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.
Obsession
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You could almost imagine it didn't just happen
But everything will change, in just one look, one little glance
It's not passing fascination now
It's obsession
Uh huh, it's obsession
It's obsession
It's obsession
And it's physical
It's like standing at the edge
Your blood starts to pump, 'cause you're worried you might jump
And your head throbbing like a heart
And your heart throbbing like a drum
And the drums throbbing like the point is just go ahead and jump
It's obsession
Uh huh, it's obsession
It's obsession
Uh huh, it's obsession
It's obsession
There's only one way out
There's only one way out
There's only one way out
There's only one way out
A look so quick, a movement so slight
Oh, it's not passing fascination now
It's obsession
Uh huh, it's obsession
It's obsession
Uh huh, it's obsession
It's obsession
The lyrics to OK Go's song Obsession are a powerful description of the all-encompassing nature of obsession. The opening lines describe how, at first, the object of obsession is almost imperceptible - a quick look or a slight movement that could be mistaken for nothing. However, the lyrics quickly shift to assert that "everything will change" at the moment of obsession - just one look, one little glance, and suddenly the interest becomes an all-consuming fixation.
The lyrics then describe the physical effects that obsession can have on a person, with the heart pounding like a drum and the head throbbing like a heart. The repetitive use of "uh huh, it's obsession" emphasizes the intensity and all-encompassing nature of the sensation. The ominous repetition of "there's only one way out" suggests that once the obsession takes hold, it is difficult or impossible to break free.
Overall, the lyrics to Obsession use vivid language and repetition to convey the power and all-consuming nature of obsession, from the initial spark of interest to the physical and emotional effects it can have.
Line by Line Meaning
A look so quick, a movement so slight
Something fleeting that might have gone unnoticed
You could almost imagine it didn't just happen
It's easy to ignore, it feels insignificant
But everything will change, in just one look, one little glance
Suddenly, everything becomes meaningful by that one look
It's not passing fascination now
What was once a fleeting look is now an obsession
It's obsession
The fixation on the thing which once went unnoticed
Uh huh, it's obsession
The obsession is all-encompassing
And it's physical
The obsession has a physical manifestation on the body
It's like standing at the edge
The feeling of being on the brink of something big
Your blood starts to pump, 'cause you're worried you might jump
The physical manifestation of the body's response to obsession
And your head throbbing like a heart
The brain is affected as well
And your heart throbbing like a drum
The heart rate is elevated
And the drums throbbing like the point is just go ahead and jump
The bloodlust boils, as if daring you to jump
There's only one way out
The only way to find peace is to give in to the obsession
A look so quick, a movement so slight
Every tiny detail is of great importance to the obsessed mind
Oh, it's not passing fascination now
The obsession cannot be dismissed any longer
It's obsession
The fixation is all that remains in the mind
Uh huh, it's obsession
The obsession commands full attention and action
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Dan Konopka, Andy Ross, Timothy Nordwind, Damian Kulash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sydney9920
We need a full blown Netflix documentary about all the people involved in making these music videos. Every single one is a piece of art.
@hannahlmedia
YES YES YES AND YES
@dncviorel
Yeah, they're creative alright. So many other bands and artists use the term "creativity" trying to look interesting and hip. This guys are the real deal, this is how you create stuff, by being the first to do something cool, never done before. You're not creative if you sing a song, play an instrument or draw a painting or whatever other artistic thing. You need to actually come with GOOD ideas never done before. That's creativity.
@liamjagoe260
@@dncviorel to quote your profile picture, what? shut up that's so rude you dumb little dingus
@tntcake6327
Theres a documentary for upside down and inside out. Its called gravity is just a habit
@remnant1018
Agreed
@r3dy627
I admire these guys so much. The amount of time they put into music videos is insane. The sheer amount of math and calculation that had to go into that video is absolutely incredible.
@marcusmilton1
You should check out their behind the scenes video...
@m9ch15l
If only they put the same effort into their music... They r musicians after all
@jeice13
@@m9ch15l harsh... nice