Neutral Milk Hotel - "Naomi" (video by Naomi)

Naomi Yang on “Naomi”

How do you direct a video for a song that was written about you?

The first member of Neutral Milk Hotel I met was saw player Julian Koster. Our bands were each playing the psychedelic Terrastock festival, and Julian approached me like a mischievous sprite, just as he appears onstage. “We want you to have our record,” he said. “The song ‘Naomi’ is about you.”

I was charmed by the album and by the band in all its raucous joy, but wasn’t sure about the namesake song. The lyrics seemed sweet but disquieting—a fan letter with a dark edge. Then, years later, in anticipation of a retrospective box set release, I made a music video for “Naomi” with the blessing of the band.

Neutral Milk Hotel had by then become enormously popular—and had probably received a fair amount of obsessive fan letters themselves. I thought about taking back ownership of a fan’s infatuation. I filmed myself lip syncing the song—inhabiting the very lyrics that had been written about me. I photographed personal objects that a fan of mine might recognize: my bass, a dress I had performed in, spiral earrings I had worn—actively creating my own iconography. And, as a subtle reply to the original “fan letter,” I included an object that references Jeff Mangum’s own fan idolatry: a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Now it has been 26 years since I was handed that first LP, and 11 years since I made the “Naomi” video. I have come to know all the band members as especially lovely people, and I am no longer at all unsettled by the song “Naomi.” I am truly honored that it was written.

—Naomi Yang
January 2023