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.
Television Television
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look at the pipe dreams,
Look at the fat man burst at the seams
Look at the captain with the galaxy, right off his balcony
Look at the science and your alchemy
Look at the sirens on the cop cars
Look at the pop stars
Look at the convicts filing the bars
Look at the pom pom prom queen scream and scream and run for her life
Oh it's always right, the perfect light, the dark of night
Give up the world, give up your life â??cause you cannot fight the television
Oh television television
Oh the television!
Look at them trying to get the flag higher
Look at the quagmire
Look at the tread separate from the tire
Look at the junkie trying to get a gram
Look at the betting man,
Look at him folding on the better hand
Oh its always right, the fearless light, the dark of night
Give up the world, give up your life â??cause you cannot fight the television
Oh television television
Oh the television television
Oh the television
Look at me hypnotized and half alive,
Maybe its four or five
Some parts are sleeping, some parts are paralyzed
Just one more minute, just one more minute,
I think I'm almost in it
The television television
Oh television television
Oh give me tits and politicians!
Give me death and demolition!
Give me glamour and sedition!
The song "Television Television" by OK Go is a commentary on the powerful influence and hold that television has on our minds and lives. The opening line "Look at the hottie in the tight jeans" displays the superficiality that often characterizes television and popular culture, with emphasis being placed on physical appearance rather than substance. As the song continues, we see various images and themes being referenced, such as the "fat man burst at the seams" which may represent the excess and overconsumption that is often promoted on TV.
The chorus "Oh its always right, the perfect light, the dark of night, Give up the world, give up your life â??cause you cannot fight the television" highlights the idea that television often presents a distorted reality that is difficult to resist or challenge. We see this illustrated by the line "Look at me hypnotized and half alive, Maybe its four or five Some parts are sleeping, some parts are paralyzed", which suggests that we are unable to fully engage with the world around us when consumed by the constant stimulation of television.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of disillusionment and frustration with the shallow and often harmful messages that are promoted in television and pop culture, as well as the addictive nature of television that can prevent us from living fully present and meaningful lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at the hottie in the tight jeans,
Observing an individual wearing tight jeans
Look at the pipe dreams,
Examining unrealistic hopes and aspirations
Look at the fat man burst at the seams
Watching an overweight person become agitated
Look at the captain with the galaxy, right off his balcony
Observing an authoritative figure with great power and influence
Look at the science and your alchemy
Noticing the use of scientific methods and mystical practices
Look at the sirens on the cop cars
Observing the warning signs on police vehicles
Look at the pop stars
Examining famous musicians
Look at the convicts filing the bars
Seeing individuals in prison cells
Look at the wife, look at the knife
Viewing a married couple and a weapon
Look at the pom pom prom queen scream and scream and run for her life
Observing a frantic young woman trying to escape danger
Oh it's always right, the perfect light, the dark of night
The false belief that what is seen on TV is always correct
Give up the world, give up your life â??cause you cannot fight the television
The idea that the power of television is too great to overcome
Look at them trying to get the flag higher
Observing individuals trying to raise a flag
Look at the quagmire
Witnessing a difficult or complex situation
Look at the tread separate from the tire
Observing a mechanical failure
Look at the junkie trying to get a gram
Seeing an addict attempting to purchase drugs
Look at the betting man,
Examining an individual engaging in gambling
Look at him folding on the better hand
Observing failure due to poor decision-making
Look at me hypnotized and half alive,
Viewing oneself in a trance-like state
Maybe its four or five
Uncertain of the amount of time spent watching television
Some parts are sleeping, some parts are paralyzed
Experiencing a lack of awareness and sensory perception
Just one more minute, just one more minute,
Desiring to continue watching TV
I think I'm almost in it
Believing that the TV programs are real
Give me tits and politicians!
Requesting attention-grabbing content with political overtones
Give me death and demolition!
Asking for destructive and dangerous content
Give me glamour and sedition!
Desiring highly attractive, rebellious content
The television television
Referring to the power of television
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAMIAN KULASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind