Lincoln is the second album by the band They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...

. It was released in 1988 (see 1988 in music

1988 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....

). The album is named after John Linnell

John Linnell

John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...

 and John Flansburgh

John Flansburgh

John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...

's boyhood home of Lincoln, Massachusetts

Lincoln, Massachusetts

Lincoln is a town in the historic area of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits...

. The two men pictured are Linnell's great-grandfather, Lewis T. Linnell (left) and Flansburgh's maternal grandfather, Brigadier General Ralph Hospital (right).

Lincolns lyrics further elaborate the themes and surrealistic

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

, wordplay

Word play

Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...

-heavy style of They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants (album)

They Might Be Giants is the eponymous debut album from Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants, also known as The Pink Album. It was released by Bar/None in 1986....

 ("Shoehorn With Teeth"), but include more songs about troubled romantic relationships ("Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", "I've Got a Match"), and some songs that verge on social or political satire

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 ("Purple Toupee", "Pencil Rain", "Kiss Me, Son of God"). Lincoln is a more technically polished album than They Might Be Giants, making heavier use of what would become TMBG's signature instrument, Linnell's accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

. Hints of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 ("Lie Still, Little Bottle") and sea shanties

Sea shanty

A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...

 ("Mr. Me", "Cowtown") are added to the previous album's wide-ranging musical influences.

Despite its primitive sound (the duo would eventually take on a backing band with live drums), this do-it-yourself effort is widely considered by critics to be the band's defining musical statement.

Music videos were made for "Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", and "Purple Toupee".

This album is included in Then: The Earlier Years

Then: The Earlier Years

Then: The Earlier Years is a double album by the band They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1997 . Then contains the album Lincoln in its entirety, the albums They Might Be Giants and Miscellaneous T which are each missing one track, a few otherwise unreleased songs from their 1985 Demo Tape and...

, a compilation of the band's early material, in its entirety.

Track listing

All songs by They Might Be Giants.

1. "Ana Ng
   Ana Ng
   "Ana Ng" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1988 album Lincoln. Although the song was their first US chart appearance, hitting #11 on the US Modern Rock chart, the single was never officially released in the US...
   
   " – 3:23
2. "Cowtown" – 2:20
3. "Lie Still, Little Bottle" – 2:06
4. "Purple Toupee
   Purple Toupee
   -Track listing:# "Purple Toupee"# "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal"# "Lady Is A Tramp"# "Birds Fly"The latter three tracks would later be included on Miscellaneous T.- External links :*Purple Toupee EP on This Might Be A Wiki...
   
   " – 2:40
5. "Cage & Aquarium" – 1:10
6. "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" – 3:06
7. "Piece of Dirt" – 2:00
8. "Mr. Me" – 1:52
9. "Pencil Rain" – 2:42
10. "The World's Address" – 2:24
11. "I've Got a Match" – 2:36
12. "Santa's Beard" – 1:55
13. "You'll Miss Me" – 1:53
14. "They'll Need a Crane
    They'll Need a Crane
    They'll Need a Crane is an EP and song by They Might Be Giants. "They'll Need a Crane" was the first song the band performed on network television, in 1989 on the Late Night with David Letterman.-Track listing:#"They'll Need a Crane"...
    
    " – 2:33
15. "Shoehorn With Teeth" – 1:13
16. "Stand on Your Own Head" – 1:16
17. "Snowball in Hell" – 2:31
18. "Kiss Me, Son of God" – 1:52

External links

• Lincoln at This Might Be A Wiki