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Underground > Radio & Music >

Andrew W.K.

18:01 / 04.04.02

Inspired by Flux's "guilty pleasure" thread I had to mention this record. I have quite a love/hate relationship with it's endearing "party" anthems. "I Get Wet" has got some of the worst lyrics and simplified, beer commercial riffs I've ever heard. And yet, I'm enthralled by the thing.

What I'm wondering about is not so much it's sound or genre, but the way this guy is being marketed. It's EVERYWHERE. Every magazine, commercial, record store etc. has it in the fore. Then to my surprise, I found out that the entire thing is downloadable on audiogalaxy. And it only costs seven dollars in the store? Isn't Mr. W.K on a major label? I'm starting to wonder if the forces that be have unleashed an Andrew W.K. meme virus upon us.

Matthew Fluxington

19:25 / 04.04.02

A lot of major labels have been slashing the list prices of records by artists they want to "break" into the mainstream. In addition to saturation marketing, they encourage impulse purchases at record shops. Another recent examples of this ploy include The Strokes and N.E.R.D. - I'm not sure how effective this sort of thing is. It certainly helps to drive sales up, but it doesn't do the artists much good, since they are likely losing some money as part of the gamble.

19:29 / 04.04.02

The thing about Andrew W.K. that completely baffles me is that every single review I've read of this albumhas absolutely raved about it. Judging from "Party Hard", these people have to be huffing paint thinner or there must be an AWFUL lot of payola going around. This is sub-Twisted Sister stuff, and I probably won't attend a professional sports match for the next decade in order to avoid it.

19:42 / 04.04.02

I am hoping that when the Zwan album is released, we can try this price-slashing loss-leader initiative. After all, I surely do not need the money; but you most certainly need my music. I remember what it was to not be so fabulously wealthy - cds can cost a lot of cash, and I don't want something as trivial as money to come between the world and my glorious new post-Pumpkins music.

20:34 / 04.04.02

i know a lot of normally very smart people and even smart professional music critics who love WK. i saw him play at the whiskey a couple weeks ago and everyone there loved it. they play him on the indy radio stations around here and then talk about how it's interesting cuz at least it "sparks debate."

he's the fucking starbucks of hard rock.

Wrecks City-Zen

21:33 / 04.04.02

Dudes-
I have an Andrew W.K. story for ya. In the washroom of the club I work at they have an advert posted above the urinal for A.W.K. (The bloody nose shot...) A few days ago I was walking along Bloor st in Toronto and noticed a guy on the street smoking a spliff with an entourage. It was the lead guy wahizname...the band was playing Lee's Palace that night.
He was on a rant... "Like,we have this song called 'Rules' man. And that's what it's all about man,rules.Not my rules their rules! (takes toke)...and it's like Fuck you man,those are your rules not mine!My rules are different...(another toke) you know what I mean?Hey was up?" he said as I approached while the entourage nodded,obviously confuse...
"Hey" I said, "PASS THAT"

And we were like "EMILIO!!!!"

Our Lady of The Two Towers

08:07 / 05.04.02

I was reading Simon Price in the Independent a few weeks ago, and when it came to Andrew WK he said, more or less, that he only worked live, because his lyrics and instrumentation were stupidly simplistic but that live he had such presence that when he sings "She is beautiful" you are left in no doubt that she is really quite attractive.

I bought the first single because NME were going on about him (every now and then I actually fall for this ploy) listen a couple of times and now it's in the bottom of my drawer. Really rather crap. It sounds like music for jocks, as does he, which I suppose prejudices me a little.

21:05 / 05.04.02

Have seen the record in the import bins for months now - had written it off as insipid dance/rock tripe. Turns out I was right. But now he's starting to break in the states, and the record has a big black sticker obscuring most of the sleeve. I'm assuming the cover is that of the import - the bit with the blood, but why has it been covered in the states? Besides the fact that we're stupid, of course. Even though the guy blows, I hate to see shite like this.

05:17 / 06.04.02

He needs to wash his hair. And stop squeezing his spots so hard.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

08:23 / 06.04.02

Because apparently a possible interpretation of it is that Andrew WK has been doing too much cocaine. So he's replacing it with a picture of his arse.

09:37 / 06.04.02

I agree wholeheartedly with the conclusion that 'his music is lame'.

However, I have to admit that the video to his last single was absolute genius - you know, the one where he's in bed and his alarm goes off, and he gets out of bed and immediately starts ROCKING. And puts his clothes on in a ROCKING manner, and HEADBANGS his way through breakfast and cleans his teeth whilst ROCKING. And then at the conlcusion to the video he leaves his house and ROCKS his way down the street, trailing a microphone cord behind him..

had me in tears of laughter .. but yes, the music is crap.

11:41 / 06.04.02

every time i hear andrew w.k. i hear it being played at a frat party. i can't help it. and i don't like it.

13:14 / 06.04.02

Thanks for the video description, Rizla. Now I need to see that.

05:09 / 09.04.02

For anyone that's curious, Andrew W.K. is gonna be the musical host on Saturday Night Live next Saturday (April 13th). To paraphrase Rizla, perhaps he'll be ROCKING!

05:36 / 09.04.02

I really want to like him more than I do. This is because I love the bands that are professionally stupid, rock'n'roll is supposed to be loud, fast & stupid, that's its thing and I'm glad there's someone out there doing it. I mean that's what Iron Maiden did, it's what the Ramones did, but as of late there's been a lack of professionally stupid people who aren't complete assholes.

12:38 / 09.04.02

I agree with loud, fast and stupid. And preferably sex-obsessed - like AC/DC, for example.
Unfortunately, AWK (surely a wank anagram in there) is loud, fast and carp.

