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I Get Wet

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Untitled

I Get Wet is the major-label debut album from solo artist Andrew W.K.. It is noted for its controversial[1] artwork as well as its hit singles "Party Hard" and "She Is Beautiful".

Recording

Production

I Get Wet was recorded while Andrew W.K. was living in New York City. The first songs written for the album were "It's Time to Party" and "Take It Off." The album was recorded with many layers of overdubbing, in order to make the album "sound as party as we could make it sound," and for the "sound of the songs to be like one instrument" instead of a collection of individual musicians.[2]

Influences

One inspiration for the album was Andrew W.K's enjoyment of intense, major-key music, something he attributed to his musical childhood experiences with the piano.[2]

Another inspiration for I Get Wet was the charity single "We Are the World." Andrew W.K. was impressed with how all the artists on the song were singing all at once, something he described as a "powerful sound, like an orchestra." In turn, Andrew W.K. wanted to create music that sounded like that.[2]

Album cover

I Get Wet is known for its highly recognizable cover art shot by famed art photographer Roe Ethridge: a photo of a wet-haired Andrew W.K. with a large stream of blood running from his nose, down his chin and onto his throat. This cover art caused a controversy in Europe, as it was seen as endorsing cocaine usage. To achieve the effect, W.K. initially said that he struck himself in the face with a brick during the photo shoot, but later explained that it did not lead to enough blood flow. Consequently, he supplemented his own blood with some of an animal which he got from a butcher's shop.[3]

Release history

The album went to #1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. The songs "Party Hard" and "She Is Beautiful" were released as singles. The opening track, "It's Time to Party", was featured in an advertisement for Hotwire.com, a Coors spot and an Expedia ad. "Fun Night" can be heard in the 2003 film Old School. The track, "Don't Stop Living in the Red" was featured in an ad for Target. "I Love NYC" is frequently played at New York Rangers games. "Ready to Die" is used in the Hitman game series.

On August 28, 2012, a deluxe reissue of I Get Wet was released. The reissue contained previously unheard recordings, demos, live tracks, and alternate mixes. A limited number of autographed deluxe editions contained a lock of Andrew's hair, a piece of his white jeans, or an autographed plane ticket from his 2012 world tour.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [6]
The A.V. Clubfavorable [7]
Blender[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+ [8]
NME8/10 [11]
Pitchfork Media0.6/10 [9]
Pitchfork Media8.6/10 [10]
PopMatters [12]
Robert ChristgauA− [13]
Rolling Stone [14]

I Get Wet provoked sharp critical reaction when it was initially released. One writer wrote of the album's reaction: "critics of Andrew W.K. were often branded as the fun police and his fans considered fools or incurable ironists."[10] On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 64 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."[5]

Allmusic's Heather Phares praised the album, writing: "While the album has a certain sameness due to the frenetic beat that drives nearly every track, it's the perfect complement to W.K.'s party-centric vision. Refreshingly simple and cleverly stupid, I Get Wet is a great big bear hug of an album, and resistance to its hard-partying charms is futile."[6] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone also gave the album a positive review, writing "There's no denying the over-the-top whomp of his music, the loudest and funniest metal you've heard in ages."[14] NME's Jason Oldham called the album "an amazing experience," writing: "It's a record made entirely of raw eggs and steak, it's for people who like the smell of hot crack in the morning and if we were to write a review in a similar style it would have to be ENTIRELYINCAPTIALLETTERSWITHOUTANYPAUSESATALL."[11]

Adrien Begrand of Popmatters gave the album a mixed review, writing "At its best, WK’s music is a refreshing blast of skanky air on the current stale music scene, but at its worst, it’s disappointingly monotonous, unoriginal, and very, very dumb."[12] Magnet gave the album a scathing review, writing "Here, on one compact disc, is what's wrong with the music industry."[5] Pitchfork Media originally gave the album a very negative review, with website founder Ryan Schreiber writing: "This here is about as empty as rock music gets, right down to the tinny, digitally processed tonebank noise that passes for 'guitars.'"[9] However, in a review of the 2012 deluxe edition on the same website, Ian Cohen gave the album a Best New Reissue designation. Cohen referred to his own review of I Get Wet as Pitchfork Media's "biggest statistical mea culpa ever."[10]

Legacy

Rhapsody ranked the album #2 on its "Rock’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[15] Pitchfork Media placed I Get Wet at number 144 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[16]

Andrew W.K. reflected on the album's initial reaction in a 2012 interview, saying:

Everything is always going through changes in terms of attitudes or mood, but it does seem like partying is a more common theme in music and culture [now]; colorful attitudes and excitement and positivity are more embraced. I remember trying to make a band the first time around [..] people didn't like that there were keyboards in the music. They said it sounded too corporate. They also didn't like that it had this four-on-the-floor club beat. But it's interesting because now the club/dance beat is in lots and lots of songs. I was very happy with how things have come around.[2]

Track listing

All songs composed by Andrew W.K..

  1. "It's Time to Party" – 1:30
  2. "Party Hard" – 3:04
  3. "Girls Own Love" – 3:13
  4. "Ready to Die" – 2:54
  5. "Take It Off" – 3:10
  6. "I Love NYC" – 3:11
  7. "She Is Beautiful" – 3:33
  8. "Party til You Puke" – 2:34
  9. "Fun Night" – 3:23
  10. "Got to Do It" – 3:55
  11. "I Get Wet" – 3:23
  12. "Don't Stop Living in the Red" – 1:42
Japanese edition bonus tracks
  2. "We Want Fun"
  3. "Make Sex"

Personnel

Additional personnel
  • Tony Allen – guitar
  • Chris Chaney – bass guitar
  • Mike David – bass guitar
  • Gary Novak – additional drums
  • F.T. Thomas – guitar
  • Frank Vierti – piano, keyboards
  • Phil X. – guitar

References

  1. ^ The Independent Blame it on the piano[dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d Cohen, Ian. Interviews: Andrew W.K.. Pitchfork Media. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ Worley, Gail. "Andrew W.K". Ink 19. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  4. ^ ORDER "I GET WET" CD & VINYL. andrewwk.com. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Critic Reviews for I Get Wet. Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2011
  6. ^ a b Phares, Heather (2001-11-13). "I Get Wet - Andrew W.K. : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  7. ^ Thompson, Stephen (2002-03-29). "Andrew W.K.: I Get Wet | Music | MusicalWork Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  8. ^ David Browne (2002-03-18). "EW Review". Ew.com. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  9. ^ a b Schreiber, Ryan. Album Reviews: Andrew W. K.: I Get Wet. Pitchfork Media. 7 July 2002. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Cohen, Ian. Album Reviews: Andrew W. K.: I Get Wet. Pitchfork Media. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  11. ^ a b "NME review". Nme.com. 2001-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  12. ^ a b Begrand, Adrien. "Popmatters review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  13. ^ "CG: andrew w.k". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  14. ^ a b "RS Review". RollingStone.com. 2008-08-21. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  15. ^ "Rock’s Best Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  16. ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
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