AKA Sharing an Elevator with Carl Kasell

June 4, 2013 4:04 PM

OK Go helps NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts move to their new digs across town.
posted by mudpuppie (10 comments total)

OK, that's totally not how you would drive from old NPR to new NPR, but I'll give them that. I live very close to new NPR and we're excited to welcome them to the neighborhood! Getting my tour next week, woot. Tiny Desk Concerts are a treasure.
posted by kinsey at 4:50 PM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Also, loved the Ari Shapiro cameo. If you haven't yet, check him out NPR's cover of Telephone.
posted by kinsey at 4:53 PM on June 4, 2013

Bob Boilen really needs to update the maps on his GPS.

(And, how'd you manage to swing a tour of NPR's new digs? I'm also in the neighborhood (Hi!), and have been ogling their gorgeous new space for a while now. If nothing else, it's one of the more architecturally-interesting recent additions to DC -- the nation's capitol of bland architecture.)

I drove by the old NPR building a few days ago, and there's already a few small bulldozers pushing the contents of the building out the windows. They sure didn't waste any time on that.
posted by schmod at 5:08 PM on June 4, 2013

schmod, NPR offers free tours: details here.
posted by HiddenInput at 5:47 PM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

OK Go makes pretty great music for a social media online marketing firm.
posted by goHermGO at 7:39 PM on June 4, 2013 [7 favorites]

Loved it when they stopped dead as the old guy entered the lift. You could see him thinking "Kids these days!"

edit: I see the "old guy" is Carl Kassell as per the post title. Mea culpa.)
posted by Alnedra at 11:20 PM on June 4, 2013

Many, many voice-is-familiar folks in that video. Susan Stamberg is in the studio working when they walk behind her, Audie Cornish loads one of the orange crates onto the truck, Guy Raz gets off the elevator when they're getting on, David Greene is taking the screws out of the shelves at the beginning, Scott Simon waiting at the elevator when they get off. Kevin Wait, carrying the boom mic, is the actual genius who engineered the sound of the Tiny Desks. Plus loads of digital, of course -- Bob and Robin, Lars Gotrich (NPR Music's metalhead) right past the camera at :58), several of our interns at the time. And CEO Gary Knell tossing the "NPR" onto the top shelf at the end. And if you look straight across at the 2:50 mark, all the way across the 4th floor to right above Master Control (where all those screens are), the desk on the left side of the space between the pillars is mine. Studio 44, which is labeled with a giant 44, is where we tape our podcast.

What's really impressive about the video is how the sound, not just the video, is stitched together so that you are at all times hearing the actual sound from that take.

I worked in the room with the old Tiny Desk, and believe me when I tell you that it is no small thing when I say I love this video so much that it's actually worth what an epic pain in the behind the taping of it was.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 5:31 AM on June 5, 2013 [11 favorites]

OK Go are the kings of follow through.
posted by mike_bling at 7:54 AM on June 5, 2013

This was fantastic.

The best part were the chimes. Hauling around a huge, $6k piece of percussion for like, two notes. Hilarious and brilliant.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:14 PM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Alnedra: "Loved it when they stopped dead as the old guy entered the lift. You could see him thinking "Kids these days!"

edit: I see the "old guy" is Carl Kassell as per the post title. Mea culpa.)"

They stopped because they were in awe of his powers.
posted by schmod at 2:05 PM on June 6, 2013 [1 favorite]