NMH Definitive Discography pt. 1:
Neutral Milk Hotel releases

Invent Yourself a Shortcake
 1. Digestion Machine - 6:12
 2. Calypso Part One - 3:28
 3. My Dreamgirl Don't Exist - 2:10
 4. Calypso Part Two - 1:31
 5. Chocolate Coffin - 3:41
 6. Sinking Ship - 4:45
 7. Random Noise - 1:54
 8. Jaw Harp 1:42
 9. A&E Melody - 2:13
10. Prank Call - 4:01
11. More Noise - 1:15
12. Synthetic Flying Machine - 2:16
13. Charlotte - 4:14
14. Love You On A Tuesday - 1:37
15. Spooky Sounds - 2:01
16. Preacherman - 3:47

Release Date: 1991
Label: self-released by Jeff for himself and his friends
Format: cassette
Availability: out of print (estimated value unknown. I've never seen an original copy of this for sale.)
Comments: This tape actually predates Elephant 6 (the recording company started by Jeff Mangum and his friends), and it's debatable whether to consider it an actual "album" or just a collection of recordings Jeff put together. It should also be noted that many of the "known" song titles may have in fact been concocted by fans, and not the actual titles given by Jeff. As for the content, the guy at the knerd NMH fansite said it best: "some interesting ditties and some appalling noise. this is the embryonic NMH and it's not pretty." Much of this demo is made up of odd dialog and grating sound collages. Even the great song Jeff had called "My Dreamgirl Don't Exist" is manipulated/sabotaged horribly, nowhere near as brilliant as the bootleg live version that's out there. One track, "A&E Melody" (AKA "You Can Deny all Your Addictions"), is a rough-as-can-be late-night demo Jeff made so that he wouldn't forget a new song idea he had just come up with. There are a few bright spots that hint at what the band would eventually develop into, however, such as "Sinking Ship" and a rollicking early version of "King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 3" (here titled "Synthetic Flying Machine").

Beauty
 1. Engine - 4:22
 2. Circle of Friends - 3:28
 3. Wishful Eyes - 6:00
 4. Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone - 5:47
 5. Sailing Through - 4:36
 6. Bucket - 3:10
 7. Noisy Racket - 3:55
 8. Conversation with Robert Schneider - 6:15
 9. Someone Is Waiting - 1:45
10. Hypnotic Sounds - 6:13

Release Date: 1992
Label: self-released by Jeff for himself and his friends
Format: cassette
Availability: out of print (estimated value unknown. I've never seen an original copy of this for sale.)
Comments: As with Invent Yourself a Shortcake, this tape predates Elephant 6, and it's debatable whether to consider it an actual "album" or just a collection of recordings Jeff put together. The first five tracks are solo acoustic with Jeff talking a little bit before and after each song, as if he's playing an acoustic show in front of people (though there appears to be only one other guy in the room). "Gardenhead" is much slower than the familiar, released version. The second half of the tape features two electric songs and three non-songs: "Noisy Racket" (an aptly named metal freak out), "Conversation with Robert Schneider" (which is not a song, but just what the title implies.. though it's actually a conversation between Jeff and Will Hart), and the sound collage track "Hypnotic Sounds" (which is the same recording as "Aunt Eggma Blowtorch" on the Everything Is single.. only here it has an extra minute-long jam at the beginning of it.)
It seems every circulating version of this tape is a bit poppy in the left channel.. sounding as if it were transferred from vinyl or something.. but it's just the one speaker that has it; the other's fine. I'm not sure if the original tapes were made that way, or if it's just a defect with the particular copy that made its way online.

Hype City Soundtrack
 1. Up And Over We Go - 2:34
 2. Wood Guitar - 2:36
 3. Tuesday Moon - 4:01
 4. April 1st - 1:42
 5. Tea-Time/Bomb Drop - 2:00
 6. Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone - 3:32
 7. Biscuit - 2:47
 8. Los Angelos Car Song - 0:57
 9. Piggy - 4:47
10. Engine - 3:37

Release Date: 1993
Label: Elephant 6 (self-released by Jeff for himself and his friends)
Format: cassette
Availability: out of print (estimated eBay value $130)
Comments: Many fans consider this to be the best of the three cassette releases, and in fact it's the only one definitely intended to be considered an actual "album" as opposed to some random demos thrown together. This tape is a more earnest effort than the previous two offerings, and consists mostly of real songs, with possible exceptions being "Tea Time" (a brief, 7 second song fragment), "Los Angelos Car Song" (a bunch of annoying silliness), and a few more between-song fragments. "Tuesday Moon" is the same version that later appeared on the Everything Is CD reissue, though here it includes an extended ending bit.

