"I've been doing this for fifteen years." — the choreographer
July 4, 2016 1:04 PM Subscribe
While OK Go's progression from treadmill to unicycle to zero-gravity has broken all kinds of ground in ambitious, creative, music video, the new video for LA band AJJ's Goodbye, Oh Goodbye takes the form to entirely new places. Planned and choreographed over the course of six months, and shot in a single take in an LA warehouse, the video centers around a judicious use of... well, it's best left unspoiled. (Here's a making-of video, for the curious.)
I had to watch it twice to see if they really changed shirts... and they did! Wow!
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:20 PM on July 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:20 PM on July 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
Soylent is indeed best left unspoilt. But in a pinch, spoilt Soylent will do.
posted by carsonb at 1:22 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by carsonb at 1:22 PM on July 4, 2016
I feel like there's a joke that I'm not getting.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:25 PM on July 4, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:25 PM on July 4, 2016 [23 favorites]
I feel like there's a joke that I'm not getting.
There isn't. It's a sarcastic commentary about elaborate single-take videos. It's not even a joke, really.
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
There isn't. It's a sarcastic commentary about elaborate single-take videos. It's not even a joke, really.
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Just a warning for people at work or with children, there's a giant cock about fifty seconds in.
posted by adept256 at 1:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 1:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [18 favorites]
Wait, are we supposed to hate OK Go now? I never get the memo on these things.
posted by Zonker at 1:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by Zonker at 1:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
I think this band is hating on OK Go, but I don't think they are telling anyone else to follow suit.
posted by hippybear at 1:30 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:30 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have no strong feelings about OK Go either way, but if you're going to parody their videos, then I think you should aim for your parody to be at least as clever as the actual videos.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:32 PM on July 4, 2016 [35 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:32 PM on July 4, 2016 [35 favorites]
Someone does something really hard that takes a lot of work--and a lot of folks get joy from the finished product. That's what's wrong with the world (at its core, below the violence and injustice) and anyone with any insight knows it. So you throw together a weak, unhappy facsimile.
This is what hipsterism is, right--at least the hipsterism that people hate? Joyless, lazy parody of other people's try-hard authenticity?
posted by anotherpanacea at 1:36 PM on July 4, 2016 [68 favorites]
This is what hipsterism is, right--at least the hipsterism that people hate? Joyless, lazy parody of other people's try-hard authenticity?
posted by anotherpanacea at 1:36 PM on July 4, 2016 [68 favorites]
The line between "STOP THE LIKING THE THING I DON'T LIKE" and "I'm going way out of my way (but not far enough to be actually impressive) to mock the thing I don't like but that you like" is fine and hazy, and is basically only reserved for joyless "parodies" like Plump Fiction and My Big Fat Independent Movie.
To put it another way: if Weird Al had parodied an OK Go video, it would have been at least as entertaining and impressive as an OK Go video (and it was!).
posted by infinitewindow at 1:37 PM on July 4, 2016 [32 favorites]
To put it another way: if Weird Al had parodied an OK Go video, it would have been at least as entertaining and impressive as an OK Go video (and it was!).
posted by infinitewindow at 1:37 PM on July 4, 2016 [32 favorites]
I think it's more a band trying to gain publicity by doing a lazy parody of complex videos, thinking they're riding coattails or some other mistaken train of thought.
posted by hippybear at 1:39 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by hippybear at 1:39 PM on July 4, 2016
I've hated OK Go from the get-go, but to be fair, I'm a disaffected gen-Xer who scorns anything that reeks of effort or unchecked positivity.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:40 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:40 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
I thought this was mildly funny, and I don't quite understand the hostility. Is it not possible to both enjoy a thing and enjoy poking fun at the thing?
posted by teraflop at 1:42 PM on July 4, 2016 [30 favorites]
posted by teraflop at 1:42 PM on July 4, 2016 [30 favorites]
For what it's worth, I wouldn't have posted this if I thought it was joyless hating. I think they've created some of the most delightful short films of the last decade, some of which (not the ones I linked) struck me in more emotional ways than the content of the films themselves probably suggest.
The delight, for me, was in starting this video having been told it was going to be something mind-blowing, bracing myself, wondering if they were setting up for something mindblowing, realizing they weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly bits. Not everything making fun of something else is "hating" on it? And it's not even "making fun", per se. It's silly. It is a silly video and I shared it to MetaFilter.
Though w/r/t the OK Go hate, this exchange between a random Redditor and OK Go's Damien Kulash a couple years back was absolutely goddamn delightful:
The delight, for me, was in starting this video having been told it was going to be something mind-blowing, bracing myself, wondering if they were setting up for something mindblowing, realizing they weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly bits. Not everything making fun of something else is "hating" on it? And it's not even "making fun", per se. It's silly. It is a silly video and I shared it to MetaFilter.
Though w/r/t the OK Go hate, this exchange between a random Redditor and OK Go's Damien Kulash a couple years back was absolutely goddamn delightful:
Redditor: Do you worry that your amazing video work could overshadow your audio work?posted by rorgy at 1:42 PM on July 4, 2016 [62 favorites]
Kulash: No. We get this question all the time. But think of it this way. I am a chef. You are in my restaurant. And you are asking me if I am worried by the fact that we are known for our incredible desserts. I am very, very pleased that we have such good desserts, and that they are known around the world for being delicious and singular and unique and unlike anyone else's desserts. As it turns out, I also make very good main courses. Many people also come and enjoy them. If millions come in for the desserts, and hundreds of thousands also find they like the main course, awesome. There are no bad customers in this restaurant.
See, the question you're asking basically masks a way of thinking about creativity (or, more accurately, people's creative careers) that seems... stuck in another century, I guess. That's the idea that creativity and creative people are supposed to stay in particular boxes that were defined by the way our products used to be distributed. It used to be that music and film and video games and journalism were actually very different physical objects with industries built around selling and distributing them. Now all of us make ones and zeros. I spend my time chasing my creative ideas. My process generally starts with writing songs, but it leads to a lot of other fun places. I feel bad for musicians who get trapped in the box of "music" as it was imagined 30 years ago. Some people like it in that box, but a lot don't. A lot of people wish they got to chase all of their creative ideas, not just the ones that involve their guitar. I am that lucky guy who is not trapped in that particular box.
The delight, for me, was in starting this video having been told it was going to be something mind-blowing, bracing myself, wondering if they were setting up for something mindblowing, realizing they weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly bits.Ok, well, you have a different sense of humor than me. If I'm told that something is going to be mindblowing, I want it either to be mindblowing or at least be pretty funny. That felt like a waste of my time.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:47 PM on July 4, 2016 [15 favorites]
I am sorry for wasting up to three minutes of your day. I feel very bad about this and will do my best going forward to never waste anything of anybody's, ever.
posted by rorgy at 1:48 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by rorgy at 1:48 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
Yeah, I'm with you, rorgy. I don't see it as lazy or hating - just gentle teasing and silliness. Thanks for posting.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 1:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
I like OK GO. I like single take videos. I like AJJ. I like this video. I think OK GO videos are funny. I think this video is funny. I like hyper-critical Metafilter. I like hater Metafilter. I like meta-Metafilter beanplating on hating on a hating video of a another band that is often hated on.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYBODY!
posted by gwint at 1:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [49 favorites]
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYBODY!
posted by gwint at 1:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [49 favorites]
rorgy: Post framing makes a lot of difference in how posts are received, I have found.
Honestly, I don't object to the music of this song. I also don't object to OK Go's music. But I don't own any OK Go music. I do watch their videos when they are released because they are usually interesting to watch.
(And to be fair, a friend of mine who I trust about such matters said he saw OK Go play live not too long ago and it was one of the best concert experiences he's ever had, with audience participation and involvement going far beyond any other show he's been to. His relating of the experience of that concert makes me actually interested in seeing them play live.)
But don't get pissy at MetaFilter because your post was not received in the manner in which you wanted. Learn from it. I've had more than a few posts fall entirely flat, and have learned from each of those.
Different framing might have had this video be received with a better welcome. You set the expectations pretty high with how you put this post together, and people came in looking for a thing they did not find. That's what they are reacting to.
Also, you say "I think they've created some of the most delightful short films of the last decade, some of which (not the ones I linked)"... You've only linked ONE video from this band in this post. You might have done yourself a better service by making this post be about AJJ instead of making it be about comparing AJJ's new video to OK Go.
posted by hippybear at 1:55 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Honestly, I don't object to the music of this song. I also don't object to OK Go's music. But I don't own any OK Go music. I do watch their videos when they are released because they are usually interesting to watch.
(And to be fair, a friend of mine who I trust about such matters said he saw OK Go play live not too long ago and it was one of the best concert experiences he's ever had, with audience participation and involvement going far beyond any other show he's been to. His relating of the experience of that concert makes me actually interested in seeing them play live.)
But don't get pissy at MetaFilter because your post was not received in the manner in which you wanted. Learn from it. I've had more than a few posts fall entirely flat, and have learned from each of those.
Different framing might have had this video be received with a better welcome. You set the expectations pretty high with how you put this post together, and people came in looking for a thing they did not find. That's what they are reacting to.
Also, you say "I think they've created some of the most delightful short films of the last decade, some of which (not the ones I linked)"... You've only linked ONE video from this band in this post. You might have done yourself a better service by making this post be about AJJ instead of making it be about comparing AJJ's new video to OK Go.
posted by hippybear at 1:55 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Glad to give you something to laugh at, I guess?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:58 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:58 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Years ago, before they made it big, I saw OK Go open for They Might Be Giants. They were good. So that's my hipster contribution to the thread, I guess.
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
if the hive mind learns nothing else from this thread, please heed my warnings re Plump Fiction and My Big Fat Independent Movie.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by infinitewindow at 2:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
to be fair, I'm a disaffected gen-Xer who scorns anything that reeks of effort or unchecked positivity.that's actually the tagline for OK Soda.
posted by RobotHero at 2:08 PM on July 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
My favorite part is the very end, when they erupt in celebration after nailing the post-video interviews.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:15 PM on July 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:15 PM on July 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
My favorite part is the very end, when they erupt in celebration after nailing the post-video interviews.
That made me laugh, too.
posted by hippybear at 2:19 PM on July 4, 2016
That made me laugh, too.
posted by hippybear at 2:19 PM on July 4, 2016
eh. wish i'd read these comments before bothering with the link.
posted by andrewcooke at 2:21 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by andrewcooke at 2:21 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Weird Al's video for "Tacky" isn't parodying OK Go, it's parodying the one-take lip dubs that were endemic to 2010s internet culture. It's not even really a parody in the first place.
posted by muddgirl at 2:26 PM on July 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 2:26 PM on July 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Well, aside from being a parody of the "Happy" video, which has people dancing and lip-synching the words... even enough for there to be 24 hours of Happy. (and of course, the song itself is a parody... it's like a russian nesting doll)
posted by hippybear at 2:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:28 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
(yeah, I'm dumb. It IS a parody of "Happy", but the "Happy" video is a montage, not done in one take like the "Tacky" video)
posted by muddgirl at 2:31 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by muddgirl at 2:31 PM on July 4, 2016
You know you've made your mark in music when Weird Al parodies you. It's a great honour.
posted by adept256 at 2:31 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 2:31 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Or rather, made in the style of a long-take lip-dub, with cuts hidden in transitions.
posted by muddgirl at 2:32 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by muddgirl at 2:32 PM on July 4, 2016
When you are doing a parody of something that involved a lot of effort, if you don't want to look like a lazy hating jerk you need to put at least some effort into your parody. There are actually a lot of directions you could go with this to make fun of OK Go, but the OP parody does none of them. It's just lame.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:34 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:34 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Due to poor reading comprehension, I thought this WAS an OKGO video, which means I watched tensely, waiting for the crazy reveal of the actual band members and elaborate setup.
posted by redsparkler at 2:39 PM on July 4, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by redsparkler at 2:39 PM on July 4, 2016 [12 favorites]
If OK Go were big time n the 1970s, they would have appeared on Carson every week. Our parents would have spoken lovingly of them, but when we finally saw their videos on YouTube we'd be all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:40 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by pxe2000 at 2:40 PM on July 4, 2016
If OK Go were big time in the 1970s, the entire trajectory of MTV would have been something unrecognizable to anyone who lived through this version of reality.
posted by hippybear at 2:42 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:42 PM on July 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
Is this the thread where we post non-OK Go! elaborate single take videos we like? Oh great, here's one.
posted by goatdog at 2:44 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by goatdog at 2:44 PM on July 4, 2016
to be fair tho, the dancing isn't that much worse than OK Go's first video...
To put it another way: if Weird Al had parodied an OK Go video, it would have been at least as entertaining and impressive as an OK Go video (and it was!).
ok, now that's funny...omg that guy's green pants are so loud they're actually changing the color of the room...margaret cho, kristin schaal yay!
posted by sexyrobot at 2:50 PM on July 4, 2016
To put it another way: if Weird Al had parodied an OK Go video, it would have been at least as entertaining and impressive as an OK Go video (and it was!).
ok, now that's funny...omg that guy's green pants are so loud they're actually changing the color of the room...margaret cho, kristin schaal yay!
posted by sexyrobot at 2:50 PM on July 4, 2016
I didn't take it as hating on OK Go at all!
I thought it was a joke about a band trying to imitate OK Go and failing spectacularly.
posted by edheil at 2:50 PM on July 4, 2016 [16 favorites]
I thought it was a joke about a band trying to imitate OK Go and failing spectacularly.
posted by edheil at 2:50 PM on July 4, 2016 [16 favorites]
If this band put as much effort into their music as their videos then...well, they wouldn't be very good I guess.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:56 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:56 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Just a warning for people at work or with children, there's a giant cock about fifty seconds in.
That's the guy from Arcade Fire right?
posted by alex_skazat at 3:01 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
That's the guy from Arcade Fire right?
posted by alex_skazat at 3:01 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
> "Post framing makes a lot of difference in how posts are received, I have found."
Yeah, I'd probably have been significantly less irritated if I hadn't called my spouse over saying, "Hey, it looks like there's some kind of amazing OK Go-style video posted to metafilter! Let's watch it together!"
posted by kyrademon at 3:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [22 favorites]
Yeah, I'd probably have been significantly less irritated if I hadn't called my spouse over saying, "Hey, it looks like there's some kind of amazing OK Go-style video posted to metafilter! Let's watch it together!"
posted by kyrademon at 3:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [22 favorites]
Years ago, before they made it big
.... I heard an OK Go song and kind of liked it in a latter day ELO pop overdose sort of way. Then I started seeing the videos and, since then, honestly doubt I'd recognize any of the songs in question if they happened to pop up in a mix or whatever. So yeah, this vid feels rather justified. Solid work.
When you are doing a parody of something that involved a lot of effort, if you don't want to look like a lazy hating jerk you need to put at least some effort into your parody.
Nah. The less effort, the better.
posted by philip-random at 3:06 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
.... I heard an OK Go song and kind of liked it in a latter day ELO pop overdose sort of way. Then I started seeing the videos and, since then, honestly doubt I'd recognize any of the songs in question if they happened to pop up in a mix or whatever. So yeah, this vid feels rather justified. Solid work.
When you are doing a parody of something that involved a lot of effort, if you don't want to look like a lazy hating jerk you need to put at least some effort into your parody.
Nah. The less effort, the better.
posted by philip-random at 3:06 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
to be fair tho, the dancing isn't that much worse than OK Go's first video
On the contrary, while OK Go obviously didn't have the resources in those days they had to put into their later videos, it's obvious that they put a tremendous amount of thought into every move. There might not be any Rube Goldberg machines or UAV's or vomit comets involved, but as with the treadmill video there is a lot of thought about each little set piece and the transitions require a lot of skill to work as seamlessly as they do. The OP video, not so much.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:11 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
On the contrary, while OK Go obviously didn't have the resources in those days they had to put into their later videos, it's obvious that they put a tremendous amount of thought into every move. There might not be any Rube Goldberg machines or UAV's or vomit comets involved, but as with the treadmill video there is a lot of thought about each little set piece and the transitions require a lot of skill to work as seamlessly as they do. The OP video, not so much.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:11 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The joke is funny because its not funny. Is that it ?
