend you could need to say comforting things in your ear
But oh comely
There isn't such one friend that you could find
Here standing next to me only my enemy
I'll crush him with everything i own
Say what you want to say hang for your hollow ways
Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me
Your father made fetuses with flesh licking ladies
While you and your mother were asleep in the trailer park
Thunderous sparks from the dark of the stadiums
The music and medicine you needed for comforting
So make all your fat fleshy fingers to moving
And pluck all your silly strings and bend all your notes for me
Soft silly music is meaningful magical
The movements were beautiful all in your ovaries
All of them milking with green fleshy flowers
While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines
Smelling of semen all under the garden was all you were needing
When you still believed in me
Say what you want to say and hang for your hollow ways
Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me
I know they buried her body with others
Her sister and mother and 500 families
And will she remember me 50 years later
I wished i could save her in some sort of time machine
Know all your enemies
We know who our enemies are
Know all your enemies
We know who our enemies are
Goldaline my dear
We will fold and freeze together
Far away from here
There is sun and spring and green forever
But now we move to feel
For ourselves inside some strangers stomach
Place your body here
Let your skin begin to blend itself with mine
the lyrics really translates the discust and detatchent you have with some of the people around you when you go through changes and Anne Frank as well lol
They're so young
you can clearly see that he doesn't like being recorded in this.
Kellen Murphy ARE YOU RECORDING MEEEEEEEEEEE
yeah but only because he doesn't know why he's being recorded. for the recorders personal use? there wasn't a video-posting internet platform in 98'
Great tune off an amazing and timeless album. Haunting doesn't begin to describe it. One of the greatest albums of all time.
Hello from 2024. This is a treasure that needs to be preserved.
There was somethign so beautiful about that period just before smart phones took over our lives and our psyches. you can see the space, mental and emotional, in their eyes. so much more mystery.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate that they're using a saw as an instrument
Joey Taylor my doppelgänger
holy SHITalso, at 5:50 Julian is *feeling* it
Pure Art.
Welcome back on the stage.
Jeff looks like he was pissed at the camera man for recording lol
jeff hates being recorded
TitusArdronicus i can tell
Jeff Mangum’s voice is so magical to me, and this song is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.
Thank you so much! I love this live performance and was annoyed when it got removed >.
this just may be the greatest song ever made
THE FUCKING LOOK IN HIS EYES AT THE BEGINNING
Jeff sings with so much presence and authenticity.. very genuine emotions are conveyed without a shred of self indulgence. I will never not be impressed.
whoever filmed this was sooo fascinated with julian and thats so real
Julian Koster. What a stud.
Never get tired of them. Love.
Jeff's voice is so haunting wow
Listening to this one bc it’s the only one with comments turned on
god bless this footage
Best live performance ever
shivers
saw this live a week ago...to die for
I love him so much
Been needing a Ned Flanders version of this song for a while now.
gives me goosebumps every time...