The tape was released on the Elephant 6 label, and was distributed by Parasol Mail Order for a short time in 1993. Someone going by the name Fortunate Hazel bought a copy back then, and before recently putting it on eBay, was kind enough to send me scans for this discography: cassette (notice it's labeled as Hype City Soundtracks), insert (large file! Insert is 8.5" x 11" unfolded), lyric sheet.
Apparently, there are at least 2 versions of this tape, or rather its presentation, with the art and song titles being different (but same music.. though on some copies, the last track cuts off too soon). The above track titles are from the tracklisting found on the copies from Parasol. However, most mp3s in circulation feature different names for a few songs, usually as follows:
 1. Synthetic Flying Machine - 2:34
 2. Wood Guitar - 2:36
 3. Tuesday Moon - 4:01
 4. Swallowed - 1:42
 5. Tea Time - 0:07
 6. Rubby Bulbs - 1:53
 7. Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone - 3:32
 8. Biscuit - 2:47
 9. Los Angeles - 0:57
10. Piggy - 4:47
11. Engine - 3:37
Note that "Tea Time" and "Rubby Bulbs" are separate tracks, not joined together. "Synthetic Flying Machine" is the same song as "Up And Over We Go." "Swallowed" is the same song as "April 1st" (which is not to be confused with the totally different song with the similar name on On Avery Island). "Rubby Bulbs" is the same song as "Bomb Drop." "Los Angeles" is the same song as "Los Angelos Car Song."

Everything Is
(Cher Doll release)
A. Everything Is - 3:41
B. Snow Song Pt. One - 3:50

Release Date: 1994
Label: Cher Doll
Format: vinyl 7" (cat# 002)
Availability: out of print (but reissued, see below) (estimated eBay value: $46)
Comments: Jeff wrote the following text for the single: "hello and thank you for listening to my record. it's my first go at this 'legitimate' release stuff and i'm very happy to finally be on vinyl after five years of recording. nancy says she's gonna get some folks to distribute this single, so i have no idea where you are or how it has now come into your possesion. feel free to write to me cause i'd be glad to hear from you, so send all correspondence care of Cher Doll. 'everything is' was recorded two years ago in Amy Poole's bedroom. it was the first day of spring in Georgia and Amy had just whipped up a sweet batch of cornbread. it was nice to eat free food since i'd been unemployed for so long. 'snow song pt 1' was recorded in my second story bedroom above a nice patch of snow. (hence the title, of course) if you'd like to hear my friends' music, you can write to them at elephant 6 p.o. box 9935 Denver CO 80209 take care and thanks again"
Limited Edition Version: There is also a special version of this release that includes a special color xerox sleeve by Jeff Mangum, as well as a pennant and other cool inserts (Jeff's above text is taken from the inlay). Here are a few pictures kindly contributed to the site by henrikhhh: record and sleeve back, inlay front, inlay back, inserts. There were only 50 copies of this pressing. Presumably, each of the 50 records came with a different pennant. (#26 came with a Kansas City pennant, and #5 with a Memphis pennant.)
Oh, and here's something Jeff later said in an interview about the single: "The single was a Godsend because I was pretty much at the end of my rope with just about everything in my life at that point. I'd moved away from my home and all my friends for the first time and I was very much alone and sad. I ended up sending a tape to Nancy at Cher Doll Records and she saved me merely by saying she wanted to do a single. I just sent her a tape of what I had around at the time, some songs I'd recorded on a four-track, and she chose 'Everything Is' and 'Snow Song Pt. 1.'"
 