That was a typo, but I like it so much, I'm leaving it as it is.
But then loud, fast & fish! doesn't quite get over the sheer level of hatred that man's music causes to bubble through my blood.

And Rizla's right about the video. The man just rocks. Like an awkward teenager.
Complete carp.

22:30 / 10.04.02

Yeah, I know he's crap, at least that single is, but from hearing it I have no desire to hear the rest of the album. What I like is that loud dumb and fast could be a viable trend again.

Math is for suckers!

03:00 / 11.04.02

i think the album is great. its a parody of everything that rock and roll is supposed to be. i think its best to consider it a comedy album more than a rock album.

21:36 / 11.04.02

I'm pretty sure it's not a parody, he's really all about it. He's all about rocking, not mocking.

18:32 / 12.04.02

yeah i have to admit when i saw the video for this fantastic piece of garbage i was jaw dropped. i was convinced that it had to be a joke.

alas i dont think it is.

-insert yingwie malmsteen mini guitar solo here-

21:35 / 16.04.02

The thing is, the reason I want to like him is that I'm so tired of people trying ironically to rock that it's refreshing to see at least someone trying to rock for rock's sake.

22:10 / 16.04.02

Then buy "Group Sounds" or "Circa: Now!" by Rocket From The Crypt.

17:12 / 17.04.02

But, Cop Killer, doesn't his "trying to rock for rock's sake" begin to come off just as forced as the ironic rockers? I'll admit that just a mention of AWK's name gets that damn "Party Hard" song in my head, but as much fun as he may be having, it still seems very, "Hey! Lookit me! I'm totally rocknroll, dude!" Maybe he really is that way, I don't know. But after living through a huge hairmetal phase in my younger years, I'm inclined not to trust the man.

And also, just out of curiousity, which bands are you thinking of when you talk about people trying ironically to rock? If you're looking for a break from that, I wholeheartedly second videodrome's Rocket From the Crypt suggestion, especially if you get a chance to see them live. And though I feel like I mention them every other time I post here, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead seem pretty un-ironic to me. Who else? Hrm...maybe Les Savy Fav, the most unselfconscious band I've seen, or Panthers, or the Liars...wait, why are all the bands I'm naming from New York or a vaguely southwestern part of the US? Weird.

Matthew Fluxington

18:06 / 17.04.02

I don't think Andrew W.K. is "totally rock and roll", I think he's a very contemporary macho-wrestling-frat-rock concept. There's a certain level of testosterone overdrive in him and the music that isn't quite like the 80s pop-metal that people mostly compare him to - he's got a lot more in common with Fred Durst than Axl Rose, that's for sure.

I find it utterly horrifying in a lot of different ways that the bark-shouting vocal style from speed metal and hardcore has now gone entirely mainstream that people don't even notice it, and consider it quite pop.

I think that more than anything, it's the fact that Andrew W.K. is a caricature of the very worst in hyper-masculinity that scares me the most - I think that a lot of people can look at him and go "oh my god, this guy is soooooo over-the-top, this is perversely funny", but to the people who he is being marketed to (ie one of the most despicable elements of contemporary western culture), W.K. seems like a really cool guy, and not at all unrealistic. Some might argue that he's positive. What makes W.K. so *wrong* is that all of the scary things about him is in the subtext, and not in the actual lyrics or videos, unlike folks like Limp Bizkit who have violent and obviously mysoginistic lyrics...

Continuing Straylight's thought, I would think that the best straight-up ROCK AND ROLL band in the world today is Guided By Voices....

21:46 / 17.04.02

I'm a fan of RFTC, but as far as true rock'n'roll power, it's all about Washington (state); it always has been. I grew up in the cock rock days, and I loved that stuff then, and I love it still which is why I like what Andrew W.K. is doing, I just don't like how he does it.

19:36 / 19.04.02

GBV are great but Im not sure they qualify as a "straight up rock and roll band." Too poppy for that, methinks.

I think the Murder City Devils were a perfect rock n roll band. They had great shows, good songs and just enough swagger (something GBV lacks*) to play the part of bad ass rock band without seeming like assholes. The last time I got to see them (a long while back, now) Spencer came out in a fucking cartigan. And some girl punched a "moshing" jock asshole in the face for slamming into her.

*the beatles lacked it too. Great band, not great rock and roll band.

Matthew Fluxington

19:47 / 19.04.02

No way, man - GBV has plenty of swagger, especially lately. You clearly have not seen them live the past few years!

Are you saying the Stones and The Who were not straight up rock and roll? Those are the two bands GBV most resemble, I'd say...

GBV's has also been getting more and more 'hard rock' over time, too. "The Enemy" is a perfect example, as is "Portable Men's Society" or "Skin Parade"...

16:51 / 20.04.02

Yeah, Pollard can swagger with the best of them, and then he'll throw up on your shirt. GBV are more of a rock band than AWK can ever hope to be.

But what amuses me most, and this is based on watching the SNL appearance, is just how incapable this guy is. For such a big guy, he can't really make much noise, can he? He's got no voice at all - his barks are thin and unable to get above the mix, and physically, he comes off as, well, desperate. Party hard! Please? No, really...? C'mon, guys! I'm partying, see? shake, kick, swing hair...
His band does all the work.

16:54 / 20.04.02

Oh, and at the end of the SNL performance, when the camera was barely off AWK, the Bud Lite logo swirled onto the screen. "Tonights musical guest was sponsored by Bud Lite..."

How appropriate.

18:19 / 20.04.02

cusm will hate me for this, but the Andrew WK album really reminds me of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine but with worse lyrics. It's kind of funny, though...

21:47 / 22.05.02

The secret origion of Andrew WK Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.