Andrew W.K.

It seems that not to like WK is apparently a sign of being anti-pop, being anti-dumb fun, being a snob, being humorless, being too serious, being a poor sport, etc. I find all these assumptions wanting.

You, Ned, don't like Andrew WK because he's unmemorable - this tells me nothing about you except your ears work in v.different ways from mine (which I knew anyway) and that you make a lot of fuss about a property (unmemorableness) that doesn't bother me. In fact it's you who's applying an assumed framework to WK - he is pop therefore he must be catchy. I happen to think he is catchy and pop but more than that I love him for the noises and textures: WK tracks make me think of cross-section pictures of the earth's crust, this vast layer of magma and rock (the guitars) with this tiny pretty layer of trees and grass perfectly balanced on top (the keyboards).

It's basically a heavy sugary Devo, with a wrestler's voice. And maybe a little Elton John/John Tesh on the piano bits. The whole metal image seems to be a non-clever rue to make Mr. WK to be some sort of rock god, where in fact, I enjoy the music for all the reasons BUT.

he is pop therefore he must be catchy

*scratches chin* Now this makes me wonder...can it be possible to create something intentionally uncatchy but aimed at a pop audience? Nothing to do with Andrew WK now, more thinking about what pop 'should' be.

Then maybe the answer is WK is the new Vanilla Ice.

What Tracer said about "not selling out enough" is how I feel about the whole Electroclash thing. I want one of those opportunistic aging club kids to do something totally vulgar and flashy and feelgood--create a new Ru Paul or Deelite--and shoot it into the Top Ten. It's just so classy and blah right now, at least the stuff I've heard.

I adore it unto my bosom. And then cast it from me like a bad taquito.

The future is so bright - at times I feel the need to cover my eyes with my hands for fear of being blinded. But, as quickly as I can cover them, something will tear them away, and I'm forced to momentarily gaze into the explosion. What I see is almost too much to bare - I see the absolute truth. That there is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing that can hurt me or anyone else. That my place in this room is the same as my place in the universe. That these things are not to be looked down upon, but to be looked up to. And suddenly, all that ever once was is not any more. And all the stuff that I was worried about is no longer upsetting, and all the things that I was afraid of seem safe and warm. The truth has everything inside of it - EVERYTHING. And it is O.K. and it is good.

I will work everyday to feel O.K. To truly feel O.K. is to accept everything as such and that you have a place inside of it all. And that place is a miracle, not something small. We can do so much, so easily, so fast. We have so much power, and so much ability. Human beings are one of the greatest achievements in the history of the world. We are our own achievement. So many people have dedicated their lives to working for our benefit. So many things that we have now came from people before us. We owe to them to make the most of our times now. We can create things of such beauty and magnificent dimensions, and we have the potential to destroy and tear down and deplete as well. This is so simple and so clear. The future holds everything. In my life I want to feel as good as possible and help as many people as I can to feel the same. I want to do everything and I want to help as many people do everything too. Everyone is invited. No one is turned away here. This music is about freedom and this music is much bigger than just me. I don't own it - I couldn't try to keep it all to myself even if I wanted to. It belongs to human beings. It belongs to you. The music is perfect. All it wants is for people to be happy. It doesn't even exist except as a moment of time. The more you believe in it, the stronger it gets and the stronger you get. The music is your best friend, and it will never turn its back on you or let you down. It loves you unconditionally and thinks that you're great. It wants to do whatever it can to make you smile and feel good. You can do no wrong. There is nothing you could ever do or say or feel or think that would make it leave you. It will always be there for you - from the first time that you hear it to the last time before you die. In the morning when you wake up, and right before you go to sleep. And it will visit you in the dark, in your dreams and it will make you're happiest wishes come true, and in your nightmares it will protect you and fight for you and keep you safe. The only thing happening here is acceptance and excitement. This is real and true. It is the truth. I will work everyday, and be patient, and have endurance, so that I can give to others what has been given to me. It is not instant. It will take time, and when I'm dead it will continue on without me. This is not mine alone, and I did not begin it. It was begun when the first baby smiled and it will NEVER END. NO ONE CAN STOP THIS - this is still just the beginning. The start of the beginning. This has never happened before. We have never happened before. You have never happened before. There are new horizons and new frontiers that belong to us. These are our trails to blaze. THIS IS OUR TIME. I LOVE YOU.

