This is Andrew WK:
Andrew WK is a musician who had a fairly big breakout in 2001 with minor classic
I Get Wet, in which he implored you, me, and everyone we know to Party As Hard As Possible.
His music is happy, wall-of-sound punk mixed in with pianos, shouting, and really just anything Andrew thinks might get a fuckin' party going. And it did! It was a hit and he toured around for a while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WccfbPQNMbg
After that he had a few follow ups that weren't as well received, and then a weird thing happened. Andrew stopped making music.
But he didn't stop Partying. He developed something he called the Philosophy of Partying, and began working as a motivational speaker and columnist, getting out his philosophy of the power of positivity, self confidence, and togetherness through the power of partying.
He toured the country giving what he called "pep talks for the soul". These discussions often evolved into parties after the talking part was done.
Andrews notoriety as an unstoppable force of positivity and motivation grew as he toured.
In June 2014, Andrew was announced to speak as a guest lecturer at the Oxford Union. W.K.'s keynote, titled
Andrew W.K. and The Philosophy of Partying, discussed his signature message of positive power and celebratory self-confidence. Regarding the lecture, Oxford's Nick Fowler said: "In my opinion, Andrew is one of Rock N’ Roll’s great philosophers." And the Oxford University Rock Society offered their own statement: "We've seen rock stars, we've seen brilliant public speakers, but rarely are they the same person, and rarely do they have as intriguing and broad a background as Andrew W.K."
In 2018, a Suicide Prevention non-profit called the American Association of Suicidology named Andrew their Person of the Year for his work.
And today, March 2nd, Andrew's first album in about a decade has been released.
Titled "You're Not Alone", it is both like and unlike any previous work he has done. It is uplifting, powerful, and it fuckin parties.
Experiencing it feels like hearing a motivational TED Talk delivered by someone who shotgunned two Natty Ices prior to taking the stage.
The whole thing is available legally on his VEVO. I ask you to join me and Andrew in partying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysbmarEjmXwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_EupMUsb50
Thank you for your consideration, and please remember:
This may seem silly, but Andrew WK's music, and even his philosophy, have gotten me through some rough times and I would like to share that with you all. Party Hard.
Posts
And yes, of course, someone asked:
I think what makes his whole thing work for me is I dont think be has a scrap of irony in his while body
When he says partying saved his life and he thinks it can save yours I genuinely believe that he believes that to be true
I'm really digging the new album
It's so earnest that at times it sounds like he's been born again except instead of Jesus its Partying
It was pretty great.
He was tweeting with people that were at the show before he went on, and counted down from 666 to midnight.
One of them is about learning to party with your demons
Anyway, the whole thing is a great read and it really fucking struck me, but this bit in particular was probably the most touching, direct, non-pandering response to this type of question I've ever seen:
The whole thing is here: https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/06/04/ask-andrew-w-k-im-contemplating-suicide/
Yeah like
The thing is, when I tell people he became a motivational speaker they usually laugh
You don't expect that to mean "No, but like a really good one".
He's really good at articulating his philosophy and though the ideas are simple sometimes thats all you need.
for me, it's Andrew WK and Gentleman Jervis Cottonbelly
the two people I've heard most eloquently talk about the struggle of living with anxiety and depression, and the power and importance of fighting and pushing through and seeing the joy and hope on the other side, even when you're at your worst
which is, in no small part because of them, a huge part of my life philosophy
I'm sorta glad to hear I'm not the only one, because on its face it seems sort of ridiculous to base a lot of your thought on people like this
Not that I've ever been embarrassed about it but I guess I'm glad its not just me
Yeah, okay
That tracks
https://youtu.be/amUrLhYA0ZU
Battle.net: IronSquirrel#1462
He can't die
For his being is not flesh and blood like ours
(I'm sorry I scared you)
Battle.net: IronSquirrel#1462
xbl - HowYouGetAnts
steam - WeAreAllGeth
Also did you know Andrew did a whole cover album of songs from the Gundam franchise
https://youtu.be/zILVdHewOZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0TzUNti3rY
Pitchfork is real dumb sometimes!
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16836-i-get-wet/
And, of course, they gave "Pinkerton" like a 7, which is so wrong that they took it off the site.
I dont think it has as high of highs but i genuinely like listening to it the whole way through
I mentioned to @MusicDragon that Andrew W.K. had a new album out and she didn't seem to know who I was talking about, so I pulled up the thread figuring seeing the images of him in the OP would trigger her memory. It did not. In fact she informed me that she had never heard of the guy, an obvious failing on my part that was quickly remedied with the help of Chincy's excellent summarization. She read the OP and watched the video for Party Hard and the others in the OP excluding the ones from the new album. I figured that would give her a good idea of the guy and what we could expect from the new album. I pulled up the album on Spotify, but before hitting play I asked her this question: "So what do you think this is going to sound like?" She replied, "Party, party, party. Party, party, party." and I clicked play on "The Power of Partying" only to hear those exact words repeated. We both burst out laughing and hi-fives were given. I replied with "I think you've got a pretty good handle on this." Thank you @Chincymcchilla for your part in making this memory.
Battle.net: IronSquirrel#1462
Hey no problem! Glad I could help!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjX7KfTiYTA
Battle.net: IronSquirrel#1462
https://www.npr.org/2009/11/30/120758328/andrew-w-k-tiny-desk-concert
(they're not actually amazing but it's just perfectly in character to do something like that).
Off topic, but if anyone's interested, check out Ben Folds and Moon Hooch. Two of the absolute best, weirdest ones in the entire series.