OK Go- Needing Getting
Over five years after OK Go became a YouTube sensation with the video for ‘Here it Goes Again’ (more commonly known as the ‘treadmill video’), the LA-based four piece are back with their unique brand of freewheeling eccentricity – only this time on a much larger scale.
‘Needing Getting’ is like the older, more ambitious brother of ‘Here It Goes Again’. It hits you in the face with its half-car, half-robot contraption which softly tinkles out the opening bars of the song and then proceeds to skid through the dramatic desert setting, smashing out chords on over 200 guitars. The shots of the car from the outside contrast with several close ups of the band from a camera mounted on the dashboard to prove that, yes, they really are singing along as they drive and, yes, that is singer Damian at the wheel – he took stunt driving lessons in the run up to filming so there was no need for doubles.
The video took four months of planning and four days of shooting to complete. There were over 1000 instruments and a meticulously planned map to indicate which part of the track corresponded to which section of the song. As the video plays out you cannot help but marvel at how it was put together and nobody can deny that it is a magnificent feat of engineering. However, so taken aback by the beautiful miracle of it all, you forget that what you are watching is part innovative music video part slick commercial move on the part of Chevrolet – the sponsors of the project.
Chevrolet aided with the production of the video and the musical car which Damian drives is a Chevy Sonic. Was Chevy’s involvement in this project founded in a desire to nourish creativity and create something beautiful out there in the desert or was it just the ultimate product placement? When you consider that the video has been cut to a shorter version to be used in a Chevy advert which aired for the first time during the Super Bowl when most of America are glued to their screens it seems more likely to be the latter. After all, OK Go are renowned for ‘that treadmill video’ which went immediately viral and had some of the highest YouTube viewing figures of all time: advertising gold dust for any company. You can’t help but wonder if some poor treadmill manufacturer missed a trick!
Whether this video is more about the car or the band is up for debate but what is certain is that visual media plays a major role in modern society and maybe it does not really matter that everything is getting mixed up. This video with its rough rally-driver style, its original idea and its naturalistic desert setting all thrown together into one 3minute 54second explosion is great fun to watch for anyone.
Check out the crazy, awesome video at Youtube, Vimeo or other websites and get inspired!