------

i have to admit, that makes his schtick exponentially more delightful.

he's due to appear on politically incorrect on april 29th. i am eagerly anticipating this.

OK, more seriously, even as an Andrew WK fan I'm not quite sure how you get from that to "Party Til You Puke".

VINDICATION!

So maybe his music is NOT that bad, eh?

If I came across most people I suspect they'd have a right to complain. Depends on the context, though.

Yeah, I am going to damn the torpedoes and make the comparison. This album is very "Ramones-y." This a good thing. A VERY good thing. Songs with little lyrical merit, yet still make you feel good to be alive. Peppy and pointless. This is what I expect from musicians I like. Stay away from "art." Art is rarely good. I don't want to have to think and ponder. I want to bounce around, slam into the concert goer next to me, wind up bloody, and go home feeling snazzy.

The last time I felt this good about music was at the final Ramones show, and listening to his album, I get the same feeling. It's a very good thing. And that's what music's really all about, isn't it? Making you feel something. Good, bad, whatever. It's all good.

Kevin Buffington made some very good points in his review (http://www.culturedose.com/review.php?rid=10002497), and I'm not saying he's wrong. Do the songs sound alike? Yes. Is there a recurring theme here? Quite. Do they blend together? Of course they do. Will these songs change the world as we know it? Probably not, but all I'm saying is that this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Agreed, I won't call this metal. I'm almost afraid to call it Punk, but it definitely doesn't fit any of the other genres. I can't really call it rock, since I'm not feeling the need to airguitar. What I WANT to do is to violently slam my 270 pounds into someone, watch them "ooof!," turn around and do the same thing to me.

Loud guitars, screaming madman, no solos, AND keyboards on occasion, this album has everything I could hope for. No, he's not reinventing the wheel, he's not worried about difficult chord progressions (barre chord central, folks, have I made the Ramones comparison? By George, I think I did!), but he is having a blast doing it and I'm having a blast listening to it. Over and over and over again.

The songs are all pretty upbeat, a quick tempo with a driving beat. No, there's not much of an edge. Is a good portion of each song a repetitive chorus? Yes. Again, not a bad thing. The Ramones' "Beat On The Brat" is a perfect example. And while they seem to go by fast, the average song is about 3 minutes. This is the only flaw in my opinion. 12 tracks, yet the album only lasts 35 minutes. I want more, dammit.

Songs of note include "Ready To Die," a very peppy happy song about killing you (with cheerful keyboards, no less. OK, so maybe art isn't dead on this album.) and "I Love NYC," which would make a decent anthem, and is sure to get tons of airplay, after all, not doing so would mean that the terrorists win. We can't have that, no sirree bob.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this piece of auditory magic. If you're tired of being spoon fed the latest crap MTV hands out, and really want to feel good about music again, this album will do it for you. I'm going to end this now. My cats need to learn how to mosh with the big boys. Pray for them.

-Kevin Carlson

Speak of the... devil?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj8C7hKpBNA

this new album's gonna be pretty heavy huh

Wow this song rules

Incredible album title + cover art combo too

that track is a snooze im sure his fans from his Glen Beck network show will dig tho

I've never been an AWK fan, but the video has a Matthew Barney-ish feel that I'm into. The song's...fine, but nothing without the visuals.

The "Babalon" video is quite something as well.

OK, just watched "Babalon" and that is legitimately great (song and video). If he'd sounded like this all along I'd have been a fan 20 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8y36733ag

apparently an entire journal of his from 1998-2000 leaked online

https://awkshare.com/files/7d756f81-e197-4711-9101-fd042ca3d17b

feels wrong to be reading this but it's pretty fascinating, hundreds of pages not only detailing the entire Andrew WK persona but also a man at war with himself. seems to explore the whole "use actors for the first few years/make it seem like everyone else is doing the work" idea. at some point he lays out his first 9 albums, #5 being "The Devil's on Your Side" and #6 being "The Party Gods"

obviously a good chance this was all made in the last couple of months but still, pretty crazy shit here

"i'm in heaven" is so good

xp "leaked"