 Stevens launched his 50 @-@ state project in 2003 with the album Michigan and chose to focus on Illinois with this recording because " it wasn 't a great leap " , and he liked the state because he considered it the " center of gravity " for the American Midwest . Before creating the album , Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg , and studied immigration records and history books for the state — he made the deliberate decision to avoid current events and focused on historical themes . He also took trips through several locations in Illinois and asked friends and members of Internet chat rooms for anecdotes about their experiences in the state . Although he began work in 2004 on Oregon @-@ themed songs and briefly considered releasing a Rhode Island 7 " , Stevens has since not released another album focused on a state , saying in a November 2009 interview with Paste that " the whole premise was such a joke , " and telling Andrew Purcell of The Guardian in October 2009 " I have no qualms about admitting [ the fifty states project ] was a promotional gimmick . " An Arkansas @-@ related song was released through NPR as " The Lord God Bird " and material intended for New Jersey and New York became The BQE . 
 Stevens launched his 50 @-@ state project in 2003 with the album Michigan and chose to focus on Illinois with this recording because " it wasn 't a great leap " , and he liked the state because he considered it the " center of gravity " for the American Midwest . Before creating the album , Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg , and studied immigration records and history books for the state — he made the deliberate decision to avoid current events and focused on historical themes . He also took trips through several locations in Illinois and asked friends and members of Internet chat rooms for anecdotes about their experiences in the state . Although he began work in 2004 on Oregon @-@ themed songs and briefly considered releasing a Rhode Island 7 " , Stevens <a href='been_done' title='1'><mark>has</mark></a> since not released <a href='None' title='2'><mark>another</mark></a><a href='negative_concord' title='3'><mark>album</mark></a> focused on a state , saying in a November 2009 interview with Paste that " the whole premise was such a joke , " and telling Andrew Purcell of The Guardian in October 2009 " I <a href='got' title='4'><mark>have</mark></a> no qualms about admitting [ the fifty states project ] was a promotional gimmick . " An Arkansas @-@ related song was released through NPR as " The Lord God Bird " and material intended for New Jersey and New York became The BQE . 
Stevens launched his 50 @-@ state project in 2003 with the mixtape Michigan and chose to focus on Illinois with dis recording because " it wasn 't a great leap " , and he liked da state becuz he considered it tda" center of gravity " fir the American burg . b4 creating thdalbum , Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg , and studied immigration records and history books fir thedaate — he made the daiberate decision to avoid current events and focused on historical themes . He also took trips thru several locations in Illinois and asked frens and members of Internet chat rooms for anecdotes bout their experiences in the state . Although he began wrk in 2004 on Oregon @-@ themed songs and briefly considered releasing a Rhode Island 7 " , Stevens done since not released nmixtapeum focused on a state , saying in a November 2009 interview with Paste that " the whole premise was such a joke , " and tellin Andrew Purcell of The Guardian in October 2009 " I got no qualms about admitting [ the fifty states project ] was a promotional gimmick . " An Arkansas @-@ related song was released through NPR as " The Lda God Bird " and material intended for New Jersey and New York became The BQE .