Everything Is
(Fire release)
1. Everything Is - 3:41
2. Snow Song, Pt. 1 - 3:50
3. Aunt Eggma Blowtorch - 4:59

Release Date: 1995
Label: Fire
Format: CD (cat# Blaze79CD) and vinyl 7" (cat# Blaze79A)
Availability: out of print (but reissued, see below)
Comments: UK CD released by Fire Records. Quickly went out of print. Fire also put out a vinyl 7" of "Everything Is" b/w "Snow Song, Pt. 1".. basically a reissue of the above Cher Doll single, but with a new art. Pictures: front, back, side A, side B (Thanks to Chris Gilbert for the scans)
The CD release adds a song not on the previous pressings, the sound collage "Aunt Eggma Blowtorch" (previously found on the Beauty demo tape under the title "Hypnotic Sounds"). This track was recorded in Jeff's bedroom in Louisiana when he was 17 years old. Some of the sounds featured are his sister playing piano, his mother hearing sounds from space, the baby brother of Will Cullen Hart talking, a blender, and the music of Ornette Coleman.
 

Everything Is
(Orange Twin release)
1. Everything Is - 3:41
2. Snow Song, Pt. 1 - 3:50
3. Aunt Eggma Blowtorch - 4:59
4. Tuesday Moon - 2:20

Release Date: September 18, 2001
Label: Orange Twin
Format: CD (cat# OTR005)
Availability: in print (Orange Twin, Amazon)
Comments: Adds a song not on the previous pressing, "Tuesday Moon" (which is the same version from the Hype City demo, though it has been edited of the extended ending section).
 

On Avery Island
 1. Song Against Sex - 3:40
 2. You've Passed - 2:53
 3. Someone Is Waiting - 2:31
 4. A Baby for Pree - 1:21
 5. Marching Theme - 2:58
 6. Where You'll Find Me Now - 4:04
 7. Avery Island/April 1st - 1:48
 8. Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone - 3:13
 9. Three Peaches - 4:01
10. Naomi - 4:53
11. April 8th - 2:47
12. Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's Eye - 13:49

Release Date: March 26, 1996
Label: Merge
Format: CD (cat# 53) and LP (cat# 103)
Availability: in print (Merge, Amazon) [vinyl also available from Merge]
Comments: The band's debut LP. Since shadowed by comparisons to Aeroplane, but an excellent album in its own right.
The final track on the vinyl versions is edited down to 3:28, skipping a large section of the middle and going straight to the drone fade-out.
Credits: Recorded at Elephant 6 and Dane and Marisa's house Feb-May 1995, except "Marching Theme" which occured in June of 1994. Produced by Robert Schnieder on 4-track. All songs written by Jeff Mangum, except "Avery Island" (Mangum/Schneider) and "Pree Sisters..." (Mangum/all players). All songs © 1994, 1995 The Egg As A Whole Music. Cover design J. Mangum and Lisa Janssen.
Jeff Mangum - Guitar, Drums, Voices, Bells, Xylophone, Air Organ, Casio, Tapes
Robert Schneider - Air Organs, Home Organs, Fuzz Bass, Xylophone, Horn Arrangements
Lisa Janssen - Fuzz Bass on "You've Passed" and "Gardenhead"
Rick Benjamin - Trombone on "Avery Island", "Song Against Sex", and "Gardenhead"
Marisa Bissinger, Hilarie Sidney, Dane Terry, Lisa Janssen, Aaron Reedy, and Jeff Mangum - various Indonesian instruments on "Pree Sisters"
 

Jeff: The album was recorded in Denver with Robert Schneider from The Apples In Stereo. Robert's a friend I met in second grade, we must have been about eight years old at the time. It was January in Denver, freezing cold and snowing all over. I moved into a friend's house and was living in a closet and it was cold, not only because of the weather but because it was a haunted house. The closet I was living in was haunted. The person that lived in the house kept having dreams of people having cocktail parties in my closet, there would always be these really beautiful women in really tacky fur coats drinking champagne and telling my friend that we should get the fuck out of their party because we were really pissing them off... So I lived in my closet and listened to a lot of John Coltrane and waited about a month to start recording. Robert and I would get stuck on something when we were recording and walk around and grab our heads and get really frustrated, go outside and have a cigarette and go to the store, and then we'd suddenly hit on something and we'd jump up and down and hug each other. The whole album just blurs in a beautiful way to me, like a dream, because I guess my whole life the past three years has been geared towards the end which is the album itself. It's sort of the culmination of the whole experience.

