NFR! Album Timeline (from what we can infer based on what Lana and Jack have said and conclusions made on LB!) Just thought it would be nice to compile all the info here
Early 2016 / 2017 re-work
The Next Best American Record
- originally written and recorded for Lust for Life in 2016
- NFR version likely rewritten/rerecorded in 2017 with "Topanga lyrics" (in an interview with Zane Lowe on July 12, 2017, Lana stated that TNBAR was "all about Topanga")
February - March 2017
California
- written/produced with Zach Dawes while Lana had her side-band from December 2016 to March 2017
- additional production with Jack in 2018/2019
Late 2017
Bartender
- written/produced with Rick Nowels prior to Jack's involvement
- mentioned by Lana to Pitchfork at the Grammys on January 28, 2018 - regarded as "a weird track...[that] doesn't belong to an album yet"
Happiness is a Butterfly
- Rick is credited as a writer, so we can conclude that HiaB was in its early stages while Lana was primarily working with Rick
January 2018 - sessions with JACK ANTONOFF begin
At this point, The Next Best American Record, California, and Bartender are the first three songs "finished" for the album.
Love Song
- written the morning after the Clive Davis Party/the morning of the Grammys (January 28, 2018) with Jack in approx. an hour
- first song formally written for the album with Jack
Hope is a Dangerous Thing For a Woman Like Me to Have - But I Have it
- journaled by Lana slowly over three years
- same session as "Love Song" (January 28, 2018)
- recorded a cappella / subsequently accompanied by Jack on piano
February - March 2018
Norman Fucking Rockwell
- confirmed as the third song written in an Instagram Live in the studio on September 4, 2019
- originally titled "Bird World"
- regarded as "the cliffnotes of the album" by Jack in an Instagram Live in the studio on September 4, 2019
Mariners Apartment Complex
- confirmed as written at the same time/shortly after the title track in an Instagram Live in the studio on September 4, 2019
- referred to by Lana as what she hoped would be "at the heart of the record" in an Instagram Live on September 3, 2019
Venice Bitch
- confirmed as written at the same time/shortly after the title track and "Mariners Apartment Complex" in an Instagram Live in the studio on September 4, 2019
- title was used as a caption in an Instagram post of Lana's mural on a building in Venice, California on February 22, 2018
Happiness is a Butterfly
- first snippet posted by Lana on March 29, 2018
- marks Jack's involvement with the song since Lana and Rick starting it in 2017
September 2018
- in an interview with Zane Lowe on September 18, 2018 to premiere Venice Bitch, Lana confirms:
- the album is called Norman Fucking Rockwell
- at this point, it has 11 tracks
October 2018
Cinnamon Girl
- some lyrics written on October 3/4 2018 after Lana was "fucked up in Boston" (Instagram Live, September 4, 2019) along with "How to Disappear"
How to Disappear
- some lyrics written on October 3/4 2018 after Lana was "fucked up in Boston" (Instagram Live, September 4, 2019) along with "Cinnamon Girl"
- references "Joe," a boxer who Lana is presumed to have had a relationship with
- regarded as "the last song recorded" for NFR! by Lana at the Apple Event in Brooklyn, NY on October 30, 2018
November - December 2018
The Greatest
- references Lana's comments on Kanye West's Instagram post from September 30, 2018
- must have been recorded AFTER "How to Disappear" considering Lana's activity and references, and comments on/in the song.
- potentially "the last song" at one stage of mastering, as Lana confirmed the album was "finished" and "mastered" in an Instagram Live on December 30, 2018.
March - April 2019
Doin' Time
- recorded for the Sublime doc. produced by Interscope
- in an interview with Vogue Korea in May 2019, Lana stated that NFR! has 13 tracks, which would make sense if Doin' Time were the last song tacked onto the record at the time
- in an interview with 104.3 MYfm on August 28, 2019, Lana revealed that she wanted to include Doin' Time on the tracklist next to "Venice Bitch" a few days after finishing the track; this makes sense as "Fuck It, I Love You," which appears next to "Venice Bitch" in the tracklist instead, had likely not been recorded yet.
May - June 2019
Fuck It, I Love You
- regarded as the "last song" recorded for the album in an interview with Annie Mac on August 22, 2019
- the version that appears on physical copies of the record was likely finished and mastered in May 2019, as Lana stated in an interview with KROQ on August 29, 2019, that she has to have finished a record 90 days before the release date so the vinyl can be pressed in time
- the version that appears in the music video was likely finished in June 2019, as Lana stated in an interview with KROQ on August 29, 2019, that she "was definitely done [the record] in June, just putting some final touches on it" - the final touches likely being the added "surf drums."