12 '00s Hard Rock Albums All Fans Should Own
9. Andrew WK - I Get Wet
Not to generalise, but hard rock is often a miserablist’s genre. From Sabbath onwards this was commonly the devil’s music, tied to angst and despair. Andrew W.K did not get the memo.
His debut record is nothing short of a thunderbolt of positivity from a man who turned partying into a way of life. Indeed the word “Party” features in the title of a quarter of these songs, most notably in lead single and undeniable banger “Party Hard”, a song which proves that simplicity is often best - a couple of chords, a few synth sounds, about 15 words total in the lyrics, and a killer hit.
W.K doesn’t shift things up to much, mainly letting the listener know the things he enjoys (“I Love NY”, “Fun Night”) and imploring them to adopt a similarly gung ho lifestyle (“Party Til You Puke”, “Don’t Stop Living In The Red”).
Subtle it ain’t, but much thought has gone into it from the shrewd W.K, who made waves with his bloodied face on the cover art (which he claimed, probably falsely, was the result of self mutilation). He never overstays his welcome, and gives the people what they want - a proper entertainer.