The New OK Go Video
What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where an OK Go song is better than the video?
I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of OK Go. The music, that is. Like Damian Kulash, like their manager, but you’d never find me listening to any of their music…unless it was the background to one of their videos.
Yes, OK Go makes the best online music videos. Universal might think they’re establishing the new paradigm, monetizing their uber-expensive videos via Vevo, but they’re totally wrong, it’s OK Go that’s writing the future.
Art is about conception.
I’ll say one thing… How did they come up with this canine video? I mean what gave them the idea? That’s why the Ramones were so great, not because they could sing or play better than anybody else, but because they saw the world in a new way and came up with a unique sound.
That’s a true artist. One who hits us between the eyes with that which we couldn’t even conceive of.
And OK Go is so good at videos, that I check out every one. Hell, the Rube Goldberg clip is a classic.
So, I found myself viewing the video for "White Knuckles" based purely on rep. You might ask what kind of crazy fucked up world we live in where I’m into a band’s videos more than their music, but the point is OK Go at least stands for SOMETHING! I.e. Great videos. They’re not me-tooers. Hell, they’ve left their label and are going their own way. Getting all the licensing money… That’s the key to indie. Not the overall gross, but how much of what comes in you keep, not having to pay the label and…
So, OK Go got me to play along long enough until I finally got their music. Yup, "White Knuckles" is an hypnotic, Devo-esque track that the progenitors have a hard time equaling decades on, I like it.
Let this be a lesson to you. Everybody’s on their own these days. You might think having a big label or a powerful manager means you can lay back and still make it, but you’re wrong. Now, more than ever, it comes down to the artist. You have to build your own attention. Through your art. Which may not be music only.
OK Go has blazed a trail that marries the innocence of early MTV with new technologies to go directly to their audience and hook them.
Pay attention now kiddies:
And isn’t it funny that this clip only has 25,986 views so far. Is it that it hasn’t caught on yet or that it’s just not as visually interesting as what came before?
