OK Go had a lot of time on their hands.



OK Go owns the video

By NICK TAVARES
STATIC and FEEDBACK Editor

MTV and VH1 have done their best to make sure that the music video would mean as little as possible over the past few years. But most bands participating in the medium were happy to play along, releasing boring, unimaginative clips to support their singles and ultimately be forgotten. Hopefully.

If only to fight this, thank the man upstairs for OK Go, who have already successfully carved out a fantastic little niche in the wild west of the internets as the kings of the video.

Perhaps your remember their clip for “Here it Goes Again,” which just so happens to be the most-viewed video in the history of YouTube:

I assumed it’d be impossible to top that piece of lo-fi brilliance, and as usual, I’m wrong. The band’s clip for “This Too Shall Pass” features what has to be the world’s largest Rube Goldberg machine, and, well, it just has to be seen to be believed:

And in case you don’t believe it, there’s a four part making-of that reinforces the magic. No computers, just a lot of math and repurposed junk.

Of course, every solid single needs a B-Side, so there’s also a version of the song done with the Notre Dame marching band that retains it’s own backyard charm.

If OK Go does nothing else, they’ve already fought the good fight for the video. They’ve brought creativity and spontaneity back to a dead form that was previously filled with slow-motion guitars, boats, and ... well that's about it.

Well done, good sirs. Well done.

E-mail Nick Tavares at nick@staticandfeedback.com

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