New Afterword site, new opportunity for me to write a paean to a record virtually nobody else actually likes.
Andrew W.K. I Get Wet. Officially my 6th favourite album of all time. Officially the soundtrack to the single best gig I’ve ever attended in my entire life.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let me take you back… back…. back….. back….
It is the year of our lord, 2001. The inkies are relentlessly hyping a new act named Andrew W.K. Very few people have heard a note of his music – it’s not on Napster yet – and all most of us know of him is a single image, the image which will eventually grace the front cover of his debut album, and which Dave Grohl will later describe as “the most beautiful photo of a man I’ve ever seen”. It promises so much: the bloody nose, the sweaty hair, the defiant look.
My first encounter with the music itself was… underwhelming. Saturday morning television. Ant & Dec, I believe. Some genius at the record company had decided that “Party Hard”, the lead single, had potential mainstream appeal and would probably benefit from being played to an » Continue Reading.