On Avery Island
(Fire release)
 1. Song Against Sex - 3:40
 2. You've Passed - 2:53
 3. Someone Is Waiting - 2:31
 4. A Baby for Pree - 1:21
 5. Marching Theme - 2:58
 6. Where You'll Find Me Now - 4:04
 7. Avery Island/April 1st - 1:48
 8. Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone - 3:13
 9. Three Peaches - 4:01
10. Naomi - 4:53
11. April 8th - 2:47
12. Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's Eye - 13:49
13. Everything Is - 3:41
14. Snow Song Pt. 1 - 3:50

Release Date: September 9, 1996
Label: Fire Records
Format: CD and LP (cat# FIRE 53)
Availability: out of print
Comments: This UK version features an alternate cover with art by Jill Carnes, plus two additional tracks, "Everything Is" and "Snow Song Pt. 1" taken from the Everything Is single, added without permission. It didn't stay in print very long, however, and copies of this version are quite hard to find these days.

On Avery Island
(Fire reissue)
 1. Song Against Sex - 3:40
 2. You've Passed - 2:53
 3. Someone Is Waiting - 2:31
 4. A Baby for Pree - 1:21
 5. Marching Theme - 2:58
 6. Where You'll Find Me Now - 4:04
 7. Avery Island/April 1st - 1:48
 8. Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone - 3:13
 9. Three Peaches - 4:01
10. Naomi - 4:53
11. April 8th - 2:47
12. Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's Eye - 13:49
13. Everything Is - bonus track
14. Snow Song Pt. 1 - bonus track

Release Date: ? (due out in 2008)
Label: Fire Records
Format: CD
Availability: not yet released
Comments: Fire Records plans to reissue the album in the UK, complete with live/rare bonus tracks. Not much info was know about this "redux" other than a brief message on Fire's website in July 2005 which stated, "We are very pleased to announce we'll be re-issuing the classic Neutral Milk Hotel record 'On Avery Island' at the bands request. Theyre planning a whole new package including some live bonus tracks. More to follow." Then, sadly, promises of unreleased material faded and the current statement is: "Lovingly repackaged in double gatefold sleeve. Digipak includes both the original US and European Artwork. Disc includes the ‘Everything Is’ single and b-side ‘Snow Song Pt.1’ from the original 7” release."

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
 1. The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1 - 2:00
 2. King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2-3 - 3:06
 3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - 3:22
 4. Two-Headed Boy - 4:26
 5. The Fool - 1:53
 6. Holland, 1945 - 3:12
 7. Communist Daughter - 1:57
 8. Oh Comely - 8:18
 9. Ghost - 4:08
10.                          - 2:16
11. Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2 - 5:13

Release Date: February 10, 1998
Label: Merge
Format: CD and LP (cat# 136)
Availability: in print (Merge, Amazon) [vinyl also available from Merge] [import cd and vinyl available from Domino]
Import Releases: Released in the UK on May 18, 1998 by Blue Rose Records on CD and LP (cat# BRRC 10192) immediately before that label went bankrupt. Reissued in the UK by Domino Records on Septemeber 5, 2005, featuring a cardboard sleeve that goes around the cd case with gushing quotes from other artists. Domino put it out on both CD (cat# REWIGCD21) and LP (cat# REWIGLP21).
Comments: The band's breakthrough masterpiece. Seems to grow in popularity as time goes by. Magnet magazine even ranked it #1 in their "top albums of the past decade (1993-2003)" list.
Most of this album was recorded at Robert Schneider's "Pet Sounds studio" in Denver in 1997.
Credits: Produced by Robert Schneider. Recorded in the Elephant 6 Recording Company July - Sept. 1997. All songs written by Jeff Mangum, except "The Fool" (Scott Spillane) and "King of Carrot Flowers Pt. Two" (Barnes/Koster/Magnum/Mangum/Spillane). All songs © 1996/1997 The Egg As A Whole Music. Horn Arrangements: Robert Schneider and Scott Spillane. Art direction: Chris Bilheimer and Jeff Mangum. "Flying Victrola" art by Brian Dewan. Guidance: Robert Schneider, Brian McPhearson, Margaret Mittleman, and all at Elephant Six.
"The Players"
Jeff Mangum - Guitar, Voice, Organ, Floortom, Bowed Fuzz Bass, Tapes, Shortwave Radio
Jeremy Barnes - Drums, Organ
Scott Spillane - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trombone, Euphonium
Julian Koster - Wandering Genie, The Singing Saw, Bowed Banjo, Accordion, White Noise
"With"
Robert Schneider - Home Organ, Air Organ, Fuzz Bass, Harmony Vocal, One-Note Piano
Laura Carter - Zanzithophone
Rick Benjamin - Trombone
Merisa Bissinger - Saxophone, Flugelhorn
Michelle Anderson - Uilleann Pipes