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 3:18 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 3:18 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Man, the Wiggles really lost their way.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 3:31 PM on July 4, 2016 [22 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 3:31 PM on July 4, 2016 [22 favorites]
I just wish the song would've been better...
posted by Pyrogenesis at 3:33 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Pyrogenesis at 3:33 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
lol this thread is too much
never change, y'all
posted by stinkfoot at 3:37 PM on July 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
never change, y'all
posted by stinkfoot at 3:37 PM on July 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
I just wish the song would've been better...
Curiously, that's probably the most Ok Go-esque thing about this video.
posted by rorgy at 3:38 PM on July 4, 2016 [17 favorites]
Curiously, that's probably the most Ok Go-esque thing about this video.
posted by rorgy at 3:38 PM on July 4, 2016 [17 favorites]
Different framing might have had this video be received with a better welcome. You set the expectations pretty high with how you put this post together, and people came in looking for a thing they did not find. That's what they are reacting to.
I giggled all the way through this, finding it to be a delightful affectionate parody, and the framing helped considerably in that regard... so from my standpoint it was handled perfectly. As far as I'm concerned, the alternative framing proposed by others in this thread would have ruined the joke.
In conclusion, Metafilter is a land of contrasts.
posted by Shmuel510 at 3:41 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
I giggled all the way through this, finding it to be a delightful affectionate parody, and the framing helped considerably in that regard... so from my standpoint it was handled perfectly. As far as I'm concerned, the alternative framing proposed by others in this thread would have ruined the joke.
In conclusion, Metafilter is a land of contrasts.
posted by Shmuel510 at 3:41 PM on July 4, 2016 [20 favorites]
I am sorry for wasting up to three minutes of your day. I feel very bad about this and will do my best going forward to never waste anything of anybody's, ever.
Don't worry, those of us who are from the Internet "wasted" that time last week, when Vice and Gawker hyped it as the ultimate Ok Go takedown, to the extent that the guys behind it had to post "For the record, we think Ok Go and their videos are amazing!" and "Despite the positive feedback on the @AJJtheBand vid, I'm seeing some harsh stuff about Ok Go. I got nothing but love and respect for them." and "Again, we don't hate OK Go or want them to stop. Their videos are literally amazing, anyone can see that. The beef is all clickbait." because apparently Ok Go's fans are really fragile people.
Also, the video was funny. I think I'm going to watch it again.
posted by effbot at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Don't worry, those of us who are from the Internet "wasted" that time last week, when Vice and Gawker hyped it as the ultimate Ok Go takedown, to the extent that the guys behind it had to post "For the record, we think Ok Go and their videos are amazing!" and "Despite the positive feedback on the @AJJtheBand vid, I'm seeing some harsh stuff about Ok Go. I got nothing but love and respect for them." and "Again, we don't hate OK Go or want them to stop. Their videos are literally amazing, anyone can see that. The beef is all clickbait." because apparently Ok Go's fans are really fragile people.
Also, the video was funny. I think I'm going to watch it again.
posted by effbot at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
So this is good because it sucks? Am I understanding correctly?
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 4:01 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 4:01 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Agree with the setup taking away from the video itself. Halfway through I was like "Oh, I guess nothing's gonna happen. Except those two dudes just changed shirts, I think." I was glad to be right about the latter, but disappointed to be right about the former.
posted by greermahoney at 4:05 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by greermahoney at 4:05 PM on July 4, 2016
I'm not racing to Spotify to create a playlist or anything, but I have never seen an OK Go video & it's obvious they put a ridiculous amount of work into them. The videos do overshadow the songs a bit, but hey, hats off. They're really good videos. How in the hell they choreographed the zero-gravity one bends my small mind.
I also thought the parody video was a fun romp. I didn't detect any hate.
There's a hundred million songs out there & it's damn hard to draw attention to your music or make a living at it in the current landscape -- you can't just throw up a Bandcamp website & wait for the money to roll in -- it takes an awful lot of work to find a way to distinguish yourself & to draw attention to your music, & all these guys are putting in the work. Bravo.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also thought the parody video was a fun romp. I didn't detect any hate.
There's a hundred million songs out there & it's damn hard to draw attention to your music or make a living at it in the current landscape -- you can't just throw up a Bandcamp website & wait for the money to roll in -- it takes an awful lot of work to find a way to distinguish yourself & to draw attention to your music, & all these guys are putting in the work. Bravo.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:07 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
At 30 seconds, I'm checking to see how long the video is. Over 5 minutes, but decide to stick with it. I'm thinking, the longer the wait, the better the payoff ought to be, right?
posted by DarkForest at 4:29 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by DarkForest at 4:29 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
i don't really care about OK Go, but one thing I would never say is that their videos are lazy. That was lazy. That was minute five of sitting in alley furniture on a porch, smoking at the end of practice lazy.
posted by wotsac at 4:47 PM on July 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by wotsac at 4:47 PM on July 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'm glad this was posted. It made me rewatch some old OK Go videos and my only-ok-day became a lot better. Thanks!
posted by bigendian at 4:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bigendian at 4:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
What's really amazing about this video is they actually shot the whole thing in reverse! They had to invent a brand new type of vacuum device to make those ball pit balls to look like they were being spilled out of that bag when they were actually being sucked in! And can you imagine how hard it was to do those dance moves in reverse??
posted by ericbop at 4:53 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by ericbop at 4:53 PM on July 4, 2016
Quite liked the record. The video was slightly amusing. I like OK Go too ( I think I got exposed to them via "get over it" on a video game. The videos were a nice surprise.) FWIW I didn't reading as hating on OKgo, rather just using it as the butt of the sentiment the song's expressing. Maybe not the most positive thing ever, but hey, pop angst.
posted by aesop at 5:20 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by aesop at 5:20 PM on July 4, 2016
The videos do overshadow the songs a bit, but hey, hats off. They're really good videos.
The reason the videos overshadow the songs is that Ok Go has gone from being an "indie" band signed to a major label to a producer of high-budget corporate marketing videos (with soundtracks).
posted by effbot at 6:00 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The reason the videos overshadow the songs is that Ok Go has gone from being an "indie" band signed to a major label to a producer of high-budget corporate marketing videos (with soundtracks).
posted by effbot at 6:00 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
SEAN B TRIES TO REPAIR TENSIONS WITH OK GO BY TAKING THEIR KIDS TO PIZZA: NOT GOING SMOOTHLY
posted by majuju at 6:24 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by majuju at 6:24 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ok Go has gone from being an "indie" band signed to a major label to a producer of high-budget corporate marketing videos (with soundtracks).
Hey, everybody's gotta eat. Sounds like good work if you can get it.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:52 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Hey, everybody's gotta eat. Sounds like good work if you can get it.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:52 PM on July 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
I like OK Go's videos and I enjoyed this too. But I did just drink an entire beer.
posted by moonmilk at 6:53 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by moonmilk at 6:53 PM on July 4, 2016
Congrats. You suckered me into making my girlfriend watch this video with me, and I raised my voice at her when she did not give it her full attention. I will not be sending you a Christmas card.
posted by surplus at 7:23 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by surplus at 7:23 PM on July 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't know many songs by OKGo, but I really like "This Too Shall Pass."
I also like to sing the bridge to my kids when they are freaking about something small.
posted by 4ster at 7:32 PM on July 4, 2016
I also like to sing the bridge to my kids when they are freaking about something small.
posted by 4ster at 7:32 PM on July 4, 2016
AJJ watching an OK GO video: "Looks like someone has a lot of time on their hands."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, at least they changed their name from something kind of immaturely offensive while pointing out a stain on America's past?
posted by lownote at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by lownote at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016
er, that's probably not clear. They used to be called Andrew Jackson Jihad.
posted by lownote at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by lownote at 8:04 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Funniest thing I've seen on Metafilter in a while, thanks for framing the post in a way that didn't give the joke away. A+++ would beanplate again
posted by scrowdid at 9:50 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 9:50 PM on July 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
to be fair tho, the dancing isn't that much worse than OK Go's first video...
I saw them live two or three times before Here It Goes Again (the treadmill video) came out, and the dance from that video was shtick that they did as an encore after a show instead of playing another song. It's their parody of a boy band dance. On another tour, they performed something from Les Mis as the encore.
I've seen them live a couple of times since they became famous, and while those were also great shows with 100% more smoke machines and glitter cannons than the old days, they didn't have the scrappy charm as four hipster dudes doing a boy band dance on a 10x12" stage.
posted by donajo at 10:21 PM on July 4, 2016
I saw them live two or three times before Here It Goes Again (the treadmill video) came out, and the dance from that video was shtick that they did as an encore after a show instead of playing another song. It's their parody of a boy band dance. On another tour, they performed something from Les Mis as the encore.
I've seen them live a couple of times since they became famous, and while those were also great shows with 100% more smoke machines and glitter cannons than the old days, they didn't have the scrappy charm as four hipster dudes doing a boy band dance on a 10x12" stage.
posted by donajo at 10:21 PM on July 4, 2016
It amused me. The video was the punchline to the joke set up in the post, so the framing worked for me.
posted by web-goddess at 10:48 PM on July 4, 2016
posted by web-goddess at 10:48 PM on July 4, 2016
I am sorry for wasting up to three minutes of your day. I feel very bad about this and will do my best going forward to never waste anything of anybody's, ever.
The delight in this thread, for me, was in expecting it to be mind-blowing positive commentary, bracing myself, wondering if you were setting us up for mindblowing commentary, realizing you weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly comments.
So there.
posted by happyroach at 10:48 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The delight in this thread, for me, was in expecting it to be mind-blowing positive commentary, bracing myself, wondering if you were setting us up for mindblowing commentary, realizing you weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly comments.
So there.
posted by happyroach at 10:48 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ugh, I just spent several weeks gathering every member of my family and every person I could conceivably call a friend, many from overseas, around my laptop in order to have a delightful and mindblowing experience together. When we realised this was in fact a parody, and in fact not in any way mindblowing, we were devastated. Several people cried and one couple has since divorced. Thanks for nothing.
posted by ominous_paws at 10:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [40 favorites]
posted by ominous_paws at 10:51 PM on July 4, 2016 [40 favorites]
I was avoiding this video because I thought it was actually a spectacular OK Go type thing. I should have had more faith in AJJ's inability to dance.
posted by atropos at 11:02 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by atropos at 11:02 PM on July 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'll second that OK Go was the most fun I've had a live concert. We went on a lark because the tickets were cheap and they made good videos, and left being fans. Be prepared to have confetti showing up in odd places for weeks afterwards, because it will follow you home.
posted by Xoc at 12:46 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Xoc at 12:46 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Very dull. The endullening. No really I loved it. So clever. The commentary. Love it. I did not really love it.
posted by dmh at 1:33 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by dmh at 1:33 AM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
The delight, for me, was in starting this video having been told it was going to be something mind-blowing, bracing myself, wondering if they were setting up for something mindblowing, realizing they weren't, and then giggling at all the little silly bits.
Yeah, remember that one time we all got pissy because someone posted a link to a fictional podcast about some mysterious disappearance and framed it as if it was a real thing that really happened?
This is like that.
I don't get any delight in being told something is one thing and having it turn out to be WE'RE NO STRANGERS TO LOVE / YOU KNOW THE RULES AND SO DO I
posted by mmoncur at 2:15 AM on July 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
Yeah, remember that one time we all got pissy because someone posted a link to a fictional podcast about some mysterious disappearance and framed it as if it was a real thing that really happened?
This is like that.
I don't get any delight in being told something is one thing and having it turn out to be WE'RE NO STRANGERS TO LOVE / YOU KNOW THE RULES AND SO DO I
posted by mmoncur at 2:15 AM on July 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'm just glad that we haven't seen the death of the Metafilter-loses-its-collective-sense-of-humour post alongside the demise of The Toast, to be honest.
posted by ominous_paws at 2:20 AM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ominous_paws at 2:20 AM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
giant metal chicken
posted by beerperson at 4:54 AM on July 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 4:54 AM on July 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
they didn't have the scrappy charm as four hipster dudes doing a boy band dance on a 10x12" stage.
