So the other day Stereogum posted an article about the AWK conspiracy theories that've been hanging around since early in his career, which I'm not even gonna try to summarize here. At first, I was annoyed because a) it's been beat into the ground already and b) Andrew WK makes beautiful, perfect music that doesn't need to get muddied up by rumors based on what, if AWK were to be believed, amounts to a business partnership gone sour. However, the article isn't just a remarkably comprehensive analysis of said controversies, but actually functions as a complete re-evaluation of his work that aligns him with visionaries and reality-benders like Andy Kaufman and David Lynch.
Beyond all of that, though, it was a relief to see that I'm not the only fucking person in the world who noticed how fucking weird and dark a lot of his lyrics are. Take "I Love NYC" off of I Get Wet, for instance: while the meaning of lyrics such as "We are your mother-father/We are your fighter friend/You can't stop what you can't end" is anyone's guess, it is clear that "I Love NYC" is not, in fact, about loving NYC.
"Party 'Til You Puke" is another great example: what exactly do the lyrics "We dent/We dope/We choke/We gun/We kill/We stab/We rob/We steal" have to do with partying, exactly? Ponder this as you listen to the Party Til You Puke EP, which finds a young AWK presenting a raw, blown-out, but more-or-less fully-formed version of his id-driven insanity. It's way meatier than the below track listing might seem to suggest. And please, read the above-linked article, it blew my goddamn mind.
Track listing:
1. Party Til You Puke
2. Party Til You Puke (Remix)
3. Party Til You Puke (Shout Out Mix)
4. Dance Party (Anti Never Ending Music Mix)
5. I Want to Kill (Built It Up Mix)
6. Old Man [Couch cover]
We're not gonna die, and you can never kill us
We're not gonna die, and you can never hurt us
it’s interesting that anyone else other than my fanatics friend is interested in this whole AWK/Steev Mike conspiracy. Will definitely put it on my to read list now! Now, if only Stereogum can post a similarly insightful article on the Lady Gaga conspiracy...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I honestly never cared too much because I got the sense that it was all just some contract disagreement bullshit that got blown up and superfans just ran with it. Dude who wrote the article, on the other hand, has clearly spent a lot of time down the rabbit hole, but came out with a really clear, believable interpretation of it all that casts AWK as a literal genius.
DeleteTen or 15 years ago, a casual acquaintance happened to mention he'd gone to high school with a young Andrew W.K. and that he'd been one of those insufferable, pretentious philosophy droners -- which I thought about for maybe 30 seconds and then filed away and never thought of again...until I read the stereogum story. Amazing.
DeleteStory checks out
Deletemaybe the most amazing thing is that someone wrote such a logn article about AWK...
ReplyDeleteThis was obviously fascinating, but I'm confused... Do people believe that any of this conspiracy stuff is real, or are they just fascinated by the lengths that Andrew goes to in order to perpetuate his performance art? Either way, it only enhances my appreciation of his music, but I find it odd that people would actually believe this stuff, you know?
ReplyDeleteFor sure, I think that's what was so fascinating about the article -- that it casts doubt on the idea that there are actually these obsessive super-fans out there trying to piece it all together, and supports the idea that it's actually AWK putting in countless hours creating this whole alternate reality for a very small audience.
DeleteThe music is so empty, so dumb, that it actually needs these theories to perpetuate it. Once it takes off, however...
ReplyDelete100% disagree. Barely knew shit about this until a few years ago, have been waaay into AWK since I Get Wet came out
DeleteI'm with @Kevin Allen on this one. Love you and all you do here DEAR_SPIRIT but I find it incredulous that such time and effort is spent by someone or anyone on such a third tier artist. I read every word of the article and came away with the exact same feeling I get from the music: nothing.
DeleteWell obviously it’s not for everyone. It’s ok, you don’t have to like it. Not sure why you both want to share that opinion with someone who obviously disagrees. Like, just move on to the next post or something, you know?
Delete@DEAR_SPIRIT:
DeleteIt wasn't a potshot or a dis. There's nothing more subjective than music. You took the time to post your thoughts and the link and I took the time to read the linked article and post my thoughts back. Nothing more than that. But if only the opinions that line up with yours are deemed valid then yes, going forward I'll just say thanks for the post and move on.
It has nothing to do with validity, I just validated your opinion. It's just whether or not it's of value in context. If you actually had thoughts regarding anything contained in the article or AWK's music, there's maybe some value in expressing it. But if your thoughts amount to, "his music makes me feel nothing, why would anyone devote so much time to a shitty artist?" what does anyone have to gain from hearing them? Feel free to share your thoughts about anything I post, but again, if they amount to, "this sucks, what a waste of time," I'll probably react crankily again.
DeleteI only referred to AWK as a third tier artist, which is about relative stature as compared to more popular artists. I'd say David Olney is a third tier artist too and I love his songwriting. He just doesn't have wide recognition. I didn't say AWK sucks, just that his stuff doesn't move me. I believe you inferred the sucks part. The Beatles don't move me either, but I don't say they suck. I don't think that about them. All I meant to express was I'm perplexed by the depth of intrigue apparently swirling around this about artist. Sincere thanks for all you do here.
ReplyDeleteOkey dokey
DeleteI saw Andrew WK at All Tomorrow's Parties a few back. Had David Yow not given me a spiked bottle of champagne beforehand, my memory would probably function better, and this comment would be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Andrew WK a half-dozen times. I almost died several times, each time (except for the one gig that was a solo motivational speaking sort of affair), but oh, how I LIVED!
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't surprise me in the least to know that there's some high-minded conceptual shit going on with him that nerdy heshers of the future will bore each other debating, and yeah, maybe it's kinda cool, but who cares. His music is as pure an expression of joy as anything I've ever heard, and that's really all that matters.
so fuckin good
ReplyDeletebecause of this post i re-listened to a bunch of awk and also kathode's ep. thanks buddy
ReplyDelete