FAQ

Holy Rattlesnakes...

Here's a little FAQ. This is not the official site for Neutral Milk Hotel. That is here: http://neutralmilkhotel.net, but it has not been updated since 1998 and the "news" is incorrect.

Pitchfork Magazine named Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea fourth best album of the 1990s, and Indie rag Magnet Magazine crowned it the most bestest ever album of the decade. I think that one is Issue 60. The band was sent a crown of styrofoam peanuts, a bundt cake and three copies of Kurt Schwitters’ Ursonate.

Who are these guys?
Neutral Milk Hotel was mainly the project of Jeff Mangum and whoever was within arm's reach at the moment. They spent the latter part of the '90s in Athens, GA with many other bands that form the Elephant 6 Collective -- a loose-knit group of friends who play in each other's bands and mostly play psychedelic, '60s oriented, positive music. The main other bands, who have mostly known each other for nearly two decades, are the Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control. You can read more about Elephant 6 at www.elephant6.com.

What are they doing now?
The band has not released anything as Neutral Milk Hotel since 1998's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, but Jeff Mangum has released a collage of Bulgarian field recordings and a live disc called Live at Jittery Joe's. Both are available at Orange Twin Records and Amazon.com. Pitchfork Media also interviewed Mangum in March 2002 about what he has been doing, and you can read that here. Another record in the near future doesn't look likely.

Jeff Mangum was also hosting a radio show on WFMU in New Jersey. Another defunct project, but you can still listen to the archives over real audio until they take them down. From what I'd guess, it's 1/3 or so John Coltrane, 1/3 traditional folk music you should stream and burn if you don't already have it and 1/3 random cacophony that will make refrigerators explode in your sleep.

What is on this site?
This site has things that are not on the band's official site, such as tabs, (almost) comprehensive lyrics, articles, and fan comments and contributions. For more basic information about the band, photos, and other articles, visit the official site.

Where can I find more information?
The following sites have more information on the band: Merge Records, Orange Twin, Elephant6.com and the official site. There is a complete discography of the band here.

Are there any related releases?
Here are some NMH-related releases through 2001. All are available on Orange Twin except for the Circulatory System discs, which are on Cloud Recordings. Upcoming and recent releases from other E6 bands on the www.elephant6.com site.

Already out...
Circulatory System - self-titled (plus some homemade CD-R releases)
Jeff Mangum - Live at Jittery Joe's
Orange Twin Fieldwork - Volume 1 (Bulgarian field recordings that Jeff did)
Major Organ and the Adding Machine
Neutral Milk Hotel - Everything Is single (re-release)
The Gerbils - Battle of Electricity
Music Tapes - 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad

Coming Soon...
tape loops of your soul exhaling

Where can I find tabs / photos / bootlegs?
The following sites have Neutral Milk Hotel guitar tabs:
Alex Raichev has chords for much of In the Aeroplane and On Avery Island. Justin's guitar tabs, "A Random Assortment of Neutral Milk Hotel Tabs," and But Then They Buried Her Alive (fan site with tabs and more). There are a few video stills on this site, but there are several photos on the band's official site. Bootlegs are hard to come by and I have posted some from time to time. Hopefully there will be a server I can put some on more permanently.

Where can I find articles on the web?
Here are several links to articles and reviews of the band and Jeff Mangum's solo stuff. None are on the band's official site.

INTERVIEWS or other ARTICLES
This is just sort of weird. Splendid E-zine ponders kidnapping of Mangum.
Creative Loafing Atlanta, "Have You Seen Jeff Mangum?"
Wild World of Bears article - Mangum, Laura Carter & Chris Knox in New Zealand 2001. pretty neato.
(also see links for photos, press release, flyer, set list at top of above link)
Pitchfork Discusses Unreleased Material (August 2002)
Bio I wrote on the band for UK web zine No Ripcord
Pitchfork interview with Jeff Mangum (March 2002)
Boston Phoenix interview by Carly Carioli (1998)
Pictures of several shows from '97 and '98
Flagpole articles on Orange Twin (March 2002): one, two
Article text from NY Times (April 2001): "With the Auteur Passé, Rock Gets Impersonal"
New Times LA review / interview for Aeroplane (Feb 1998)
Circulatory System interview on Pitchfork (Nov 2001)
Jeff Norman (student) interviews Jeff (1998 or so)
Gadfly interviews Circulatory System
U. of Wisconsin at Milwaukee interviews Jeff

REVIEWS
VH-1 review of Bottom of the Hill show (4.12.98)
Salon.com review of Aeroplane
Insound.com review of Aeroplane
Insound.com on Neutral Milk Hotel
Nude as the News reviews Aeroplane
FuzzLogic.com 7.24.98 show review
Pitchfork reviews Live at Jittery Joe's
Pitchfork discusses Circulatory System debut
Nude as the News reviews Avery Island
Splendid eZine reviews 11.9.01 Circulatory System show
Audiogalaxy review of Aeroplane
Yale Herald review of Aeroplane (interesting)
Wine X Magazine review of Aeroplane
Florida State University review of Aeroplane

Where can I find lyrics?
There are lyrics here on this site.

Where is a message board or chat thingy?
There are message boards and E-groups here:

Egroups...
Neutral Milk Hotel
Merge Records
Elephant 6 Recording Company

Message Boards...
The Elephant 6 WWW Board
Neutral Milk Hotel on WWW Board

What other bands would I like if I like Neutral Milk Hotel?
The best place to look for NMH-type bands is in the fan comments page, where people list their other favorite bands. Some of the most popular are the Mountain Goats, the Microphones, The Decemberists, other Elephant 6 bands and psychedelic bands.

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