All the while, they were in danger of being trodden on by a dwarf.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:09 AM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
All the while, they were in danger of being trodden on by a dwarf.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:09 AM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
"Again, we don't hate OK Go or want them to stop. Their videos are literally amazing, anyone can see that. The beef is all clickbait." because apparently Ok Go's fans are really fragile people.
I think it's probably more that OK Go fans like all right thinking people who don't work in the PR biz don't really want any of this "celebrity beef" nonsense in the first place.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:45 AM on July 5, 2016
I think it's probably more that OK Go fans like all right thinking people who don't work in the PR biz don't really want any of this "celebrity beef" nonsense in the first place.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:45 AM on July 5, 2016
I love how this thread is a parody of an OK Go thread.
posted by slogger at 10:06 AM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by slogger at 10:06 AM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
I had to watch it twice to see if they really changed shirts... and they did! Wow!
The making-of-video shows how they did the shirt-changing thing, if you don't mind having the magic spoiled.
posted by straight at 11:45 AM on July 5, 2016
The making-of-video shows how they did the shirt-changing thing, if you don't mind having the magic spoiled.
posted by straight at 11:45 AM on July 5, 2016
The making-of-video shows how they did the shirt-changing thing, if you don't mind having the magic spoiled.
The beauty of the vid is you can't trust them to have actually done that unless you re-watch it.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:52 AM on July 5, 2016
The beauty of the vid is you can't trust them to have actually done that unless you re-watch it.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:52 AM on July 5, 2016
Even though I didn't find the video all that interesting, I'll still bite: What did it feature a "judicious use" of?
posted by psoas at 12:21 PM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by psoas at 12:21 PM on July 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
note to self: never ever ever lightheartedly mislead readers in framing of FPP
posted by bologna on wry at 1:07 PM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bologna on wry at 1:07 PM on July 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
OK STOP
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:40 PM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:40 PM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
OK PROCEED WITH CAUTION
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:54 PM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:54 PM on July 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
I enjoy OK Go videos. They bring me joy. I enjoyed this video. It brought me joy. Apparently, I am wrong for feeling joy because of this video.
Also, the chicken has cancer.
posted by Bugbread at 8:49 PM on July 5, 2016
Also, the chicken has cancer.
posted by Bugbread at 8:49 PM on July 5, 2016
OK, I actually watched the video and it was pretty funny. But This Polyphonic Spree video already did the "incompetent single-take OK Go video" a bit better. And it has puppets.
posted by mmoncur at 2:27 PM on July 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by mmoncur at 2:27 PM on July 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't get what there is not to get. It's a one-take video and the joke is that nothing in it is at all "OMG how did they do that in one take?" because the frame hardly moves and almost nothing happens. There is absolutely zero magic and that's why it is funny.
It is not saying OK Go sucks. It is saying that there is nothing intrinsically amazing about the single-take video; I mean, everyone's video of their kid on a trampoline is a single-take video. It is what you shoot in that single take that brings the magic, which is pointedly absent in this video.
And the fact that it was shot in an LA warehouse... because of course it was shot in an LA warehouse.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:09 AM on July 8, 2016
It is not saying OK Go sucks. It is saying that there is nothing intrinsically amazing about the single-take video; I mean, everyone's video of their kid on a trampoline is a single-take video. It is what you shoot in that single take that brings the magic, which is pointedly absent in this video.
And the fact that it was shot in an LA warehouse... because of course it was shot in an LA warehouse.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:09 AM on July 8, 2016
Was anyone ever claiming that OK Go videos were amazing because they were single takes? I've always seen them praised for what they pull off in a single-take, not the single-takeness itself. So no, there's nothing intrinsically amazing about a single-take, which I guess needed to be proven with the punchline being a shitty video?
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 5:16 AM on July 8, 2016
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 5:16 AM on July 8, 2016
OK, I actually watched the video and it was pretty funny. But This Polyphonic Spree video already did the "incompetent single-take OK Go video" a bit better. And it has puppets.
Thank you. That video made me laugh out loud. Especially the ending.
posted by not that girl at 9:05 AM on July 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thank you. That video made me laugh out loud. Especially the ending.
posted by not that girl at 9:05 AM on July 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by rorgy at 1:06 PM on July 4, 2016