You're Not Alone by Andrew W.K.

Hey there. What are you doing? Are you chilling? Are you relaxing? Busy? Tired? Just stuck going through life? Do you need to snap out of it?

Sometimes I have to actively go out and snap out of the whole loop. Other times, something comes out of left field and totally knocks me out of the whole loop. You're Not Alone by Andrew W.K. is exactly the latter.

For starters, it's not fair how much cheese this album has. It's dripping with it, coated in more parmesan and mozzarella than a typical Chicago deep dish pizza. Have you ever fallen off a bike? The impact of you hitting the ground has more subtlely than this album. The lyrics make goddamn blink-182 seem like a modern Charles Dickens. The style and riffs aren't anything new or crazy, it just sounds like that other track on the alternative radio station. Y'know, the one in between every other song you've heard hundred times.

Despite all of that, I love this goddamn album. It's just so… sincere! I spent a lot of time this weekend with a friend who reminded me how important being real and sincere was. This album is like a splash of cold water on my face given the realities of modern world. Literally everything is sarcasm, or irony, or meta-commentary. When you get to one of the spoken word tracks in this, you think it has to be a joke. People don't like, y'know, do that anymore. It feels so out of place, so forced so awkward - make it stop!

But then I listen again. He's really doing this. He's not faking it, he's putting his whole heart out there. These, as far as I can tell, are his sincere beliefs. I've gone from crying in laughter to nodding sagely, to almost crying. In case you haven't really listened yet (boo!), this is the kind of spoken word motivation I'm talking about:

Our ultimate quest is not to destroy the shadows or our demons But to learn to hold hands with that side of life To party with our demons

What is this shit????

It's like a Christian rock album, but God's actually just partying, not sacrificing Jesus.

It's like a self help album, but the only cure is more partying.

Fucking party on man. I love it!