OK Go: Every Concept Video Ranked From Worst To Best
From the insanely clever to the flat-out ridiculous.
By this point, it's fair to say that OK Go are as much crash test dummies as they are musicians. No band in the universe takes their music videos as seriously (or has as much fun making them) as these power pop experts. OK Go is responsible for completely reinvigorating the long-dead music video. They made it a viewing experience again, rather than background fodder for when you've finally watched everything Netflix has to offer.
There is no concept they're unwilling to tackle. No shot too difficult to achieve. And, with audience expectations rising with each video they release, there's no chance of phoning it in.
They make the majority of their videos as one-shots, meaning there's no calling "Cut!" on the set until the entire thing has run its course. There are no edits, no computer-assisted trickery, and post-production mostly boils down to finding the best long take.
Rather than slapping up a video of them performing on some random sound stage, they intricately plan and detail visually spectacular set-ups that kick your brain in the face. So, please, go forward now and allow OK Go to smash your brain's face in.
It should be noted that these rankings will only focus on the creme de la creme, which is basically everything from their sophomore album and beyond. Apologies to their debut, which is still loved. Just...not in the same way.
12. Skyscrapers
"Skyscrapers" is actually a pretty subdued video, visually, for OK Go. It's certainly not as meticulously crafted as "Needing/Getting," nor does it require the same kind of pinpoint precision. Still, it's a perfect example of the band's visual motif, using bright colors and a well-choreographed routine to heighten their melodies.
It's also one of the few performance pieces that doesn't feature the band in any capacity, which is strangely unsettling. And it isn't until about halfway through that we realize they're not showing up at all. It's going to be these two dancers for the entirety, and we have to be OK with that. We have to just...Go...with it.
"Skyscrapers" is one of the slower and simpler songs they've released as a single, so it makes sense not to have anything too raucous happening onscreen. Though, in true OK Go fashion, this video was also made available in 3D for those with a Nintendo DS.