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.
Skyscrapers
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I didn?t mean a word I said
Skyscrapers, I was just tangled up in my own head
And somehow in all the madness
I thought that I was seeing straight
It ain?t always pretty, but it seemed there was no other way
And I guess, all I ever loved
Was standing right before my eyes
So skyscrapers, please forgive me
I?m standing here repentative, man
Oh skyscrapers, I?ll never look down again, again
Oh ?cause I guess, all I ever loved
Was standing right before my eyes
Oh yeah I guess all I?ve ever known
Was standing here all the time
And I, yeah I, I was blind
You were right here all the time
You were right here all the time, I was blind
The lyrics to OK Go's song Skyscrapers speak to the realization that comes with hindsight. The singer pleads for forgiveness from the towering structures for thoughts and actions that were misguided. The lyrics suggest that the singer was caught up in their own thoughts and issues and failed to see the bigger picture. They were blinded by their own problems and missed what was right in front of them. This realization is juxtaposed with the majesty of the skyscrapers. As the singer stands there looking up, they understand how small their problems are compared to the towering buildings. The humility of that realization is evident in the singer's repentant posture.
The chorus repeats the idea that all the singer ever loved was standing right before their eyes. The lyrics suggest that the singer failed to see what was there all along. The repetition of this line drives home the point of the song. The lyrics suggest that the singer has come to their senses and won't be making the same mistake again. The skyscrapers serve as a metaphor for something larger, something that was always present but which the singer could not see.
Line by Line Meaning
Skyscrapers, please forgive me
The singer is asking for forgiveness from the buildings in the backdrop of the city.
I didn't mean a word I said
The singer regrets what he said and didn't mean any of it.
Skyscrapers, I was just tangled up in my own head
The singer explains that he was confused and lost in his own thoughts.
And somehow in all the madness, I thought that I was seeing straight
Despite the chaos, the singer thought he was making the right decision.
It ain't always pretty, but it seemed there was no other way
The singer admits that sometimes things aren't perfect, but it felt like he had no other option.
And I guess, all I ever loved was standing right before my eyes
The singer comes to the realization that he had love right in front of him all along.
And I, oh I, I was blind
The singer admits that he was blind to what was in front of him.
So skyscrapers, please forgive me. I'm standing here repentative, man
The singer is pleading for forgiveness again and expressing remorse for his actions.
Oh skyscrapers, I'll never look down again, again
The singer is promising to never look down on his surroundings or himself again.
Oh 'cause I guess, all I ever loved was standing right before my eyes
The singer reiterates that he had love right in front of him all along.
Oh yeah I guess all I've ever known was standing here all the time
The singer realizes that what he was searching for was right in front of him the entire time.
And I, yeah I, I was blind
The singer admits again that he was blind to what was in front of him.
You were right here all the time
The singer acknowledges that what he was searching for was always there.
You were right here all the time, I was blind
The singer admits again that he was blind and didn't see what was in front of him.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAMIAN KULASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marsw0rld
This. This is the song at the bottom of the album you don't like, and then you listen to it again a few years later and you're like, "wowie"
@EddieCaplan
I don't know a lot of OK GO's music, but for me this is their best "song"... the one that best stands alone separate from the video. Of course, this video is outstanding!
@epharonin1524
Says alot about the over-produced, formuleaic music that we're accustomed to hearing these days.
@sweesbees
it’s kind of a weak song compared to the rest of the album, but when you listen to it alone, it’s jaw-droppingly beautiful.
@docgima
God damn that’s a perfect comment!
@microwavedturtle8796
Actually I always LOVED this song! I first heard it on the Nintendo 3ds thing lmao. Soooo many years ago
@albripi
At this point I'm such a fan of OK GO to knowing that Trish (the director and dancer of this beautiful video) is Damian's sister and the choreographer of the first OK-GO videos, more notably the dance in the backyard and the treadmill. Incredibly artistic family!
@astaBeta59
I do kinda love how the guy looks so dapper in all the sequences but then the end comes and he's wearing tennis shoes.
@McFearsome2
+Natalie Zysk your powers of observation are stunning... i would never have noticed that... the whole white suit does make him look a bit like a navy officer, i thought.
@JayWalkerOnline
I wasn't the only one who noticed that XD