Photos and words: Bob Kronbauer

You might look at Andrew W.K.'s music and the way that it's been marketed and peg the dude himself as a simple stadium rocker, a headbanger, a party starter, a party continuer, a party ender or simply a party partier. But if you take the time to dig a little deeper you'll find (like I recently did) that he's actually a real, live, brilliant, genuine folk hero. Perhaps not a traditional folk hero like, say, Billy the Kid or Woody Guthrie or Ned Kelly, but he is a modern-day hero of the folks, touring around inspiring them, including them in what he's doing and making them feel better about being humans, about the world they live in and about their place in it. If you watch episodes of his old TV show "Your Friend, Andrew W.K." (embedded at the bottom of this page) or the recent Soft Focus interview with him on VBS.tv, you'll get a nibble of what I'm talking about. Go see him live the next time he rolls through your town and you'll get the whole meal deal.

Without further ado, we are proud to present you with a small sample platter of some of Andrew W.K.'s favorite songs.

"I've never really liked placing things in an ordered list from top to bottom - having to pick favorites - and I continue to refuse ordering of this type. However, I decided to try it here for fun, and for Bob." - Andrew W.K.