Jeff: I felt that I had to really challenge myself and come up with music that maybe I feel a little uncomfortable with when I'm writing it. And then I need to take a step back and decide is it something that could convey beauty or not. This record wouldn't be this record without the band. I think that's something that isn't stressed enough usually, because they've had a very huge influence on me. I think the extent of the credit I get for this is a little much. Scott [Spillane], the man who played the horns, has got a certain style that's all his own which has sort of grown through us playing together for a number of years. And then Jeremy [Barnes] the drummer is just amazing. Julian [Koster] always has something magic up his sleeve, things that make it really exciting. Recording with Robert [Schneider, of The Apples in stereo, who produced Aeroplane], having him being able to produce and have such a real feel for music is really important.
 

Holland, 1945
A. Holland, 1945 - 3:14
B. Engine - 3:13

Release Date: October 13, 1998
Label: Blue Rose Records
Format: vinyl 7" (cat# BRRC 10237)
Availability: out of print (estimated eBay value $50-70)
Comments: 7" picture disc, with fold-out poster. Here're the pictures for side A and side B. All copies seem to have "no 72" stamped on the top left-hand corner of the poster, but this is apparently only part of the artwork, and does not indicate an individually numbered copy. However, hand-numbered stickers were affixed to the original plastic bag/sleeve it came in (picture of #480). These singles were a limited edition of 1000... or so I thought until someone owning copy #1053 emailed me. So now I'm rather clueless. If you know-- or have a higher numbered sticker-- please let me know. Plus, it gets even more blurry given the info shared by NMH fan lou2ser: "I believe it was released 2 times, orginally by Blue Rose (the numbered ones) and then again by Orange Twin (un-numbered). If I recall correctly, Orange Twin found a box full of this release a few years after Blue Rose sold out and they sold them through www.orangetwin.com. Both releases are from the same presssing, only some are numbered and some are not."
Anyways, "Holland, 1945" is the album version. The version of "Engine" on this release was recorded in a London Underground station underneath Piccadilly Circus. The same version can also be found on the Oh, Merge compilation CD.

There is also a rare UK promo CD featuring these same two tracks, sans artwork. It was put out by Blue Rose Records on October 19, 1998, presumably for radio play consideration (cat# BRRC 10237PROMO) picture
 

Jeff Mangum - Live at Jittery Joe's
 1. introduction - 0:26
 2. A Baby For Pree / Glow Into You - 3:50
 3. Two-Headed Boy - 5:40
 4. I Will Bury You In Time - 3:51
 5. Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone - 3:44
 6. Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2 - 5:37
 7. I Love How You Love Me (Phil Spector song) - 3:26
 8. Engine - 5:13
 9. Naomi - 5:19
10. King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 - 1:25
11. King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 3 - 2:52
12. Oh Comely - 7:56

Release Date: August 28, 2001
Label: Orange Twin
Format: CD (cat# OT004) and LP (cat#  SODY030)
Availability: in print (Orange Twin, Amazon). Vinyl also in print, released October 2005 by Isota Records.
Comments: Solo acoustic performance in 'The Starlit Crypt' at a coffeehouse in Athens, GA on March 7, 1997. In addition to audio playable on a normal CD player, this is an enhanced CD that includes QuickTime video of the entire show that you can watch on your computer, shot by R.E.M. cameraman and independent film maker Lance Bangs. It's just Jeff in almost complete darkness, with a few colored lights hanging behind him and a small child cavorting in the background. Though an official release, the sound quality has "bootleg" all over it. Even small gaps between tracks. Still, a nice disc for any obsessed NMH fan. Highlights include an otherwise unreleased song called "I Will Bury You In Time", the Phil Spector song (actually written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber, but Spector produced the Paris Sisters version which popularized the song in 1961), and an early version of "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2" that includes a great extended ending not on the album version.
For more info on this release, visit http://www.orangetwin.com/jittery.html