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The amazing thing isn't that Madeline Ava recorded a song or two by the influential indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel.

It's that she did it on a ukulele. And that she covered the band's seminal album, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," in its entirety. And that she's only 17 and a student at West High School in Knoxville.

Her efforts, in fact, have gained her a sort of quasi-celebrity status on the Internet, leading to a following here in East Tennessee and a tour that's about to kick off and take her across the country.

"'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' is extremely prevalent in my circle of friends," Ava told The Daily Times this week. "Everyone I know seems to be really influenced by it. There are nights when we don't know what to do, so someone will probably put it on. A lot of my friends try to play it and are really influenced by it."

Ava's association with the album can be traced back to Christmases past, when she received a guitar one year and a ukulele the other. She never really gave playing either one much thought; didn't really even think she could do it.

"I didn't think I had the ability to play an instrument, and I didn't want to play guitar simply for the fact that every kid in the world can do it and there's not much new to do with it," she said. "So I started playing the ukulele."

To her surprise ("I can hardly believe it myself," she added), it came relatively easy. For a while, she kept it as a secret before approaching her parents and showing off her newfound skills. Needless to say, they were surprised but also incredibly supportive. When Ava booked her first show at The Pilot Light, the indie club in Knoxville's Old City, they were in attendance.

Ironically, many of Ava's friends were not.

"It's a pretty bizarre thing that friends my age aren't even allowed to come see me play there because they're too young," she said. "But it was still a pretty exciting experience."

Although she was familiar with "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," it never grabbed her full attention until she heard friends attempting to replicate the songs from it. At that point, it's importance as an influential body of music, as well as a complex, ethereal and well-written collection of songs.

"I realized it was important, and seeing people cover it for themselves and perform it in different ways makes different aspects of it come out more to me," she said. "Covering the entire album was something I never even intended to do. I was just sitting in my room one day and thought, I bet I could play every single one of these songs. So I decided I would try it and recorded it."

In her hands, the fragility of writer Jeff Mangum's lyrics become almost weightless, Ava's girlish voice and gentle strumming giving the songs a buoyancy that's almost angelic. Her original songs are cut from similar cloth -- filled with wonder and innocence and wide-eyed optimism that make her seem like Ally Sheedy's character from "The Breakfast Club," minus the angst and bitterness.

"A lot of my songs are about really simple things; things people might even think of as trivial or not important at all," she said. "I just want people to realize that seemingly mundane things like bikes and animals can be really important parts of someone's life and that music doesn't have to be completely serious all the time."

With any luck, her original music will gain her the same sort of acclaim that her Neutral Milk Hotel album -- titled "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Except Not Really)" -- has.

"I notice it every day, and I'm still completely taken aback by it," she said. "Just the other day, I was listening to some radio show ("5...4...3...2...Fun!," found online at www.kcsb.org) and one of my songs started playing. I knew I'd been on other shows like that, but it's hard to understand how people are drawn to it. Of course, I don't sit around listening to myself, so it's hard to put it in perspective."

Thanks to an online community of artists called The Collective, Ava has found herself in supportive company. She's preparing to embark on a summer tour that will take her from Florida to Chicago, an adventure for a 17-year-old girl. Her parents, she added, are behind her 100 percent.

"I'm very lucky to have parents who understand that I'm a responsible person and that it's a very important and exciting opportunity for me," she said. "I think any worries they might have about it are completely overwhelmed by the opportunity I'm getting. I mean, how many people my age get to travel the nation and do something exciting like this?"