When artist David Shrigley put out his collection of lyrics, Worried Noodles, he had no intention of making songs. That’s where Liars, Grizzly Bear, Final Fantasy and 36 other bands came in

“I didn’t make a record. I couldn’t be bothered to make a record. It would have been too difficult. It was easier not to make a record,” says David Shrigley of his LP-sized book of song lyrics, Worried Noodles.

In 2005, Shrigley released Worried Noodles as an “imaginary record,” a collection of drawings and lyrics for songs that he had no intention of ever setting to music. Now, the 104-page book is being re-released with two discs of accompanying musical interpretations from the likes of David Byrne, Mt. Eerie, Deerhoof, Final Fantasy, Dirty Projectors and others.

Shrigley is a Glasgow-based artist, best known for his humorous, offbeat drawings and photographs. His art has often shared a close relationship with music — he made the music videos for Blur’s “Good Song” and Bonnie Prince Billy’s “Agnes, Queen of Sorrow,” and he recently designed 12 different versions of the cover art for Deerhoof’s album, Friend Opportunity. He’s no stranger to writing lyrics, either. In 2006, he released an album of spoken word recordings entitled Forced to Speak with Others.

“Music can be the soundtrack to art, art can be the illustration of music, or maybe art and music overlap so much that they cannot be seen as distinct from one another,” says Shrigley. “The best artists like music. The best musicians like art.”

Still, the music has always been the missing component for Shrigley, and so record label Tomlab worked with him to gather 39 artists to offer their renditions of his “songs.” Shrigley took a hands-off approach with the artists, and as a result, the album offers a range of interpretations.

“When I wrote the lyrics in the first place, I didn't imagine they would ever be recorded,” Shrigley says. “I didn't think it would become real music, so in a sense, the whole thing is one big departure from what I expected.” Some tracks rely on Shrigley’s lyrics as a focal point (Psapp, Hot Chip, Scout Niblett), others use them as a jumping-off point for something totally different (Liars, Trans Am, Grizzly Bear).

“I guess the one that stretched things the most was the Grizzly Bear track. It's an epic rock odyssey about the merits of blackcurrant jam. The one that makes me laugh the most is the Simon Bookish track. His voice is so great. The Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (song) is also pretty funny in a horrible way,” he says. “They are all great as far as I'm concerned. They all put tires on my wheels. Though the tires are all different.”