What’s the toughest part of forming a high school band? The self-crowned King of Party Rock, Andrew W.K., says it’s probably coming up with a name. He still has pages of unused band names from that era in his life. “It’s a painful process,” he tells Kurt Andersen. “I remember driving around, looking at people on the sidewalk and thinking how lucky they were that they didn’t have to come up with a band name at that moment.” (Kurt is unsympathetic; “talk about first world problems,” he replies.)

Along with Thao Nguyen, Andrew W.K. is judging Studio 360’s Battle of the High School Bands, and he screened a few contending entries with Kurt, including “Fourth Dimension,” by a New Jersey band called the Orphans. And although Andrew is a full-time rocker, he’s impressed by a folk-influenced ballad called “The River,” by Nashville’s Bea, Rita & Maeve. “They sound like old, old women,” he says. “In a good way!”

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This segment originally aired when Kurt Andersen guest hosted WNYC's Soundcheck. 

Listen to the featured songs from Studio 360’s Battle of the High School Bands: