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 MalmΓΆ, 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.
What to Do
OK Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Took a bite out the sun
And saw your future in a machine built for two
Now your rays make me kind of go crazy
Shock and awe and amaze me
Just a ticker tape parade and me
But something was wrong
Screaming at the top of your lungs
You said
"Come on, come on
Do what you want
What could go wrong?
Oh, come on, come on, come on, come on
Do what you want
Oh, come on, come on
What could go wrong?
Do, do, do, do what you want, yeah"
Come on, oh
Me, I was raised
Amid the trickle-down days
I woke up numb in the haze
And saw my future in a machine built for two
But the light
Gave me some kind of fright
How did wrong get so right?
Well, lead me stumbling through the dark of night
Oh, something was wrong
But you tap-danced on the air
In the night
Screaming at the top of your lungs
You said
"Come on come on
Do what you want
What could go wrong?
Come on come on come on, come on
Do what you want
Oh come on come on
What could go wrong?
Do, do, do, do what you want
Yeah"
Come on
Do, do, do, do what you want
Do, do, do, do what you want, yeah
Alright
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Do, do, do, do what you want, yeah
Do, do, do, do what you want, yeah, yeah
Ah, do what you want
Ooh, do what you want
Oh, do what you want
Do, do what you want
Do, do what you want
Do, do what you want
C-c-come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do what you want
Do, do, yeah
The song "What to Do" by OK Go is a reflection on the pressures and expectations put on individuals to conform to societal norms and standards, even if it means sacrificing their own potential and uniqueness. The lyrics invite the listener to come in, have some apples and lye, and leave their friends at the door. This is a metaphorical representation of the expectations for individuals to conform to a certain image and abandon their identity. The second verse suggests that moving to the city amplifies this pressure to conform, with the mirror being a reflection of the expectations and judgments of others. The chorus acts as a reminder that even mediocre people can achieve great things, but without the drive and motivation (an "axe to grind") to pursue individual passions, one's potential can be lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on in, sweetie-pie! Have an apple, have some lye...
Welcome, dear! Here, have an apple and some lye. Leave your righteous and pathetic friends at the door.
Leave your friends, righteous and pathetic, standing at the door.
Don't let your self-righteous and pathetic friends hold you back.
On the books, all your bets favor head-bands and cassettes, Cigarettes, suffragettes, and bores.
According to the odds, you're more likely to succeed if you follow trends like headbands, cassettes, smoking, suffragettes, or be boring like everyone else.
Sweetheart, you'll find mediocre people do exceptional things all The time.
Mediocre people can still achieve great things.
Oh, the ruin will do in your talented mind... Could've been a genius if you'd had an axe to grind.
All your potential will go to waste if you don't have a strong motivation or purpose.
When we moved to the city, it seemed the competition got so much Less pretty But the mirror's never failed you like this before.
Moving to the city made it seem like there was more competition, but the mirror has never made you feel unpretty before.
So your revenge on the world will be pencils through your curls And if wanting ever taught you anything, it's wanting more. (and more and more and more...)
Your way of seeking revenge on the world is by doing something unconventional like sticking pencils in your hair. You keep wanting more and more.
When that day finally nears, you'll at least have made it clear That compassion's just a nicer way of looking down your nose.
When you're successful, you'll realize that compassion is just a more polite way of being condescending.
It seems that all the people want to do is crowd the streets of Amsterdam (Pamplona, too), But the bulls have already come and gone and bellowed all their Lows.
Everyone wants to go to Amsterdam or Pamplona, but the excitement has already passed.
Now nobody knows What to do.
No one knows what to do next.
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Damian Kulash, Timothy Nordwind
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SuperRollyTrolly
Looking back at their older videos, it's amazing to see how far they've come! From tiny videos of them on treadmills and in a little coffee shop, and now giant videos with hundreds of people choreographed to dance with umbrellas? Amazing!
@candyqueenify
+Generic_Name123 and a new member to the band
@you2tooyou2too
"Count on Me" is from 2010!? There ought to be a posted chronology for the group if only from their long time fans!
@ecliptic_equinox
It doesnβt change the fact that this song is amazing
@rahmanabagaswara8795
What an underated fackin' talented great band they are.
@BensBrickDesigns
I've always felt this was the official version. So good.
@rczedd
that 4/4 to 3/4 transition <3
@maxxontherun
I just can't get over how beautiful their voices are in the acoustic version. It's captivating.
@OcarinaSenpai
This is straight-up one of their best songs to date.
@SawyerWX
Exactly