THE Best Band on the Planet??

I was looking for something in my "liked" videos today on YouTube (I think the video I for which I was searching has been removed; it was maybe 13 years old and fabulous, but times change...) when I ran across a video that made me cry the first time I watched it, and it made me cry today.

It's not a hugely touching video... maybe unless you were in marching band. Without further ado, here it is:



By the time I first saw this video, which was released ten years ago, I was already a fan of OK Go. I had this song on their album "On the Blue Colour of the Sky" and loved it... Obviously this is a total rearrangement of the studio recording, and when the full band joins in at the end, there is just so much joy it's kind of overwhelming.

I'd gotten interested in OK Go because of the first video I'd seen of theirs, which was "Here It Goes Again" (which I tried very unsuccessfully to sing at karaoke during this general time period, too). That video was super lo-fi, but also an extremely cool idea... and I'm in good company as this video has more than 51 million views!




Over time, the band got more and more elaborate with their music videos, and I'm going to share a few of my favorites here because you're a good person who deserves to see the amazingness. They also have not sacrificed any of their musicality, but have a solid library of songs that also happen to end up with some amazing visual accompaniments because these guys WORK.

What kind of made me tear up hearing them today was this: I bought my first OK Go album just as my marriage was most falling apart. I switched off listening to them and the "Hairspray" soundtrack every day as I walked while D was in gymnastics. Their music was like a dear friend who walked with me through some pretty difficult times. It was nice to get back in touch with them again.

They have made many more videos than I'll share, but these are my absolute favorites. Believe it or not, I have omitted some. But these are worth your time if you have a few, and if you want to be cheered. You won't regret it.

(They say the "f" word at the very beginning; forward to 30 seconds if that bothers you.)


Here's another one with a bunch of playing around with recording speeds, and a goose.



This is another one that was totally rearranged from the studio recording. It was partially shown as an ad in the 2012 Super Bowl, and the lead singer, Damian Kulash, took race- and stunt-driving lessons to be able to pull this off on his own. If you're familiar with the original recording, it's truly fantastic how they replicated the music with tubes and jars and the like. Oh, and over 1000 instruments in just over 2 miles of track. This one choked me up a little watching it again, as well.



This optical illusion video is taken in a single shot, something they do with a few of their videos.




I really dig this one. It's filmed half speed to make the dancing "pop," like in many Bollywood films (and the recent live-action Aladdin). The "LCD screen" effect at the end with the drone is truly spectacular.



Here's another one-take video, but because it was shot in the "vomit comet," there's a lot of playing around with film speeds to incorporate the "weightless" parts with the "climb back up" parts. This one is next-level.



Here's a four-minute video that took about thirty seconds to film. SERIOUSLY. You won't even care that the video is basically a commercial for salt.



Then there's a printer-themed video. It's FUN!




Finally, a bonus "This Too Shall Pass," for you Rube Goldberg fans.