I Get Wet

I Get Wet
Studio album by Andrew W.K.
Released November 13, 2001
Recorded 2000-2001
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock
Length 35:33
Label Island
Producer Andrew W.K., John Fields, Scott Humphrey, TSD, Frank Vierti
Andrew W.K. chronology

Party Til You Puke (EP)
(2000)		 I Get Wet
(2001)		 The Wolf
(2003)
Singles from I Get Wet
  1. "Party Hard"
    Released: October 29, 2001
  2. "She Is Beautiful"
    Released: February 19, 2002
  3. "We Want Fun"
    Released: December 2002
  4. "Fun Night"
    Released: 2003

I Get Wet is the major-label debut album from solo artist Andrew W.K.. It is noted for its controversial 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.[1]

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.[1]

Another inspiration for I Get Wet was the charity single "We Are the World" by USA for Africa. 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.[1]

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 to represent cocaine abuse and violence.[2] 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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 64/100[5]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [6]
Alternative Press [5]
Blender [5]
Robert Christgau A–[7]
Entertainment Weekly B+[8]
NME 8/10[9]
Pitchfork Media 0.6/10 (2002)[10]
8.6/10 (2012)[11]
Q [5]
Rolling Stone [12]

I Get Wet provoked sharp critical reaction when it was initially released. Pitchfork Media's Ian Cohen wrote of the response to the album: "...critics of Andrew W.K. were often branded as the fun police and his fans considered fools or incurable ironists."[11] 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] Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club described the album as "more fabulously entertaining the louder it's played" and added that "if it wipes out a generation of hard-rock crybabies along the way, fans will owe him a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid."[13] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone also gave the album a positive review, stating that "there's no denying the over-the-top whomp of his music, the loudest and funniest metal you've heard in ages."[12] 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."[9]

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."[14] 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.'"[10] 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."[11]

Legacy

Q listed I Get Wet as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[15] Rhapsody ranked the album #2 on its "Rock's Best Albums of the Decade" list.[16] Pitchfork Media placed I Get Wet at number 144 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[17] NME included I Get Wet in their retrospective list of the best albums of 2001.[18]

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.[1] ”

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
  1. "We Want Fun" – 4:21
  2. "Make Sex" – 0:46

Personnel
Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cohen, Ian. Interviews: Andrew W.K.. Pitchfork Media. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Blame it on the piano lessons". The Independent. February 3, 2002. Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  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. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "I Get Wet". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Phares, Heather. "I Get Wet – Andrew W.K.". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 11, 2003). "Consumer Guide: The Prelude". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  8. ↑ Browne, David (March 18, 2002). "I Get Wet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Oldham, Jason (October 30, 2001). "Andrew WK : I Get Wet". NME. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Schreiber, Ryan (July 7, 2002). "Andrew W. K.: I Get Wet". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Cohen, Ian (August 31, 2012). "Andrew W. K.: I Get Wet". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "I Get Wet". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "Andrew W.K.: I Get Wet". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (March 25, 2002). "Andrew WK: I Get Wet". PopMatters. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  15. ↑ "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q: 60–65. December 2001.
  16. ↑ "Rock's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  17. ↑ Pitchfork Media staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  18. ↑ "A Decade Of Music – 50 Best Albums Of 2001". NME. November 4, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2015.