Rock’n Me 9: Talking About Western Music - OK Go

Hello, I'm Joshua and I love to talk about Western music. For this 9th article in my series, I would like to introduce OK Go, a four-member band from Chicago.
If I had to describe them in one sentence: “They’re the original YouTubers who changed the world with creative, low-budget videos and a deep connection with their fans.”

Rather than giving you a detailed explanation, I recommend you simply watch one of their promotional videos.
But be warned—these videos made a huge impact around the world. Once you click “play”, be ready.
Just the first 10 seconds will draw you in, and before you know it, you’ll end up watch the whole thing… and probably hit replay a few times too.

■ Here It Goes Again

The props? Just some treadmills and a silver sheet to cover the background... that’s about it. Oh, and a video camera for a one-shot take. Talk about a low budget. But this is exactly what creativity looks like. A performance that was meticulously choreographed using treadmills, with clever little twists throughout.
The one singing in the video is the guy in the pink shirt with glasses and a humorous face isTim Nordwind (bass).
But, the person who actually sang in the studio recording is the guy in the tie and striped shirt, Damian Kulash (vocals, guitar).

Let me introduce one more mind-blowing video. Be warned again—once you click play, you’ll definitely end up watching it on repeat.

■ White Knuckles

Once again, it’s a one-shot video that fully embraces that low-budget spirit. What appears in the video? The four band members, plastic buckets, Scandinavian-style furniture like you'd find at IKEA, a few props—and… lots of dogs.
Of course, training that many dogs to perform like this is no small feat. But even knowing that, creating something this original is far from ordinary. After thoroughly enjoying the video, don’t miss the final credits! They deliver a touching message: all the dogs in the video are rescue animals, and it ends with a link to a rescue dog support site. You’ll want to watch right to the end.

After watching these two videos, it’s important to think about the timeline. The “Here It Goes Again” video was released in 2006. Meanwhile, YouTube was founded in 2005 and was acquired by Google (at the time) in 2006, which as you know, led to its rapid global spread. OK Go’s rise perfectly synced with that wave.

To understand this trend even better, let me introduce one more video—”A Million Ways” (2005), which actually came out before “Here It Goes Again”.

■ A Million Ways

This video is a simple, homey one—just the four members performing a humorous dance in Damian’s backyard. But what makes OK Go truly remarkable is what they did next: they asked fans to upload their own version of “A Million Ways” to YouTube.
As a result, fans across the internet began uploading their own dance videos in a kind of friendly competition. The creators of the best entry were invited to an OK Go concert, and a collection of the submissions was later released as a bonus DVD. This kind of initiative was revolutionary at the time.

The point is, the fact that it’s now so normal for us to use YouTube for music is thanks a great deal to OK Go. Even without a budget, even amateurs—if the idea is strong enough, can go viral globally. The connection between artist and fan, and the idea of the “YouTuber” as we know it today. These were unheard of concepts back then. In that sense, OK Go were the original YouTubers.

Behind the success of their videos was a brilliant mind: Damian’s older sister, Trish Sie, who handled choreography and direction. Thanks to her creative vision, their videos became timeless masterpieces.
Their visuals were so striking that, over time, people began talking more about the videos than the music itself. But since they’ve continued to deliver one mind-blowing video after another, it’s hard to complain.
Wondering what kind of videos we’re talking about? Well, here’s a taste.

■ I Won’t Let You Down

This video was shot at the Longwood Station facility in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and it opens with three Japanese guest stars (nice smelling and stylish individuals—you’ll see). Their collaboration continues in later projects as well. For Japanese fans, this video is a dream come true.
The band spent a full month in Japan to make this video and they employed a large team of staff, and the scale of the production is massive. Still, their signature elements of single-shot filming and creative ingenuity remain firmly in place.
And before you know it, they literally ascend to the heavens. No, really. Watch the video to the end and you’ll understand exactly what that means.

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