One of my planned projects for 2013 is to pay tribute to one of my all-time favorite albums, and one that has continued to shape my musical tastes for the last 25 years: Lincoln, by They Might Be Giants (sample in iTunes).

Released in 1988, I first discovered the album after a chance viewing of the ‘Ana Ng’ music video one afternoon. I was immediately struck by the non-sequiter lyrics, the patter-verse chorus, and the avant-garde visual styling of the band. I couldn’t believe the whole song was done by just two guys, but I made it my mission to find out more about them. I tracked down a cassette of Lincoln at the local record shop, and the rest is history.

This album provided the background soundtrack for the rest of my Junior High school years, and it wasn’t long before I had procured copies of TMBG’s eponymous first album, and (by special order) all three of their ep singles. I still remember talking my mom into driving me to the record shop to pick up the latest arrival, and her lukewarm response when I played it for her on the ride home. I was a member of the fan club, I had a press photo of the Johns up on my wall.

I’ve purchased every TMBG album that’s come out since, and enjoyed them all to varying degrees. Their music has been one of the few constants in my life since adolescence, and I’ve wanted to do some sort of homage to the influence it’s had on me. So, this idea was borne: A single-page illustration for each song on the album that introduced me to the twin quasars of rock, Lincoln. The illustrations will range from literal translations of some songs, to abstract representations of the songs dredged from my earliest memories of listening to them. I may continue adapting songs past Lincoln, but I’m not sure if I’ll do every song they’ve ever recorded (I have over 500 tracks under They Might Be Giants in my iTunes library, and fewer duplicates than you might imagine).

When finished with Lincoln, I’ll be collecting the illustrations as a 24-page minicomic (including illustrations for the tracks off the ‘They’ll Need a Crane’ ep as well). Here you can see the cover for the minicomic, and I’ll be posting the first four songs for the project throughout the day!