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.
No Sign Of Life
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sarah's still down on the bench at the Circle K,
Crying and crying all day.
Everybody's best attempts didn't do no good.
No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign.
But I got a hunch: it's not over yet. It's not over yet.
Kate broke down on Division Street.
Oh, I swear I gave it my best shot,
What else could I do?
No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign.
But I got a hunch: it's not over yet. It's not over yet.
J's locked out on the fire escape.
Sarah's still down on the bench at the Circle K,
Crying and crying all day.
And everybody's best attempts couldn't do no good.
No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign.
But I got a hunch: it's not over yet. It's not over yet.
It's not over yet.
The lyrics of OK Go's song No Sign Of Life follows a group of people who are facing difficult circumstances in their lives, but the singer is not ready to give up hope for them. The song is a representation of stagnation in life and the overwhelming feeling of being stuck, highlighting the struggle that the characters are experiencing in their respective crises. The repeated lines of "No sign of life" signify the emptiness and despair that the characters are feeling. The chorus, "But I got a hunch: it's not over yet. It's not over yet," echoes the hesitation to give up hope despite the bleak situation.
The verse focusing on Kate mentions a specific location, Division Street, and emphasizes the oppressive weather conditions, with the phrase "air so wet you can hear your heart beat." This detail gives insight into the sensory experience of being stuck in a difficult situation. The repetition of "and beat" creates a sense of nervous anticipation and a feeling of being trapped.
The imagery of J being locked out on the fire escape and Sarah crying all day on a bench at Circle K are specific examples of the characters' struggles. There is a sense that the people that are trying to help are powerless to change the situation, but the singer refuses to give up hope for them.
Overall, the lyrics of No Sign Of Life explore the struggle with hopelessness and the importance of holding onto hope even in the most dire of situations.
Line by Line Meaning
J's locked out on the fire escape.
J is stuck on the fire escape, unable to come inside the building.
Sarah's still down on the bench at the Circle K, Crying and crying all day.
Sarah is sitting on a bench at Circle K, crying inconsolably all day long.
Everybody's best attempts didn't do no good.
Despite everyone's best efforts, they were unable to help J, Sarah or Kate.
No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign of life. No sign.
There is no indication that J, Sarah or Kate are alive or doing well.
But I got a hunch: it's not over yet. It's not over yet.
Despite the dire circumstances, the singer has a feeling that things may still turn around for J, Sarah or Kate.
Kate broke down on Division Street. Air so wet you can hear your heart beat, and beat, and beat, and beat, and beat.
Kate's car broke down on Division Street, the atmospheric conditions were so humid that her heart was beating loudly and persistently.
Oh, I swear I gave it my best shot, What else could I do?
The singer expresses the dedication and effort put into trying to help J, Sarah and Kate, but ultimately feels powerless to do more.
It's not over yet. It's not over yet.
The singer repeats his optimism, believing that the story is not yet finished and there is still hope for J, Sarah and Kate.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAMIAN KULASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind