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.
The Writing's on the Wall
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know, it's no different for me
We're less than a zero-sum game now
And baby, we both know that's not how it's supposed to be
The writing's on the wall
It seems like forever
Since we had a good day
But I just want to get you high tonight
I just want to see some pleasure in your eyes
Some pleasure in your eyes
And I go too high, and you go too cold then we both fall apart
Then you bring your mind, to rest against mine
But the mind has no say on affairs of the heart
The writing's on the wall
It seems like forever
Since we had a good day
The writing's on the wall
But I just want to get you high tonight
I just want to see some pleasure in your eyes
Some pleasure in your eyes
Then you bring your mind, to rest against mine
But the mind has no say on affairs of the heart
The writing's on the wall
It seems like forever
Since we had a good day
The writing's on the wall
But I just want to get you high tonight
I just want to see some pleasure in your eyes
Some pleasure in your eyes
I just want to get you high
Just want to get you high
Just want to get you high
Even if it's the last thing we do together
Even if it's the last thing we do together
The song "Writing's on the Wall" by OK Go is a reflection of the struggles of a couple trying to make their relationship work. The singer acknowledges that things have been difficult for both of them, and they are no longer a team that can win together. Despite the hardships and the writing on the wall pointing to the eventual breakup, the singer just wants to make their partner happy tonight. They yearn for a pleasant moment together, even if it's at the end of their relationship. They hope that in the moment, the mind and its distractions won't come into play when it comes to affairs of the heart.
Furthermore, the song touches upon the idea that relationships can become one-dimensional when we focus on pleasure and the physical aspect of the relationship. It is essential to take time to connect with our partner's mind and emotions to foster a deep and meaningful relationship that can stand the test of time. The line "But the mind has no say on affairs of the heart" suggests that the heart often overrides logic and reason, making it challenging to make a relationship work.
In conclusion, the song highlights the difficulties in relationships and reminds us of the importance of taking time to understand our partner on a deeper level to foster a meaningful connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen, I know it's been hard
I acknowledge that things have been difficult.
You know, it's no different for me
I am experiencing the same difficulties as you are.
We're less than a zero-sum game now
Our relationship is causing both of us to lose, rather than win.
And baby, we both know that's not how it's supposed to be
We both know that things are not going as they should in our relationship.
The writing's on the wall
The signs of our inevitable breakup are becoming clear.
It seems like forever
Our relationship has been troubled for a long time.
Since we had a good day
It's been a long time since things between us were good.
But I just want to get you high tonight
I want to make you feel good tonight, even if it's temporary.
I just want to see some pleasure in your eyes
I want to see you happy for a little while, even if it's not a permanent solution.
And I go too high, and you go too cold then we both fall apart
When I get too excited and you withdraw, our relationship suffers and falls apart.
Then you bring your mind, to rest against mine
When we stop trying to make our relationship work, we find temporary solace in each other's company.
But the mind has no say on affairs of the heart
Even if we try to logically make sense of our feelings, ultimately it's our emotions that guide us.
Just want to get you high
Again, I want to make you feel good and happy for a little while.
Even if it's the last thing we do together
Even if we know that our relationship is doomed, we still want to enjoy each other's company for as long as we can.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Damian Kulash, Timothy Norwind, Andy Ross
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dinrufarore
I really like this video for this song. At first I thought they had nothing to do with one another, it was just cool visual art combined with cool audio art in a way that makes them both cooler. But they have a common thread - the creation and destruction of illusions.
The song is about a couple (or perhaps just one side of it) admitting that it's not really working out anymore, even though they still care about each other. It's breaking the illusion that just caring is enough and that everything's okay. "It seems like forever since we had a good day", "The mind has no say in affairs of the heart", etc.
The video obviously is about optical illusions, but most of them are 'ruined' shortly after being presented. The intent is never to fool the viewer into thinking they're real. It's very transparently a performance. The video never asks you to become immersed in its world, constantly reminding you that it's all 'smoke and mirrors' in a way.
And the two meanings start to come together at around 2:15 - "I think I understand you but I don't", and the fact that most of the illusions after that point include close-ups of the band members. As if the video were trying to become more intimate with the viewer.
At the end, both illusions are completely shattered. The song ends with the lines "Even if it's the last thing that we do together", finally making it unavoidably clear that the song is about a breakup. And the video ends with showing the viewer not just the camera (in the sequence where Damian is holding it in front of all the mirrors), but at the tail end when it shows all of the crew and such celebrating a successful take. There is no way to avoid being aware that this is a music video that people sat down, planned, and then created - if there was ever a 'magic circle' to take you into the video's fictional world, that ending completely destroys it.
ZackScottGames
So glad I funded this album. You guys always rock, and you never fail at music videos!
Regoat This!
Review of this over here! Great job, guys!
Antoine Wuffle
Whoa.
Ashley Scott
***** Hey there!
Braden Azis
I love ok go
Taka
You know why I like this song and video the most out of all of their songs? The material matches. The song is talking about a relationship that isn't going well but the two people are putting up a front and making everything look right. But you look closer, and everything isn't what it seems. They start with a small "The writing's on the wall," but end with a giant message saying the same thing like... there are clues, but let's ignore them and go make these beautiful, yet fake things. Then life just shouts at you "Nah, it really is like that. Just look behind you. This is a big sign."
I honestly think, although it's not their most technically impressive video, it's certainly their most beautiful one.
DKpsyhog
Taka “not their most technically impressive video” I know it’s not filmed in a jet in free-fall but I don’t even know how difficult it was to line up the painted walls, especially the end shot. How?!
OneMouseGaming
OK Go did a great ted talk that explains that the lead singer has always been obsessed with visual paralaxes. Super intresting.
violetinreal OLD ACCOUNT
Here It Goes Again (their most famous video, the treadmill one) does the same thing. The song is about an attempted relationship that's going nowhere, running as hars as you can only to make no progress. Like a treadmill.
oysan
I didnt read any of that but i totally agree.
unless it brings drama...