They play indie rock music, with influences such as Cheap Trick, T Rex and Queen. They share management with They Might Be Giants, with whom they toured before signing to Capitol Records. They served as the house band to the public radio program This American Life on the show's fifth anniversary tour. Ira Glass, the show's host, wrote their first official bio, calling them "living catnip" and describing their songs as "part indie rock, part stadium rock, part straight up pop with the occasional whiff of The Pixies or The Cars or Elliott Smith."
In the United Kingdom, "Get Over It", from their self-titled debut album, appeared at No. 21 in the singles chart on March 16, 2003, and the band performed it on that week's edition of Top of the Pops. Also that week, the single's video was named video of the week by Q Magazine. The single was also featured in EA Sports video games Triple Play Baseball and Madden NFL 2003 in 2002.
The band contributed a cover of "This Will Be Our Year," the Zombies classic, as the lead track of Future Soundtrack for America, a political benefit album put out by Barsuk Records in the fall of 2004. Lead singer Damian Kulash also became somewhat politically active during that election cycle, writing a heavily downloaded how-to-guide entitled "How Your Band Can Fire Bush" for bands hoping to help unseat President George W. Bush, which garnered him an avalanche of hate mail.
The band's second record, "Oh No", was recorded in Malmö, Sweden and produced by Tore Johansson (The Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand) in the fall of 2004. Released in August 2005, it gained notoriety for its first single, the Clash-esque "A Million Ways." Its popularity was due in large part to its video, which proved to be a viral internet sensation in the fall of 2005. The ultra-low budget, one-take video featured the band in their back yard performing a dance choreographed by lead singer Kulash's sister, Trish Sie. Using a camera borrowed from a friend, the video was produced for under ten dollars and released without the knowledge or consent of their label, Capitol Records. By November 2005, the video had become the most downloaded music video ever with over 3 million downloads. It also spawned hundreds of tribute performances by amateur dancers around the world, a phenomenon that was encouraged by the group, which sponsored a dance contest, "OK Go Dances with You(Tube)", in which contestants were asked to upload videos of themselves doing the 'million ways dance' to YouTube, which would subsequently be judged, with the winning group of dancers to appear on stage with the band at a future OK Go performance.
The nontraditional video for "A Million Ways" is not without precedent for the band. Previous oddball video efforts featuring OK Go include their Ping Pong Instructional Video and the Federal Truth In Music Project.
Their next video featured the band dancing on treadmills to the single "Here It Goes Again" from the "Oh No" Album. This video was produced in a similar style to "A Million Ways", and also choreographed by singer/songwriter Damian Kulash's sister, Trish Sie. As with the previous music video for "A Million Ways", "Here It Goes Again" was also recorded as one continuous unedited take, although it required 7 days of rehearsal, and was the best (take 14) of 17 attempts. The amateur and yet brilliantly original 'treadmill video' sparked an even greater viral internet phenomenon than the AMW video, and was subsequently viewed on YouTube and elsewhere online well over 15 million times. On February 11, 2007, the "Here It Goes Again" music video earned the band members of OK Go and Trish Sie the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
OK Go toured North America with Silversun Pickups and Snow Patrol in 2007.
DON'T ASK ME
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't nod don't laugh all nicely.
Don't think you'll up-end me.
Don't sigh, don't sip your iced-tea.
And don't say, "It's been a while..."
And don't flash that stupid smile.
Don't ask me how I've been.
Don't think I've forgotten,
You never liked that necklace.
So cordial, so rotten...
Kiss, kiss, let's meet for breakfast.
Don't show up so on-time
And don't act like you're so kind
Don't ask me how I've been.
Don't sit there and play just
So frank, so straight, so candid,
So thoughtful, so gracious,
So sound, so even-handed.
Don't be so damn benign
And don't waste my fucking time.
Don't ask me how I've been.
Hey! Get over it!
The lyrics to "Don't Ask Me" by OK Go are a sarcastic ode to an ex-lover or former friend who has moved on while the singer is still dealing with the breakup. The singer of the song is frustrated with the other person's behavior, which they perceive as phony and insincere. They don't want to hear the old platitudes and fake politeness that the other person is throwing their way, and they resent the fact that the other person seems to have gotten over the breakup so quickly while they are still hurting. The chorus ("Don't ask me how I've been") is a direct rebuke to the other person's attempts to reestablish contact and feign interest in their well-being.
The verses of the song detail some of the ways in which the other person is attempting to reach out and reconnect, such as showing up at the agreed upon meeting spot on time, offering to have breakfast together, and trying to seem kind and thoughtful. The singer rejects all of these overtures and instead demands that the other person show some real emotion and honesty. The anger and bitterness in the song is leavened with a healthy dose of humor and irony, as the singer recognizes the absurdity of the situation and their own inability to move on. The final rallying cry of "Hey! Get over it!" is a kind of pep talk to themselves, a reminder that they need to let go of the past and move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Quit acting so friendly.
Stop pretending to be my friend.
Don't nod don't laugh all nicely.
Don't try to act polite and amicable.
Don't think you'll up-end me.
Don't assume you have the upper hand over me.
Don't sigh, don't sip your iced-tea.
Don't act so casual and uninterested.
And don't say, "It's been a while..."
Don't try to make small talk with me.
And don't flash that stupid smile.
Don't try to fake a friendly smile.
Don't ask me how I've been.
Don't inquire about my well-being.
Don't think I've forgotten,
Don't assume I've forgiven and forgotten.
You never liked that necklace.
You always had a problem with something about me.
So cordial, so rotten...
You act friendly, but your intentions are malicious.
Kiss, kiss, let's meet for breakfast.
Don't try to make plans with me, as if we are still close.
Don't show up so on-time
Don't arrive ahead of time, trying to impress me.
And don't act like you're so kind
Don't try to be extra nice to me in order to manipulate me.
Don't sit there and play just
Don't try to play it cool or put on an act.
So frank, so straight, so candid,
Don't be overly honest or blunt.
So thoughtful, so gracious,
Don't try to act like you are considerate or courteous.
So sound, so even-handed.
Don't show off how fair and reasonable you are trying to be.
Don't be so damn benign
Don't act innocuous or harmless when you really aren't.
And don't waste my fucking time.
Stop bothering me and trying to deceive me with your fake niceties.
Don't ask me how I've been.
Do not pretend to be concerned about me.
Hey! Get over it!
Stop trying to manipulate me and move on.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAMIAN KULASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DrumCovers0096
Crazy underrated album. So many FANTASTIC songs
@anberee
So true!!
@hannahjosef35
I don't understand how some people can't like their new music. I love there new and old music.
@pokenutter
Honestly, it could be the audio mastering for the CDs. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but the cacophonous nature of Of The Blue Color Of The Sky made it hard to listen to.
@amiethompson6062
*their
@toomdog
Where? Where do you love new and old music?
@melissaa.bernstein910
Their music changed a lot when OG Andy left, because he was the synthesizer guy. The self titled album is the last one he was involved with, so everything after that was less synth-y. I also attribute it to them just growing older, getting married, etc. They're fantastic guys and great performers.
@callowrat
Most people that like bands that go from punk to indie/electronic are like that
@egg7962
Guys, it's obviously a T-mobile commercial.
@xaytaytortot2540
XD